--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At night I told myself a story, wordless…" description: "\"“At night I told myself a story, wordless, inside my head, one I liked far better than those in my books. The girl in my story was treated cruelly, by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alice-hoffman-427_books_at-night-i-told-myself-a-story-wordless_140942.jpg" --- # At night I told myself a story, wordless, inside my head… ![“At night I told myself a story, wordless, inside my head, one I liked far better than those in my books. The girl in my story was treated cruelly, by fate, by her family, even by the weather. Her feet bled from the stony paths; her hair was plucked from her head by blackbirds. She went from house…” quote by Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alice-hoffman-427_books_at-night-i-told-myself-a-story-wordless_140942.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alice-hoffman-427_books_at-night-i-told-myself-a-story-wordless_140942.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/133/alice-hoffman-427_books_at-night-i-told-myself-a-story-wordless_140942.jpg) > ““At night I told myself a story, wordless, inside my head, one I liked far better than those in my books. The girl in my story was treated cruelly, by fate, by her family, even by the weather. Her feet bled from the stony paths; her hair was plucked from her head by blackbirds. She went from house to house, looking for refuge. Not a single neighbor answered his door, and so one day the girl gave up speaking. She lived on the side of a mountain where every day was snowy. She stood outside without a roof, without shelter; before long she was made of ice—her flesh, her bones, her blood. She looked like a diamond; it was possible to spy her from miles away. She was so beautiful now that everyone wanted her: people came to talk to her, but she wouldn’t answer. Birds lit on her shoulder; she didn’t bother to chase them away. She didn’t have to. If they took a single peck, their beaks would break in two. Nothing could hurt her anymore. After a while, she became invisible, queen of the ice. Silence was her language, and her heart had turned a perfect pale silver color. It was so hard nothing could shatter it. Not even stones.”” [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A heroine endures extreme hardship, transforms into a resilient, icy queen, embodying silence and strength. **In simple terms:** She becomes a powerful, silent figure after suffering. Key Takeaway Adversity can forge inner strength and resilience. Themes resilience transformation silence strength Mood melancholic inspirational Type literary mythic When to use this quote - personal loss - emotional healing - self-discovery Key Concepts metaphor mythic narrative Questions to Reflect On - What does the ice symbolize for you? - How can silence be a form of power? A Different Perspective Isolation may lead to emotional numbness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [Primarily, 'Black Girl/White Girl' is the story of two very different, yet somehow 'fated' girls; for Genna, her 'friendship' with Minette is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/primarily-black-girl-white-girl-is-the-story-of-two-very-different/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The young girl in my story is to be as sensitive to praise as a prism is to light. 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Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Last Night I Had Told You My Deepest Secret And Told You My Whole Life...I Almost Had You Crying And You Had Wanted To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/last-night-i-had-told-you-my-deepest-secret-and-told-you-my-whole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Last night I told myself I wasn't in love with you,then I closed my eyes and saw you in my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-bakang/last-night-i-told-myself-i-wasn-t-in-love-with-you-then-i-closed-my/) Gloria Bakang > [Journeys end in lovers meeting; I have spent an all but sleepless night, I have told lies and made a fool of myself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/journeys-end-in-lovers-meeting-i-have-spent-an-all-but-sleepless/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [When our ancestors crouched about the camp fire at night, they told each other tales of gods and heroes, monsters and marvels, to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-forsyth/when-our-ancestors-crouched-about-the-camp-fire-at-night-they-told/) [Kate Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-forsyth/) > [Each time I told my story, I lost a bit, the smallest drop of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/each-time-i-told-my-story-i-lost-a-bit-the-smallest-drop-of-pain/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [We've been told the same story for so long. 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Saying out loud, "You're never going to touch me again" - that was a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/it-was-a-story-to-tell-myself-a-promise-saying-out-loud-you-re-never/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [“You see it is likely that, when my brother told the story, that night when we got home and my mother and sister sat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwood-anderson/you-see-it-is-likely-that-when-my-brother-told-the-story-that-night/) [Sherwood Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwood-anderson/) > [“..., and he told a story once after intercourse, to the person who had just politely hoisted him while he hyperventilated in their space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/and-he-told-a-story-once-after-intercourse-to-the-person-who-had-just/) [Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/) ## More by Alice Hoffman > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“All of the quarters in his hand were tarnished. He had no idea that the silver in a man’s pockets always turns black if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/all-of-the-quarters-in-his-hand-were-tarnished-he-had-no-idea-that/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [But most important of all, she explained that it was all right to say 'No. I disagree.' that was a gift. 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People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At night I told myself a story, wordless, inside my head, one I liked far better than those in my books. The girl in my story was treated cruelly, by fate, by her family, even by the weather. Her feet bled from the stony paths; her hair was plucked from her head by blackbirds. She went from house to house, looking for refuge. Not a single neighbor answered his door, and so one day the girl gave up speaking. She lived on the side of a mountain where every day was snowy. She stood outside without a roof, without shelter; before long she was made of ice—her flesh, her bones, her blood. She looked like a diamond; it was possible to spy her from miles away. She was so beautiful now that everyone wanted her: people came to talk to her, but she wouldn’t answer. Birds lit on her shoulder; she didn’t bother to chase them away. She didn’t have to. If they took a single peck, their beaks would break in two. Nothing could hurt her anymore. After a while, she became invisible, queen of the ice. Silence was her language, and her heart had turned a perfect pale silver color. It was so hard nothing could shatter it. 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