His voice just stops, exactly like when the needle is…
![“His voice just stops, exactly like when the needle is lifted from a phonograph record by the hand of someone who is not listening to the record. [...] She speaks the same dead, level tone: two bodiless voices in monotonous strophe and anistrophe: to bodiless voices recounting dreamily something…” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/759/william-faulkner-306_metafiction_his-voice-just-stops-exactly-like-when-t_3072658.png)
““His voice just stops, exactly like when the needle is lifted from a phonograph record by the hand of someone who is not listening to the record. [...] She speaks the same dead, level tone: two bodiless voices in monotonous strophe and anistrophe: to bodiless voices recounting dreamily something performed in a region without dimension by people without blood [...] Two of them are also motionless, the woman with that stonevisaged patience of a waiting rock, the old man with a spent quality like the charred wick of a candle from which the flame has been violently blown away.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
A description of characters speaking in detached, lifeless tones, likened to a record stopped and a candle extinguished, evoking emotional emptiness and stagnation.
In simple terms: Dead, monotone speech shows emotional emptiness.
Key Takeaway
Notice when communication feels hollow.
Themes
ispathy
communication
isolation
Mood
melancholic
reflective
Type
literary
descriptive
When to use this quote
- family gatherings
- therapy sessions
- creative writing
- critical analysis
Key Concepts
Existentialism
literary realism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does monotone speech affect listener engagement?
- What does “stone‑visaged patience” suggest about waiting?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor may over‑dramatize ordinary speech.