---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She stayed beside me until I slept…"
description: "\"“She stayed beside me until I slept, waveringly, brilliantly, hooded in diaphanous scarlet, and occasionally she left an imperative written in lipstick..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/angela-carter-1237_amorous_she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waver_2176331.jpg"
---

#  She stayed beside me until I slept, waveringly…

![“She stayed beside me until I slept, waveringly, brilliantly, hooded in diaphanous scarlet, and occasionally she left an imperative written in lipstick on my dusty windowpane. BE AMOROUS! she exhorted one night and, another night, BE MYSTERIOUS! Some nights later, she scribbled: WHEN YOU BEGIN TO…” quote by Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/angela-carter-1237_amorous_she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waver_2176331.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/angela-carter-1237_amorous_she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waver_2176331.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/angela-carter-1237_amorous_she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waver_2176331.jpg)

> ““She stayed beside me until I slept, waveringly, brilliantly, hooded in diaphanous scarlet, and occasionally she left an imperative written in lipstick on my dusty windowpane. BE AMOROUS! she exhorted one night and, another night, BE MYSTERIOUS! Some nights later, she scribbled: WHEN YOU BEGIN TO THINK, YOU LOSE THE POINT.””

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

She urges boldness, mystery, and deep thought, warning that over‑analysis can paralyze.

**In simple terms:** Boldness and mystery inspire, but overthinking stalls.

Key Takeaway

Balance daring with clarity.

Themes

creativity identity risk

Mood

enigmatic reflective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- artistic writing
- personal introspection
- relationship dynamics

Key Concepts

self‑expression philosophical paradoxes

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “being mysterious” mean to you?
- When does thinking become a hindrance?

A Different Perspective

Excessive mystery may obscure purpose.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Amorous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amorous/) [Amorous Exhorted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amorous-exhorted-4681542/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Exhorted Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhorted-night-4681541/) [Later Scribbled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/later-scribbled-4681540/) [Lipstick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lipstick/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Scribbled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scribbled-789081/) [Written Lipstick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-lipstick-4681539/)

## Related quotes

> [“Her mother had left a note on the bathroom mirror, written in lipstick: just because my love isn't perfect doesn't mean I don't love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/her-mother-had-left-a-note-on-the-bathroom-mirror-written-in-lipstick/)

[Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/)

> [“I scribbled her name on surfaces everywhere on my skin and on sheets of paper but mostly on napkins hoping every time that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/x-q/i-scribbled-her-name-on-surfaces-everywhere-on-my-skin-and-on-sheets/)

[x q](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/x-q/)

> [“Who scribbled all night rocking and rolling over lofty incantations which in the yellow morning were stanzas of gibberish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/who-scribbled-all-night-rocking-and-rolling-over-lofty-incantations/)

[Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/)

> [“The scribbled signature black, onto the blinding global white, onto the thick soupy red.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/the-scribbled-signature-black-onto-the-blinding-global-white-onto-the/)

[Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/)

> [“Shakespeare,” he thought as he scribbled away. “Foolish fancy. This is life as it is lived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/shakespeare-he-thought-as-he-scribbled-away-foolish-fancy-this-is/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [I think back on that day when 16-year-old me scribbled on some silly piece of paper for some long-forgotten high school career-day project that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/i-think-back-on-that-day-when-16-year-old-me-scribbled-on-some-silly/)

[Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/)

> [ “What I miss most since computers is the existence of rough drafts. \[…\]. I miss the mistakes, the words scribbled in the margin, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-carri-re/what-i-miss-most-since-computers-is-the-existence-of-rough-drafts-i/)

[Jean-Claude Carrière](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-carri-re/)

> [I thought I will send a message but every time I scribbled it thinking may be I'm disturbing you may be I'm invading your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nidhi-saini/i-thought-i-will-send-a-message-but-every-time-i-scribbled-it/)

[Nidhi Saini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nidhi-saini/)

> [Christianity is not about learning how to live within the lines; Christianity is about the joy of coloring. The grace of God is preposterous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-yaconelli/christianity-is-not-about-learning-how-to-live-within-the-lines/)

