--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While they were sitting in the room above…" description: "\"“While they were sitting in the room above his shop there had been a distance, and she had never feared—and never hoped— that the distance would be alt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/alice-munro-1231_attraction_while-they-were-sitting-in-the-room-abov_1043573.png" --- # While they were sitting in the room above his shop there… ![“While they were sitting in the room above his shop there had been a distance, and she had never feared—and never hoped— that the distance would be altered by any brusque or clumsy or sly movement of his. On the few occasions when this had happened with other men she had felt embarrassed for them…” quote by Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/alice-munro-1231_attraction_while-they-were-sitting-in-the-room-abov_1043573.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/alice-munro-1231_attraction_while-they-were-sitting-in-the-room-abov_1043573.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b0/alice-munro-1231_attraction_while-they-were-sitting-in-the-room-abov_1043573.png) > ““While they were sitting in the room above his shop there had been a distance, and she had never feared—and never hoped— that the distance would be altered by any brusque or clumsy or sly movement of his. On the few occasions when this had happened with other men she had felt embarrassed for them. Now of necessity she and this man walked fairly close to each other and if they met someone their arms might brush together. Or he would move slightly behind her to get out of the way and his arm or chest knocked for a second against her back. These possibilities, and the knowledge that the people they met must see them as a couple, set up something like a hum, a tension, across her shoulders and down that one arm. He asked her about Antony and Cleopatra, had she liked it (yes) and what part she had liked best. What came into her mind then were various bold and convincing embraces, but she could not say so.”” [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman feels tension and intimacy when proximity forces a couple to appear together, revealing unspoken desires. **In simple terms:** Close proximity creates emotional tension. Key Takeaway Notice how physical closeness can reveal inner feelings. Themes intimacy social perception unspoken desire Mood reflective subtle Type literary psychological When to use this quote - first dates - family gatherings - workplace interactions Key Concepts psychology of space gender dynamics narrative tension Questions to Reflect On - What does the “hum” symbolize for her? - How does societal expectation shape personal intimacy? A Different Perspective May overinterpret subtle cues, leading to misreading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antony And Cleopatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antony-and-cleopatra/) [Attraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attraction/) ## Related quotes > [The theme of the dance was "Great Romances," or some such nonsense. 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While their love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shervin-pishevar/i-had-always-been-moved-by-the-story-and-love-of-antony-and-cleopatra/) [Shervin Pishevar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shervin-pishevar/) > [“It may take a decade or two before the extent of Shakespeare's collaboration passes from the graduate seminar to the undergraduate lecture, and finally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-shapiro/it-may-take-a-decade-or-two-before-the-extent-of-shakespeare-s/) [James Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-shapiro/) > [Here was a woman about the year 1800 writing without hate, without bitterness, without fear, without protest, without preaching. That was how Shakespeare wrote,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/here-was-a-woman-about-the-year-1800-writing-without-hate-without/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The language is always powerful in Shakespeare, but with 'Antony and Cleopatra,' the speeches are so big and muscular and rich - exhausting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-walter/the-language-is-always-powerful-in-shakespeare-but-with-antony-and/) [Harriet Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-walter/) > [“being an artist: "And this susceptibility of theirs is doubly unfortunate , I thought, returning again to my original enquiry into what state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/being-an-artist-and-this-susceptibility-of-theirs-is-doubly/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Passion doesn’t count the cost. Pascal said that the heart has its reasons that reason takes no account of. If he meant what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham-2/passion-doesn-t-count-the-cost-pascal-said-that-the-heart-has-its/) [W Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham-2/) ## More by Alice Munro > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“Her silent singing wrapped around the story she was telling herself, which she extended further every night on the deck. 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You put it away for a little while, and now and again you look in the closet for something else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/this-is-what-happens-you-put-it-away-for-a-little-while-and-now-and/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [She sits in her usual ample armchair, with piles of books and unopened magazines around her. She sips cautiously from the mug of weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-sits-in-her-usual-ample-armchair-with-piles-of-books-and-unopened/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [The images, the language, of pornography, and romance are alike; monotonous and mechanically seductive, quickly leading to despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/the-images-the-language-of-pornography-and-romance-are-alike/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I was a grade B housewife, maybe a B minus. But when I got time to write, I would be unable to finish a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-was-a-grade-b-housewife-maybe-a-b-minus-but-when-i-got-time-to/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [She would live now, not read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-would-live-now-not-read/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [“You would think as you get older your mind would fill up with what they call the spiritual side of things, but mine just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/you-would-think-as-you-get-older-your-mind-would-fill-up-with-what/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Peoples lives, in Jubilee as elsewhere, were dull, simple, amazing, unfathomable-deep caves paved with kitchen linoleum. . . . What I wanted \[to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/peoples-lives-in-jubilee-as-elsewhere-were-dull-simple-amazing/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) [Explore all 261 Alice Munro quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) ## More Attraction quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [You cannot perceive what you are not in the vibration of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-anka/you-cannot-perceive-what-you-are-not-in-the-vibration-of/) [Darryl Anka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-anka/) > [What the Laws of Attraction are really about; how to harness the power of creation within you to make life what you truly desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/what-the-laws-of-attraction-are-really-about-how-to-harness-the-power/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [You are the one who calls the law of attraction into action, and you do it through your thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/you-are-the-one-who-calls-the-law-of-attraction-into-action-and-you/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [The vast majority of people are born, grow up, struggle and go through life in misery and failure, not realizing that it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-vast-majority-of-people-are-born-grow-up-struggle-and-go-through/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. 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The universe will manifest it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/focus-on-being-grateful-for-what-you-have-already-enjoy-it-then/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy which spurs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/i-want-to-remind-priests-that-the-confessional-must-not-be-a-torture/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [All of my work is meant to evoke a whole bunch of different layers of discord between the attraction and repulsion that we feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-jordan/all-of-my-work-is-meant-to-evoke-a-whole-bunch-of-different-layers-of/) [Chris Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-jordan/) > [War is thus divine in itself, since it is a law of the world. 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On the few occasions when this had happened with other men she had felt embarrassed for them. Now of necessity she and this man walked fairly close to each other and if they met someone their arms might brush together. Or he would move slightly behind her to get out of the way and his arm or chest knocked for a second against her back. These possibilities, and the knowledge that the people they met must see them as a couple, set up something like a hum, a tension, across her shoulders and down that one arm. He asked her about Antony and Cleopatra, had she liked it (yes) and what part she had liked best. 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