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His rage had sent him into Latin: he would have spouted Chinese or Greenlandic had he been able to, for he was in the throes of one of those crises in which the soul lays bare its every last corners, just as the ocean, in the travail of a storm, splits open to display everything from the seaweed on its shores to the sand of its deepest bottom.

Gustave Flaubert#71

EmotionPsychologyLanguageCrisisSoulStorm

About this quote

What does it mean?
Intense anger drives him to speak any language, exposing his deepest turmoil like a storm‑raged ocean revealing everything beneath its surface.
In plain terms
His rage makes him want to shout in any language, laying his soul bare.
What can you take from it?
Strong emotions can strip away pretenses and reveal inner truths.

Where it applies

  • when overwhelmed
  • during a personal crisis

Putting it to work

  • write about feelings
  • seek calm

Questions to consider

  • What does it mean to let a storm reveal your inner self?
  • Can anger ever be productive?

Another view

The metaphor may exaggerate the universality of emotional breakdowns.

More from Gustave Flaubert

  1. 'What's improper about it?' retorted the clerk. 'Everybody does it in Paris!' It was an irresistible and conclusive argument.

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  2. It wasn't the first time in their lives that they had seen trees, blue sky and lawn, or heard the flowing of water or the rustle of the breeze in the branches,…

    Permalink to quote #72
  3. The clerk assured her warmly that idealistic natures were rarely understood.

    Permalink to quote #69

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