--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: stayed with her, that she would think…" description: "\"“stayed with her, that she would think, even for an instant, of not shooting her father as failing him”\" — Ann Patchett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/ann-patchett-670_father_stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-eve_532608.jpg" --- # stayed with her, that she would think, even for an… ![“stayed with her, that she would think, even for an instant, of not shooting her father as failing him” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/ann-patchett-670_father_stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-eve_532608.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/ann-patchett-670_father_stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-eve_532608.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/ann-patchett-670_father_stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-eve_532608.jpg) > ““stayed with her, that she would think, even for an instant, of not shooting her father as failing him”” [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## 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 contemplates the moral weight of killing a parent, even fleetingly, highlighting internal conflict over duty and love. **In simple terms:** She worries about harming her father despite duty. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront moral doubts early. Themes morality family conflict Mood anxious reflective Type literary dramatic When to use this quote - family crisis - ethical decision making - personal reflection Key Concepts ethical dilemma parental duty Questions to Reflect On - What values guide your toughest decisions? - How do you reconcile love with duty? A Different Perspective Moral choices are rarely clear‑cut and can haunt us. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Failing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-failing-1529071/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Shooting Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shooting-father-4470394/) [Stayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stayed/) [Stayed Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stayed-think-4470393/) ## Related quotes > [When you spend so much time trying to father well, and failing, and trying again, and hopefully failing better, it's going to seep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-kesey/when-you-spend-so-much-time-trying-to-father-well-and-failing-and/) [Roy Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-kesey/) > [Something settiled inside me, something heavy and hard. 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I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neon-hitch/i-didn-t-go-to-school-because-i-never-stayed-anywhere-long-enough-so/) [Neon Hitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neon-hitch/) > [My first job was in a nursing home - a terrible place in retrospect. It was in an old house, and the residents were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-edwards/my-first-job-was-in-a-nursing-home-a-terrible-place-in-retrospect-it/) [Kim Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-edwards/) > [“Why did you stay?" He stilled; again, Patience felt the net draw tight, felt paralysis set in as his predator's senses focused on her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-laurens/why-did-you-stay-he-stilled-again-patience-felt-the-net-draw-tight/) [Stephanie Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-laurens/) > [When you go somewhere like Kenya and you see how the children don't have pencils and pens, and all of these things are considered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomie-harris/when-you-go-somewhere-like-kenya-and-you-see-how-the-children-don-t/) [Naomie Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomie-harris/) > [I stayed in the astronaut program until 1993. People ask me why I left. I thought I had a lot of things to contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-stayed-in-the-astronaut-program-until-1993-people-ask-me-why-i-left/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [I stayed true to what I thought was good design no matter who it was for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-graves/i-stayed-true-to-what-i-thought-was-good-design-no-matter-who-it-was/) [Michael Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-graves/) > [If I stayed in this game for individual achievements, I don't think I'd still be playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chili-davis/if-i-stayed-in-this-game-for-individual-achievements-i-don-t-think-i/) [Chili Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chili-davis/) > [Its not a suprise I wont be here tommorrow, I cant believe that I stayed till today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/its-not-a-suprise-i-wont-be-here-tommorrow-i-cant-believe-that-i/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience/) > [“The best thing, though, in that museum was that everything always stayed right where it was… The only thing that would be different would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/the-best-thing-though-in-that-museum-was-that-everything-always/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) ## More by Ann Patchett > [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) [Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“stayed with her, that she would think, even for an instant, of not shooting her father as failing him”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Patchett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-even-for-an-instant-of-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-even-for-an-instant-of-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/ann-patchett-670_father_stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-eve_532608.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/ann-patchett-670_father_stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-eve_532608.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b74/ann-patchett-670_father_stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-eve_532608.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“stayed with her, that she would think, even for an instant, of not shooting her father as failing him” — Ann Patchett", "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": "Ann Patchett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“stayed with her, that she would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-even-for-an-instant-of-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/stayed-with-her-that-she-would-think-even-for-an-instant-of-not/#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 } } ] } ```