--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...she stood back and wiped the…" description: "\"“...she stood back and wiped the sweat-sting from her eyes. The air was clean. Her hands brown with dirt. Pride surged through her, raw and immense; sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd1/anthony-marra-7171_grief_she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting_547291.png" --- # ...she stood back and wiped the sweat-sting from her eyes… ![“...she stood back and wiped the sweat-sting from her eyes. The air was clean. Her hands brown with dirt. Pride surged through her, raw and immense; she had believed happiness to be an absence - of fear, of pain, of grief - but here it roared in her as powerful as any sadness.” quote by Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd1/anthony-marra-7171_grief_she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting_547291.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd1/anthony-marra-7171_grief_she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting_547291.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd1/anthony-marra-7171_grief_she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting_547291.png) > ““...she stood back and wiped the sweat-sting from her eyes. The air was clean. Her hands brown with dirt. Pride surged through her, raw and immense; she had believed happiness to be an absence - of fear, of pain, of grief - but here it roared in her as powerful as any sadness.”” [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness is portrayed as an active, powerful force that coexists with sorrow, not merely the lack of negative emotions. **In simple terms:** Happiness is active, not just absence of pain. Key Takeaway Recognize joy amid hardship. Themes joy pain resilience human spirit Mood hopeful intense Type literary emotional When to use this quote - war trauma - personal growth - overcoming adversity Key Concepts psychology emotional complexity Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to feel joy in suffering? - How can we nurture such joy? A Different Perspective Joy can be fleeting and hard to sustain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believed Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-happiness-4563773/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief Roared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-roared-4563772/) [Powerful Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-sadness-684180/) [Pride Surged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride-surged-4563774/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Wiped Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wiped-sweat-3316380/) ## Related quotes > [I was full of a hot, powerful sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-was-full-of-a-hot-powerful-sadness-and-would-have-loved-to-burst/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“He wiped the sweat from his face on his sleeve, squared his shoulders, and strode back into the fray. All there was to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/he-wiped-the-sweat-from-his-face-on-his-sleeve-squared-his-shoulders/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I've always believed that happiness is just around the corner. The trick is fining the right corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/i-ve-always-believed-that-happiness-is-just-around-the-corner-the/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [I never even believed in happiness. I didn't think it existed. Now look at me. I'm ready to believe in just about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-never-even-believed-in-happiness-i-didn-t-think-it-existed-now-look/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Now, Nikolas was a happy boy. Well, actually, no. He would have told you he was happy, if you asked him, and he certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/now-nikolas-was-a-happy-boy-well-actually-no-he-would-have-told-you/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [But I saw the pain and sadness in everything, and swirled it round my mouth like a fine wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/but-i-saw-the-pain-and-sadness-in-everything-and-swirled-it-round-my/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [Got those moods a swinging, tears a slinging, nothing fits me, when it hits me, ranting, raving, misbehaving, PMS blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/got-those-moods-a-swinging-tears-a-slinging-nothing-fits-me-when-it/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [One must not let oneself be overwhelmed by sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-must-not-let-oneself-be-overwhelmed-by-sadness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) [Kirsten Gilchrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-gilchrist/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-abbott/she-searched-her-mind-for-a-single-day-when-it-had-felt-good-to-be/) [Rachel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-abbott/) > [Every man has his secret sadness and sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-has-his-secret-sadness-and-sorrows-which-the-world-knows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) ## More by Anthony Marra > [“Carrying that lumber the forty meters from the forest had left his knuckles blistered, his underarms sopping, but now a few hours of flames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/carrying-that-lumber-the-forty-meters-from-the-forest-had-left-his/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“The previous night, for the first time in a long time, he had felt whole, and his eyes returned to the rearview, where his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/the-previous-night-for-the-first-time-in-a-long-time-he-had-felt/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“At the kitchen table she examined the glass of ice. Each cube was rounded by room temperature, dissolving in its own remains, and belatedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/at-the-kitchen-table-she-examined-the-glass-of-ice-each-cube-was/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“There was no one left to say whom you could love. p.294”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/there-was-no-one-left-to-say-whom-you-could-love-p-294/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [We twist our souls around each other’s miseries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/we-twist-our-souls-around-each-other-s-miseries/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“The television dramas we grew up on, stories of star-crossed lovers, stories of love overcoming all obstacles, well, they’re all fairy tales, obviously, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/the-television-dramas-we-grew-up-on-stories-of-star-crossed-lovers/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“He had always tried to treat Havaa as a child and she always went along with it, as though childhood and innocence were fantastical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/he-had-always-tried-to-treat-havaa-as-a-child-and-she-always-went/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“He asked them to close their eyes, and hoped their mouths would follow suit.” p. 137”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/he-asked-them-to-close-their-eyes-and-hoped-their-mouths-would-follow/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Don't insult me. Everyone knows a turtle is a crustacean on its mother's side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/don-t-insult-me-everyone-knows-a-turtle-is-a-crustacean-on-its-mother/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Those smooth, spit-cleaned cheeks gave no indication of the dreams crowding her skull. Should she make it to adulthood, the girl would arrive with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/those-smooth-spit-cleaned-cheeks-gave-no-indication-of-the-dreams/) [anthony marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“In all likelihood, Sonja had more academic journal subscriptions than friends. She could explain advanced calculus to her fifth-form algebra teacher but couldn't tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/in-all-likelihood-sonja-had-more-academic-journal-subscriptions-than/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Even after Sonja graduated secondary school at the top of her class and matriculated to the city university biology department, their parents found more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/even-after-sonja-graduated-secondary-school-at-the-top-of-her-class/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“He was losing her incrementally...As a web is no more than holes woven together, they were bonded by what was no longer there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/he-was-losing-her-incrementally-as-a-web-is-no-more-than-holes-woven/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“Too young to explain in words, the girl's face was old enough to show the loss that was that name.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/too-young-to-explain-in-words-the-girl-s-face-was-old-enough-to-show/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [“A lizard fucks a crab and nine months later a turtle pops out. It's called evolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/a-lizard-fucks-a-crab-and-nine-months-later-a-turtle-pops-out-it-s/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) [Explore all 94 Anthony Marra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...she stood back and wiped the sweat-sting from her eyes. The air was clean. Her hands brown with dirt. Pride surged through her, raw and immense; she had believed happiness to be an absence - of fear, of pain, of grief - but here it roared in her as powerful as any sadness.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Marra" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting-from-her-eyes-the-air-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Grief" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting-from-her-eyes-the-air-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd1/anthony-marra-7171_grief_she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting_547291.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd1/anthony-marra-7171_grief_she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting_547291.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd1/anthony-marra-7171_grief_she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting_547291.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...she stood back and wiped the sweat-sting from her eyes. The air was clean. Her hands brown with dirt…” — Anthony Marra", "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": "Anthony Marra", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...she stood back and wiped the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting-from-her-eyes-the-air-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/she-stood-back-and-wiped-the-sweat-sting-from-her-eyes-the-air-was/#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 } } ] } ```