--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With that, the poignant charm vanished…" description: "\"With that, the poignant charm vanished. Inside the fifth machine, all was rampant malignity. Deformed flowers thrust monstrous horned tusks and trumpet..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/angela-carter-1237_arms_with-that-the-poignant-charm-vanished-in_1126881.jpg" --- # With that, the poignant charm vanished. Inside the fifth… ![“With that, the poignant charm vanished. Inside the fifth machine, all was rampant malignity. Deformed flowers thrust monstrous horned tusks and trumpets ending in blaring teeth through the crimson walls, rending them; the ravenous garden slavered over its prey and every brick was shown in the act…” quote by Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/angela-carter-1237_arms_with-that-the-poignant-charm-vanished-in_1126881.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/angela-carter-1237_arms_with-that-the-poignant-charm-vanished-in_1126881.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6b/angela-carter-1237_arms_with-that-the-poignant-charm-vanished-in_1126881.jpg) > “With that, the poignant charm vanished. Inside the fifth machine, all was rampant malignity. Deformed flowers thrust monstrous horned tusks and trumpets ending in blaring teeth through the crimson walls, rending them; the ravenous garden slavered over its prey and every brick was shown in the act of falling. Amid the violence of this transformation, the oblivion of the embrace went on. The awakened girl, in all her youthful loveliness, still clasped in the arms of a lover from whom all the flesh had fallen. He was a grinning skeleton.” [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 vivid, grotesque scene of decay and violence where beauty and horror intertwine, showing how love persists amid destruction. **In simple terms:** Beauty and horror coexist; love endures. Key Takeaway Notice love in chaos. Themes decay violence love beauty Mood dark intense poetic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - reading gothic literature - analyzing symbolism - creative writing - artistic inspiration Key Concepts Gothic surrealism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does love survive in ruin? - What does the skeleton lover represent? A Different Perspective The imagery may overwhelm, obscuring subtle themes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Bricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bricks/) [Charm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charm/) [Charm Vanished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charm-vanished-3075883/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Crimson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crimson/) [Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Fallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallen/) [Fifth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifth/) [Fifth Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fifth-machine-3075886/) [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Flesh Fallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh-fallen-3075884/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Grinning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grinning/) [Loveliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loveliness/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion/) [Oblivion Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion-embrace-3075882/) [Poignant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poignant/) [Prey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prey/) [Skeletons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skeletons/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth/) [Transformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation/) [Transformation Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transformation-oblivion-3075885/) [Trumpets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trumpets/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [I had the brief notion that his heart, pressed flat as a flower, crimson and thin as tissue paper, lay in this file. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/i-had-the-brief-notion-that-his-heart-pressed-flat-as-a-flower/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [The Sick Rose O Rose, thou art sick. The invisible worm That flies in the night In the howling storm Has found out thy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-sick-rose-o-rose-thou-art-sick-the-invisible-worm-that-flies-in/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Alaska and Montana are not in the south but they definitely form part of the crimson tide of red states where Republicans are dominant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-williams/alaska-and-montana-are-not-in-the-south-but-they-definitely-form-part/) [Juan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-williams/) > [The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-seasons-alter-hoary-headed-frosts-fall-in-the-fresh-lap-of-the/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [We thread our way through a moving forest of ice-cream cones and crimson thighs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dominique-bauby/we-thread-our-way-through-a-moving-forest-of-ice-cream-cones-and/) [Jean-Dominique Bauby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dominique-bauby/) > [I'll plant and water, sow and weed, Till not an inch of earth shows brown, And take a vow of each small seed To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-nesbit/i-ll-plant-and-water-sow-and-weed-till-not-an-inch-of-earth-shows/) [E. Nesbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-nesbit/) > [“Crimson the cuts in the carcass, Fast falls the foe, Dauntless devout defender, Bravest of boys . . .’ Not really a boy anymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/crimson-the-cuts-in-the-carcass-fast-falls-the-foe-dauntless-devout/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Pop just didn't have enough substance for me. All this nyah-nyah-nyah, you know, 'Paper Tiger' and 'Hold the Ladder, James' and 'Crimson and Clover.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-allman/pop-just-didn-t-have-enough-substance-for-me-all-this-nyah-nyah-nyah/) [Gregg Allman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-allman/) > [Touring with King Crimson wasn't a lot of fun for me. I had a lot of equipment, and when I was in improvised music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-muir/touring-with-king-crimson-wasn-t-a-lot-of-fun-for-me-i-had-a-lot-of/) [Jamie Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-muir/) > [There were crimson roses on the bench; they looked like splashes of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/there-were-crimson-roses-on-the-bench-they-looked-like-splashes-of/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > ['Crimson' is written in a very particular style, and it's very precise in the way it graduates into a gothic romance. The souls that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/crimson-is-written-in-a-very-particular-style-and-it-s-very-precise/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [It is the sense of unfamiliar envelopment that is impressive, whether in the living grays of hoarfrost, the crimson of the heavens at sunset,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-j-phillips/it-is-the-sense-of-unfamiliar-envelopment-that-is-impressive-whether/) [Walter J. Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-j-phillips/) > [So if big enough droplets fell far enough fast enough, someone floating right near the metallic hydrogen layer inside Jupiter maybe, just maybe, could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-kean/so-if-big-enough-droplets-fell-far-enough-fast-enough-someone/) [Sam Kean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-kean/) > [Cookbooks, it should be stressed, do not belong in the kitchen at all. We keep them there for the sake of appearances; occasionally, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/cookbooks-it-should-be-stressed-do-not-belong-in-the-kitchen-at-all/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry - are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/bright-reds-scarlet-pillar-box-red-crimson-or-cherry-are-very/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) ## 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 Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [It's been a long time since I asked anything of heaven, and my arms still haven't come down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-asked-anything-of-heaven-and-my-arms/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [How shall freedom be defended? By arms when it is attacked by arms, by truth when it is attacked by lies, by faith when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/how-shall-freedom-be-defended-by-arms-when-it-is-attacked-by-arms-by/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. I already know why you like me.' 'You do, huh?' 'Yep.' He wrapped his arms around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/you-don-t-have-to-say-it-out-loud-i-already-know-why-you-like-me-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Another step had her backed up against the wall, and he braced his arms on both sides of her. "I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) [Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With that, the poignant charm vanished. Inside the fifth machine, all was rampant malignity. Deformed flowers thrust monstrous horned tusks and trumpets ending in blaring teeth through the crimson walls, rending them; the ravenous garden slavered over its prey and every brick was shown in the act of falling. Amid the violence of this transformation, the oblivion of the embrace went on. The awakened girl, in all her youthful loveliness, still clasped in the arms of a lover from whom all the flesh had fallen. 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