[Mike Yaconelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-yaconelli/)

> [“The nature of the labyrinth, I scribbled into my spiral notebook, and the way out of it. This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-nature-of-the-labyrinth-i-scribbled-into-my-spiral-notebook-and/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“In her spare time she scribbled her thoughts, wishes and dreams, life and times. It kept her sane despite her loneliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aporva-kala/in-her-spare-time-she-scribbled-her-thoughts-wishes-and-dreams-life/)

[Aporva Kala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aporva-kala/)

> [“I have to get them out. It’s the only way I know how to do it. Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-f-gifune/i-have-to-get-them-out-it-s-the-only-way-i-know-how-to-do-it-ever/)

[Greg F. Gifune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-f-gifune/)

> [“I looked at this first sheet, words scribbled confidently on a lined pad. My attempt at making contact the spirit of Llandor. Disaster. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-sinclair/i-looked-at-this-first-sheet-words-scribbled-confidently-on-a-lined/)

[Iain Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-sinclair/)

> [“Her life was more like a series of tattered Post-it notes with hastily scribbled goals written in dull pencil. Some of them stuck. Lots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-brogan/her-life-was-more-like-a-series-of-tattered-post-it-notes-with/)

[Tracy Brogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-brogan/)

> [When the landscape buckles and jerks around, when a dust column of debris rises from the collapse of a block of buildings on bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/when-the-landscape-buckles-and-jerks-around-when-a-dust-column-of/)

[Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/)

## More by Angela Carter

> [He was a lovely man in many ways. But he kept on insisting on forgiving me when there was nothing to forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/he-was-a-lovely-man-in-many-ways-but-he-kept-on-insisting-on/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [Losing their names, these things underwent a process of uncreation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/losing-their-names-these-things-underwent-a-process-of-uncreation/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [I know that whenever a group of women are gathered together, the grandmother always makes a phantom appearance, hovering above them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/i-know-that-whenever-a-group-of-women-are-gathered-together-the/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [“She herself is a haunted house. She does not possess herself; her ancestors sometimes come and peer out of the window of her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-herself-is-a-haunted-house-she-does-not-possess-herself-her/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [Hollywood... was the place where the United States perpetrated itself as a universal dream and put the dream into mass production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/hollywood-was-the-place-where-the-united-states-perpetrated-itself-as/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [Is not this whole world an illusion? And yet it fools everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/is-not-this-whole-world-an-illusion-and-yet-it-fools-everybody/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [My paternal grandmother would not light a fire on the Sabbath and piled all Sunday's washing-up in a bucket, to be dealt with on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/my-paternal-grandmother-would-not-light-a-fire-on-the-sabbath-and/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [“Mother goddesses are just as silly a notion as father gods. If a revival of the myths of these cults gives woman emotional satisfaction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/mother-goddesses-are-just-as-silly-a-notion-as-father-gods-if-a/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [Out of the frying pan into the fire! What is marriage but prostitution to one man instead of many? No different!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire-what-is-marriage-but-prostitution/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [And each stroke of his tongue ripped off skin after successive skin, all the skins of a life in the world, and left behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/and-each-stroke-of-his-tongue-ripped-off-skin-after-successive-skin/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [In a secular age, an authentic miracle must purport to be a hoax, in order to gain credit in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/in-a-secular-age-an-authentic-miracle-must-purport-to-be-a-hoax-in/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [We do not go to bed in single pairs; even if we choose not to refer to them, we still drag there with us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/we-do-not-go-to-bed-in-single-pairs-even-if-we-choose-not-to-refer-to/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [I see her as a series of marvellous shapes formed at random in the kaleidoscope of desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/i-see-her-as-a-series-of-marvellous-shapes-formed-at-random-in-the/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

> [“Women do not normally fuck in the active sense. They are fucked in the passive tense and hence automatically fucked-up, done over, undone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/women-do-not-normally-fuck-in-the-active-sense-they-are-fucked-in-the/)

[Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

[Explore all 263 Angela Carter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/)

## More Amorous quotes

> [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/)

[Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/)

