--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: it—and he peered around at her from under…" description: "\"“it—and he peered around at her from under its brim as if from under the rock of another life.”\" — Alice McDermott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-unde_2132803.jpg" --- # it—and he peered around at her from under its brim as if… ![“it—and he peered around at her from under its brim as if from under the rock of another life.” quote by Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-unde_2132803.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-unde_2132803.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-unde_2132803.jpg) > ““it—and he peered around at her from under its brim as if from under the rock of another life.”” [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character observes another from a distance, feeling a sense of otherworldly separation and curiosity. **In simple terms:** Seeing someone from afar feels strange and distant. Key Takeaway Notice how distance shapes perception. Themes observation otherness curiosity Mood reflective melancholic Type literary contemplative When to use this quote - social interaction - artistic inspiration - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does distance affect understanding? - What does “another life” suggest? A Different Perspective The view may be limited by the observer’s own biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-life/) [Brim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brim/) [Brim Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brim-rock-4403130/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Peered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peered-484510/) [Peered Brim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peered-brim-4403129/) [Rock Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-life-614913/) ## Related quotes > [When you peered into the windows of someone else's life, you could only guess what was going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elin-hilderbrand/when-you-peered-into-the-windows-of-someone-else-s-life-you-could/) [Elin Hilderbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elin-hilderbrand/) > [“As if this were a signal to her, Naoko stood and glided toward the head of the bed, gown rustling faintly. She knelt on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/as-if-this-were-a-signal-to-her-naoko-stood-and-glided-toward-the/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Tuppy wiped a fair portion of Hampshire out of his eye, and peered round him in a dazed kind of way...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-3/tuppy-wiped-a-fair-portion-of-hampshire-out-of-his-eye-and-peered/) [P G Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-3/) > [“I peered into the deep-sae canyon, hoping to spot a toppled skyscraper. Maybe even the Statue of Liberty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-falls/i-peered-into-the-deep-sae-canyon-hoping-to-spot-a-toppled-skyscraper/) [Kat Falls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-falls/) > [“With an easy grin he peered up at me. 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My absolute favorite show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendi-mclendon-covey/oh-my-gosh-if-i-could-be-on-30-rock-my-life-would-be-made-that-is-my/) [Wendi McLendon-Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendi-mclendon-covey/) > [The cliched rock life never seemed that cool to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/win-butler/the-cliched-rock-life-never-seemed-that-cool-to-me/) [Win Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/win-butler/) > [“You may think you've hit rock bottom in your life but guess what—there's more crud underneath those rocks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/you-may-think-you-ve-hit-rock-bottom-in-your-life-but-guess-what/) [Richelle E. 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It was not all a hat,-Part of the brim was gone:Yet still I wore it on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-hemans/i-had-a-hat-it-was-not-all-a-hat-part-of-the-brim-was-gone-yet-still/) [Felicia Hemans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicia-hemans/) > [Filling all the way to the brim is not as good as halting in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/filling-all-the-way-to-the-brim-is-not-as-good-as-halting-in-time/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## More by Alice McDermott > [“Some vestige of his race or of his sex made him think, whenever he looked out across the ocean: As it was before me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/some-vestige-of-his-race-or-of-his-sex-made-him-think-whenever-he/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“If you want to see how far we have not come from the cave and the woods, from the lonely and dangerous days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/if-you-want-to-see-how-far-we-have-not-come-from-the-cave-and-the/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“John Keane pressed his chest to the steering wheel as he put the key in the ignition, taking a deep breath as he did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/john-keane-pressed-his-chest-to-the-steering-wheel-as-he-put-the-key/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“The fourth contraction seized her and suddenly she was perspiring. 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Jacob was lying flat out now, on his stomach, his little men all before him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/michael-had-slipped-beyond-the-crest-of-the-dune-jacob-was-lying-flat/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“The wind,” Mary said again. “It was making everyone tear up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/the-wind-mary-said-again-it-was-making-everyone-tear-up/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Not a soul,” Mary Keane said to her husband, the wind lifting her words, tossing them gently back over her shoulder, the way it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/not-a-soul-mary-keane-said-to-her-husband-the-wind-lifting-her-words/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“There wasn’t a tear to be seen on the faces of the men and women in the street as the two of them walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/there-wasn-t-a-tear-to-be-seen-on-the-faces-of-the-men-and-women-in/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“His