--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This clockwork twin of mine halted before…" description: "\"“This clockwork twin of mine halted before me, her bowels churning out a settecento minuet, and offered me the bold carnation of her smile. Click, clic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/angela-carter-1237_mirror_this-clockwork-twin-of-mine-halted-befor_3013627.jpg" --- # This clockwork twin of mine halted before me, her bowels… ![“This clockwork twin of mine halted before me, her bowels churning out a settecento minuet, and offered me the bold carnation of her smile. Click, click--she raises her arm and busily dusts my cheeks with pink, powdered chalk that makes me cough; then thrusts towards me her little mirror.” quote by Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/angela-carter-1237_mirror_this-clockwork-twin-of-mine-halted-befor_3013627.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/angela-carter-1237_mirror_this-clockwork-twin-of-mine-halted-befor_3013627.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/angela-carter-1237_mirror_this-clockwork-twin-of-mine-halted-befor_3013627.jpg) > ““This clockwork twin of mine halted before me, her bowels churning out a settecento minuet, and offered me the bold carnation of her smile. Click, click--she raises her arm and busily dusts my cheeks with pink, powdered chalk that makes me cough; then thrusts towards me her little mirror.”” [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. A surreal, mechanical metaphor for intimacy, where the narrator confronts a strange, unsettling encounter that blends beauty with discomfort. **In simple terms:** Strange intimacy can be both alluring and unsettling. Key Takeaway Embrace the complexity of relationships. Themes intimacy surrealism mechanical Mood enigmatic artistic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - artistic creation - personal reflection Key Concepts metaphor bodily imagery Questions to Reflect On - What does the “mirror” symbolize for you? - How do you react to unsettling beauty? A Different Perspective The imagery may alienate some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clockwork Twin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clockwork-twin-4843270/) [Little Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-mirror-4843269/) [Mirror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) [Powdered Chalk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powdered-chalk-4843271/) [Twin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twin/) ## Related quotes > [It's just special to have a twin sister on the Tour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karolina-pliskova/it-s-just-special-to-have-a-twin-sister-on-the-tour/) [Karolina Pliskova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karolina-pliskova/) > [I hope my twin brother will look exactly like me but more sporty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzing-norgay/i-hope-my-twin-brother-will-look-exactly-like-me-but-more-sporty/) [Tenzing Norgay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzing-norgay/) > [To prove to you that am moving on, am going to date yo twin sister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/to-prove-to-you-that-am-moving-on-am-going-to-date-yo-twin-sister/) [Aruho Marwin Machiaveli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/) > [I wish I had a twin, so I could know what I'd look like without plastic surgery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-wish-i-had-a-twin-so-i-could-know-what-i-d-look-like-without/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [Keep calm and Love my twin!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-calm-and-love-my-twin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Things every person should have: •A nemesis. •An evil twin. •A secret headquarters. •An escape hatch. •A partner in crime. •A secret identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wil-wheaton/things-every-person-should-have-a-nemesis-an-evil-twin-a-secret/) [Wil Wheaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wil-wheaton/) > [I consider part of lower Manhattan to be hallowed ground. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in the World Trade Center towers... and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shuster/i-consider-part-of-lower-manhattan-to-be-hallowed-ground-nearly-3-000/) [David Shuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shuster/) > [Pride and weakness are Siamese twins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/pride-and-weakness-are-siamese-twins/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [I deal with the human psychology and evil. They are my twin issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/i-deal-with-the-human-psychology-and-evil-they-are-my-twin-issues/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [“She is twin-born with primal mysteries, and drinks of life at Time's forgotten source.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarojini-naidu/she-is-twin-born-with-primal-mysteries-and-drinks-of-life-at-time-s/) [Sarojini Naidu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarojini-naidu/) > [“I can't. I w-want y-you, my own fucking twin!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sage-whistler/i-can-t-i-w-want-y-you-my-own-fucking-twin/) [Sage Whistler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sage-whistler/) > [“The twins hobbled forward. "Freaks and dames and boys and things, drinks and bones and shiny rings," said the twin on the left. "Ashes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-redmerski/the-twins-hobbled-forward-freaks-and-dames-and-boys-and-things-drinks/) [J.A. Redmerski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-redmerski/) > [Vee is my un-twin. She's green-eyed, milky blond, and a few pounds over curvy. I'm a smoky-eyed brunette with volumes of curly hair that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/vee-is-my-un-twin-she-s-green-eyed-milky-blond-and-a-few-pounds-over/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [I love to be with my twins. They are my true joy in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-grace/i-love-to-be-with-my-twins-they-are-my-true-joy-in-life/) [Nancy Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-grace/) > [That's what I'll be. A silhouette, rarely seen, and yet believed in. Kaeleigh wants to believe in me. I am her twin, forever alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/that-s-what-i-ll-be-a-silhouette-rarely-seen-and-yet-believed-in-2/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) ## 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 Mirror quotes > [Hate nothing in another human being because your eyes is made looking at others but never at your own self except in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/hate-nothing-in-another-human-being-because-your-eyes-is-made-looking/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I always look in the mirror to see somthing beautiful but all I see is me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/13-yearold/i-always-look-in-the-mirror-to-see-somthing-beautiful-but-all-i-see/) [13 Yearold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/13-yearold/) > [I fell upon Jenny Saville's work and loved these great big pieces she was painting, celebrating all things flesh and woman, and with great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-fell-upon-jenny-saville-s-work-and-loved-these-great-big-pieces-she/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [I wasn't happy with my body and I knew I had to do something to make myself feel better. I was looking at myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-pivarnick/i-wasn-t-happy-with-my-body-and-i-knew-i-had-to-do-something-to-make/) [Angelina Pivarnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-pivarnick/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Our fashion for us, it's an expression; first of all of life, I put all of myself in my fashion. Sometimes it's good, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/our-fashion-for-us-it-s-an-expression-first-of-all-of-life-i-put-all/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [Think of me as a mirror. How you treat me is how I will treat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/think-of-me-as-a-mirror-how-you-treat-me-is-how-i-will-treat-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even If I Don’t See it Again Even if I don’t see it again.–nor ever feel it I know it is–and that if once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-even-if-i-don-t-see-it-again-nor-ever/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [“nations never see themselves clearly in the mirror, much less when war preys on their minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/nations-never-see-themselves-clearly-in-the-mirror-much-less-when-war/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mirror, mirror, here I stand. Who is the fairest in the land?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mirror-mirror-here-i-stand-who-is-the-fairest-in-the-land/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Maybe it begins the day you pledge allegiance, face the flag and suddenly clutch your left clavicle because you find a tender puff of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/maybe-it-begins-the-day-you-pledge-allegiance-face-the-flag-and/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [“Words are free. It does not mean you should abuse them. Be kind with them. They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [I turned back to the mirror, seeing that there were no lines on it. It was empty. "What happened to my mirror?" I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-turned-back-to-the-mirror-seeing-that-there-were-no-lines-on-it-it/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [If you long for peace, act in peace and harmony. If you want the world to change, start with the person in the mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-long-for-peace-act-in-peace-and-harmony-if-you-want-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 2,876 Mirror quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirror/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This clockwork twin of mine halted before me, her bowels churning out a settecento minuet, and offered me the bold carnation of her smile. 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