The Inner Elvis Quotes

“In addition, Elvis carried within him a millstone that impeded his initial striving toward musical expression: he didn't really feel deserving. All his life Presley was burdened by deep inner fears of success. He 138 THE INNER ELVIS expected all he had accomplished to evaporate instantly, thrusting him back into the pit of poverty from which he came. He felt this fear of failure from the inception of his career.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“For Elvis, individual style came unconsciously, from within, demanding expression years before he could have been categorized as an "artist." His unique appearance was uncontrived, something that emerged from him, rather than something put onto him.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“I don't think he ever thought much in terms of the symbolism of the pink and black," she said, referring to the constant color scheme of his clothing. "It all just went along with his feelings of himself. He knew he was different. His gunslinger walk. It was all an integral part of Aura of Strangeness 121 him, as much as his smile, or his way of speaking. Or singing. That was just him. He was that way all the time. That was not part of anything theatrical that came along later. He was not like anyone else. And he did not want to be like anyone else.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“In some women Elvis saw a replica of his mother. He rushed to them, wanting to be absorbed within their boundaries as completely as with his mother. His courting rituals reenacted his and Gladys's lethal dance of enmeshment. His heart, worn throbbing on his sleeve, still belonged to Mama.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“Years of charismatic psychological indoctrination suppressed awareness. Later on, seeking professional help was not an option.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“Indeed, throughout his life, Elvis had a knack of appearing normal, of being able to relate 104 THE INNER ELVIS to the common person. At the same time, his tendency to play the role of "being normal" when in fact he was in dire need of assistance would, later in life, dictate his fate. Elvis "acted" to fend off intervention by family, friends, and medical and mental health professionals who attempted repeatedly to help him survive his demons.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“Although generally secretive in revealing his inner turmoils, and while no woman could ever displace Gladys, Elvis felt most at ease discussing his feelings with members of the opposite sex. He was emotionally brittle and not always capable of containing all the turmoil that churned inside him. There were times he would snap, and raw emotion would come boiling out. He was extremely needy of others' love and acceptance, but would express this in a primitive, mechanical fashion, attempting to "purchase" friendship by offering objects in return, not emotions. Most profoundly, from the deepest reaches of his psyche, he was slowly and inexorably driven to communicate with others through music.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“Memphis both fueled Elvis's creative development and twisted his perspectives. Essentially, he and the town mirrored each other. They were both quiet and polite on the outside. Below the surface, they were ready to burst.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“While finding him sexually arousing, they also wanted to "mother" him. This would soon become both a worldwide tradition, as well as a repetition of Elvis's early personal experiences.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“Life as "one," alone and on his own, would forever be both an impossible goal and a source of abject terror. His most basic identity could never be sharply outlined. Instead, it was diffused and fuzzy, changeable and permeable. From the earliest days, he would always need to be with someone else, particularly with a woman. This could take the form of a "relationship" as is generally defined, but it did not have to. This "need" was more the cravings of hunger than the emotions of love and intimacy. He was as needy of a woman's companionship as he was of oxygen, water, and food.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis

“When one's life begins with a dead twin brother in a two-room shack with no electricity, rags in the cracks to keep out the winter cold, and a flower in a milk bottle for decoration in the summer, the world can seem angry and ungiving; a teat of sour milk.”
― Peter O. Whitmer, The Inner Elvis