--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the quarter where the sun should have…" description: "\"“In the quarter where the sun should have appeared, the sky was covered by a strange reddish cloud, like smoke, like hot ashes, like a dark pollen that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/alejo-carpentier-17375_butterflies_in-the-quarter-where-the-sun-should-have_1135415.jpg" --- # In the quarter where the sun should have appeared, the sky… ![“In the quarter where the sun should have appeared, the sky was covered by a strange reddish cloud, like smoke, like hot ashes, like a dark pollen that had arisen swiftly, stretching from one horizon to the other. When the cloud moved overhead, it began to rain butterflies on the roofs, the water…” quote by Alejo Carpentier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/alejo-carpentier-17375_butterflies_in-the-quarter-where-the-sun-should-have_1135415.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/alejo-carpentier-17375_butterflies_in-the-quarter-where-the-sun-should-have_1135415.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79e/alejo-carpentier-17375_butterflies_in-the-quarter-where-the-sun-should-have_1135415.jpg) > ““In the quarter where the sun should have appeared, the sky was covered by a strange reddish cloud, like smoke, like hot ashes, like a dark pollen that had arisen swiftly, stretching from one horizon to the other. When the cloud moved overhead, it began to rain butterflies on the roofs, the water jars, our shoulders. They were little butterflies, deep amaranth in color, striped in violet, which had come together by myriads in some unknown spot behind the immense jungle, frightened, perhaps, driven away, after multiplying frenziedly, by some cataclysm, some awful occurrence, without witnesses or record. The Adelantado told me that these swarms of butterflies were nothing new in the region, and that when they took place the sun was almost blotted out for the whole day. The burial of the father would have to be carried out by candlelight in a day that was night, reddened by wings.”” [Alejo Carpentier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejo-carpentier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal storm brings rain of butterflies, symbolizing chaos, loss, and the eerie beauty of a funeral day turned night. **In simple terms:** Strange rain of butterflies marks a tragic, otherworldly event. Key Takeaway Find meaning in bizarre, unsettling moments. Themes death nature surrealism loss ritual chaos Mood haunting poetic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - funeral rites - stormy weather - unexpected phenomena Key Concepts Symbolism magical realism cultural myth Questions to Reflect On - What does the butterfly rain represent? - How does surreal imagery affect grief? A Different Perspective Interpretation may vary across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Butterflies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterflies/) ## Related quotes > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [“Drake: "I know it;s love because I think of you night and day. I miss you when you are sitting right next to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-k-lewis/drake-i-know-it-s-love-because-i-think-of-you-night-and-day-i-miss/) L.K. Lewis > [“Chasing dreams is like chasing butterflies on an open field — the beauty is in the running, not the catching”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/chasing-dreams-is-like-chasing-butterflies-on-an-open-field-the/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [“You’re beautiful and charming, and I can’t stop thinking about last night.” No, he didn’t say that. Not exactly, anyway. What Sarah heard was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-re-beautiful-and-charming-and-i-can-t-stop-thinking-about-last/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I'm not a bug person, but something about butterflies I can handle because they're kind of cute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/i-m-not-a-bug-person-but-something-about-butterflies-i-can-handle/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [“We all get butterflies Peter, it’s just a question of teaching them to fly in formation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-rosengard/we-all-get-butterflies-peter-it-s-just-a-question-of-teaching-them-to/) Peter Rosengard > [I've always loved butterflies, because they remind us that it's never too late to transform ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/i-ve-always-loved-butterflies-because-they-remind-us-that-it-s-never/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. Mankind will surely not deny to Harold Skimpole what it concedes to the butterflies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-only-ask-to-be-free-the-butterflies-are-free-mankind-will-surely/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Butterflies don't know the color of their wings, but human eyes know how nice it is... 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On the one hand, Cuban music was conquering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejo-carpentier/i-gladly-accepted-the-commission-but-was-uncertain-about-what-the-end/) [Alejo Carpentier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejo-carpentier/) > [“Si en estos países se moría por pasiones que me fueran incomprensibles, no por ello era la muerte menos muerte.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejo-carpentier/si-en-estos-pa-ses-se-mor-a-por-pasiones-que-me-fueran/) [Alejo Carpentier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejo-carpentier/) > [A day will come when man will discover an alphabet in the eyes of the chalcedonies, in the marking of the moth, and will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejo-carpentier/a-day-will-come-when-man-will-discover-an-alphabet-in-the-eyes-of-the/) [Alejo Carpentier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejo-carpentier/) > [“But everywhere dark shapes were already melting into the night, seeking asylum in the undergrowth and the jungle. 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Like wise you don't know 'how good you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thanisha/butterflies-don-t-know-the-color-of-their-wings-but-human-eyes-know/) Thanisha > [I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. Mankind will surely not deny to Harold Skimpole what it concedes to the butterflies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-only-ask-to-be-free-the-butterflies-are-free-mankind-will-surely/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I've always loved butterflies, because they remind us that it's never too late to transform ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/i-ve-always-loved-butterflies-because-they-remind-us-that-it-s-never/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [“We all get butterflies Peter, it’s just a question of teaching them to fly in formation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-rosengard/we-all-get-butterflies-peter-it-s-just-a-question-of-teaching-them-to/) Peter Rosengard > [I'm not a bug person, but something about butterflies I can handle because they're kind of cute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/i-m-not-a-bug-person-but-something-about-butterflies-i-can-handle/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [“You’re beautiful and charming, and I can’t stop thinking about last night.” No, he didn’t say that. Not exactly, anyway. What Sarah heard was,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/you-re-beautiful-and-charming-and-i-can-t-stop-thinking-about-last/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“Chasing dreams is like chasing butterflies on an open field — the beauty is in the running, not the catching”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/chasing-dreams-is-like-chasing-butterflies-on-an-open-field-the/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [“Drake: "I know it;s love because I think of you night and day. I miss you when you are sitting right next to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-k-lewis/drake-i-know-it-s-love-because-i-think-of-you-night-and-day-i-miss/) L.K. Lewis > [“The most beautiful of butterflies is nothing but a well-dressed caterpillar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corina-abdulahm-negura/the-most-beautiful-of-butterflies-is-nothing-but-a-well-dressed/) Corina Abdulahm Negura [Browse all 423 Butterflies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterflies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the quarter where the sun should have appeared, the sky was covered by a strange reddish cloud, like smoke, like hot ashes, like a dark pollen that had arisen swiftly, stretching from one horizon to the other. When the cloud moved overhead, it began to rain butterflies on the roofs, the water jars, our shoulders. 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