> [A man doesn't need a study to know if he's feeling amorous. There is no such thing as a placebo erection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/a-man-doesn-t-need-a-study-to-know-if-he-s-feeling-amorous-there-is/)

[Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/)

> [The holy heaven yearns to wound the earth, and yearning layeth hold on the earth to join in wedlock; the rain, fallen from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-holy-heaven-yearns-to-wound-the-earth-and-yearning-layeth-hold-on/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [“Some swore he was a maid in man's attire, For in his looks were all that men desire, A pleasant smiling cheeke, a speaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-harkness/some-swore-he-was-a-maid-in-man-s-attire-for-in-his-looks-were-all/)

[Deborah Harkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-harkness/)

> [The great and amorous sky curved over the earth, and lay upon her as a pure lover. The rain, the humid flux descending from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-great-and-amorous-sky-curved-over-the-earth-and-lay-upon-her-as-a/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [in the press, my sex life was something else again. I was Lady Bountiful of the Sheets. Some of the best fiction of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-day/in-the-press-my-sex-life-was-something-else-again-i-was-lady/)

[Doris Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-day/)

> [“Short-sighted people are amorous. Sometimes just a stronger pair of glasses will cure an amorous man; and if someone had the power to imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/short-sighted-people-are-amorous-sometimes-just-a-stronger-pair-of/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Anger is like sex urge, once gratified, the inner voice calls you a stinking fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/anger-is-like-sex-urge-once-gratified-the-inner-voice-calls-you-a/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [If we feel the least degradation in being amorous, or merry or hungry, or sleepy, we are so far bad animals &amp; miserable men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/if-we-feel-the-least-degradation-in-being-amorous-or-merry-or-hungry/)

[William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/)

> [“dash me with amorous wet, i can repay you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/dash-me-with-amorous-wet-i-can-repay-you/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

> [Warhol was a prime example of a schizoid person. Maybe he had Asperger's, or maybe he was just an amorous human being on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shaw/warhol-was-a-prime-example-of-a-schizoid-person-maybe-he-had-asperger/)

[Jim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shaw/)

> [Since, though I do not repent my amorous exploits, I am far from wanting my example to contribute to the corruption of the fair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/since-though-i-do-not-repent-my-amorous-exploits-i-am-far-from/)

[Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/)

> [“The Amorous Shepherd is a fruitless interlude, but those few poems are among the world’s greatest love poems, because they’re love poems about love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lvaro-de-campos/the-amorous-shepherd-is-a-fruitless-interlude-but-those-few-poems-are/)

[Álvaro de Campos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lvaro-de-campos/)

> [“Table talk and amorous talk are equally impossible to grasp; amorous talk is all pretty bubbles, table talk, hot air.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/table-talk-and-amorous-talk-are-equally-impossible-to-grasp-amorous/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [“An amorous night is to approach a state of perfection that only two lovers can reach; you see this requires--no it demands, implores the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-serv/an-amorous-night-is-to-approach-a-state-of-perfection-that-only-two/)

[Jack Serv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-serv/)

[Browse all 64 Amorous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amorous/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“She stayed beside me until I slept, waveringly, brilliantly, hooded in diaphanous scarlet, and occasionally she left an imperative written in lipstick on my dusty windowpane. BE AMOROUS! she exhorted one night and, another night, BE MYSTERIOUS! Some nights later, she scribbled: WHEN YOU BEGIN TO THINK, YOU LOSE THE POINT.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Angela Carter"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waveringly-brilliantly-hooded-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Amorous"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waveringly-brilliantly-hooded-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/angela-carter-1237_amorous_she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waver_2176331.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/angela-carter-1237_amorous_she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waver_2176331.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e86/angela-carter-1237_amorous_she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waver_2176331.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“She stayed beside me until I slept, waveringly, brilliantly, hooded in diaphanous scarlet, and occasionally…” — Angela Carter",
                "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": "Angela Carter",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“She stayed beside me until I...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waveringly-brilliantly-hooded-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-stayed-beside-me-until-i-slept-waveringly-brilliantly-hooded-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
