Helplessness and anger make for predictable behavior: Children are certain to shove each other and pull hair, teenagers will call each other names and cry, and grown women who are sisters will say words so cruel that each syllable will take on the form of a snake, although such a snake often circles in on itself to eat its own tail once the words are said aloud. Alice Hoffman
About This Quote

A person who is really angry means that he/she has a problem with self-esteem, a person who has a hard time accepting reality. They cannot accept things as they are and find it very hard to accept other people as well. This is because, they do not see themselves as having any value. They do not see themselves for who they really are, as a beautiful person with an important place in the world.

They believe that they are not beautiful or important and that nobody will love them as they really are. A person who lives in anger will be the one to bully others and cause problems for those around him/her by spreading rumors and causing gossip among people. The idea of a snake eating its own tail is a metaphor used to describe the effect of one’s words.

It is a way of saying that even if someone says something unpleasant, it will come back around to bite them in the ass somehow.

Source: Practical Magic

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  2. You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening, And live like it's heaven on earth. - William W. Purkey

  3. You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. - Dr. Seuss

  4. A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you. - Elbert Hubbard

  5. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. - Unknown

More Quotes By Alice Hoffman
  1. There are some things, after all, that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can.

  2. Do you ever just put your arms out and just spin and spin and spin? Well, that's what love is like; everything inside of you tells you to stop before you fall, but for some reason you just keep going.

  3. When all is said and done, the weather and love are the two elements about which one can never be sure.

  4. When I walk, I walk with you. Where I go, you're with me always.

  5. ...he had a way of taking your hand which made it clear he'd have to be the one to let go." From Alice Hoffman's "Local Girls", pg.102.

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