love for his children bore down on his heart with the weight of three heavy stones. There were all his unnamed fears for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/his-love-for-his-children-bore-down-on-his-heart-with-the-weight-of/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Mr. Persichetti knew that six weeks before its time and with a good thirty-minute ride to the hospital once the ambulance came (would it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/mr-persichetti-knew-that-six-weeks-before-its-time-and-with-a-good/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Mike Shea became a medic during the war and was now married, working for Pfizer. To this day he can’t look at her straight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/mike-shea-became-a-medic-during-the-war-and-was-now-married-working/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [As a writer, I'm too busy and worried to experience the delight while composing my own work, although, of course, I hope a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/as-a-writer-i-m-too-busy-and-worried-to-experience-the-delight-while/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“Why not?” but without conviction, confirming for them both that this was a sudden impulse that most likely would not last out the afternoon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/why-not-but-without-conviction-confirming-for-them-both-that-this-was/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) [Explore all 194 Alice McDermott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) ## More Another life quotes > [“Small memories of another life flutter through my head like moths — all grey images and tearstains”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-kahler/small-memories-of-another-life-flutter-through-my-head-like-moths-all/) [A.R. Kahler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-kahler/) > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I love the dark hours of my being. My mind deepens into them. There I can find, as in old letters, the days of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/i-love-the-dark-hours-of-my-being-my-mind-deepens-into-them-there-i/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [In another life, I would be your girl. Capable of making promises. We would rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/in-another-life-i-would-be-your-girl-capable-of-making-promises-we/) [Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/) > [I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-couldn-t-even-think-about-wanting-to-be-something-else-i-wouldn-t/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [And whatever my life had been up to that day, it was another life after that. And that is the gospel truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/and-whatever-my-life-had-been-up-to-that-day-it-was-another-life/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [Literature duplicates the experience of living in a way that nothing else can, drawing you so fully into another life that you temporarily forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/literature-duplicates-the-experience-of-living-in-a-way-that-nothing/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Whatever you have received more than others-in health, in talents, in ability, in success, in a pleasant childhood, in harmonious conditions of home life-all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/whatever-you-have-received-more-than-others-in-health-in-talents-in/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [“Let me give you a bit of advice.' the girl said bitterly, 'from one working girl to another; life isn't easy, no matter where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/let-me-give-you-a-bit-of-advice-the-girl-said-bitterly-from-one/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“The vibrations he felt in his sleep had nothing to do with his soul easing out of his body as he dreamily thought; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-poet-aberjhani/the-vibrations-he-felt-in-his-sleep-had-nothing-to-do-with-his-soul/) [Author-Poet Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-poet-aberjhani/) > [I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. 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To have another life after this, a better one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-mean-is-there-a-chance-for-me-to-have-another-life-after-this-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [We, all who live, have A life that is lived And another life that is thought, And the only life we have It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/we-all-who-live-have-a-life-that-is-lived-and-another-life-that-is/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [The death-change comes. Death is another life. We bow our heads At going out, we think, and enter straight Another golden chamber of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-james-bailey/the-death-change-comes-death-is-another-life-we-bow-our-heads-at/) [Philip James Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-james-bailey/) [Browse all 433 Another life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“it—and he peered around at her from under its brim as if from under the rock of another life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice McDermott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-under-its-brim-as-if-from-under/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Another life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-under-its-brim-as-if-from-under/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-unde_2132803.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-unde_2132803.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38f/alice-mcdermott-1961_another-life_it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-unde_2132803.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“it—and he peered around at her from under its brim as if from under the rock of another life.” — Alice McDermott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice McDermott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“it—and he peered around at her...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-under-its-brim-as-if-from-under/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/it-and-he-peered-around-at-her-from-under-its-brim-as-if-from-under/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```