--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For time and eternity there have been…" description: "\"For time and eternity there have been fathers like Nathan who simply can see no way to have a daughter but to own her like a plot of land. To work her,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_awful_for-time-and-eternity-there-have-been-fa_1308423.jpg" --- # For time and eternity there have been fathers like Nathan… ![“For time and eternity there have been fathers like Nathan who simply can see no way to have a daughter but to own her like a plot of land. To work her, plow her under, rain down a dreadful poison upon her. Miraculously, it causes these girls to grow. They elongate on the pale slender stalks of…” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_awful_for-time-and-eternity-there-have-been-fa_1308423.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_awful_for-time-and-eternity-there-have-been-fa_1308423.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/barbara-kingsolver-200_awful_for-time-and-eternity-there-have-been-fa_1308423.jpg) > “For time and eternity there have been fathers like Nathan who simply can see no way to have a daughter but to own her like a plot of land. To work her, plow her under, rain down a dreadful poison upon her. Miraculously, it causes these girls to grow. They elongate on the pale slender stalks of their longing, like sunflowers with heavy heads. You can shield them with your body and soul, trying to absorb that awful rain, but they'll still move toward him. Without cease they'll bend to his light.” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Women are treated as property, exploited and harmed, yet they endure and grow despite oppression. **In simple terms:** Women are oppressed but survive. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist exploitation of women. Themes oppression gender resilience growth Mood somber reflective Type literary social commentary When to use this quote - family dynamics - social justice activism - personal empowerment Key Concepts patriarchy survival agency Questions to Reflect On - How does societal pressure shape women's choices? - What can be done to protect vulnerable women? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex gender relations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Causes Girls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes-girls-4320952/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathers/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Girls Grow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girls-grow-467694/) [Grows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grows/) [Heavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heavy/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Like Sunflowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sunflowers-1773899/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Pale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pale/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Poison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poison/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shields/) [Slender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slender/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Stalking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalking/) [Stalks Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stalks-longing-4320951/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Sunflower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunflower/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/attention-shifted-to-him-like-sunflowers-turning-to-the-sun/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Bibliotropic," Hugh said. "Like sunflowers are heliotropic, they naturally turn towards the sun. We naturally turn towards the bookshop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/bibliotropic-hugh-said-like-sunflowers-are-heliotropic-they-naturally/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“Like sunflowers, no matter where they are planted turn towards the sun, I too began turning in the direction that nourished me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalah-delia/like-sunflowers-no-matter-where-they-are-planted-turn-towards-the-sun/) [Lalah Delia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalah-delia/) > [“Another voice rages. I hate that boy! I hate me! I am so incredibly stupid! A sunflower leans over the fence, smiling How dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-condon/another-voice-rages-i-hate-that-boy-i-hate-me-i-am-so-incredibly/) [Bill Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-condon/) > [“Little girls grow up to be women, little boys grow up to be little boys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/little-girls-grow-up-to-be-women-little-boys-grow-up-to-be-little-boys/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I think that it's our responsibility to create a world in which girls can grow up and not have to limit their dreams or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-think-that-it-s-our-responsibility-to-create-a-world-in-which-girls/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [My girls had to grow up quick because of everything we've been through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-giudice/my-girls-had-to-grow-up-quick-because-of-everything-we-ve-been-through/) [Teresa Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-giudice/) > [When I was growing up, you didn't know there was a women's national team. Now girls grow up dreaming of playing for Canada.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-sinclair/when-i-was-growing-up-you-didn-t-know-there-was-a-women-s-national/) [Christine Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-sinclair/) > [I'd never been a tall guy, and the girls I'd dated had all been my height--teenaged girls grow faster than guys, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/i-d-never-been-a-tall-guy-and-the-girls-i-d-dated-had-all-been-my/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“So there it is: Boys and girls grow up in different worlds, but we think we're in the same one, so we judge each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/so-there-it-is-boys-and-girls-grow-up-in-different-worlds-but-we/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [As girls grow up and download what it means to be a culturally acceptable 'good girl,' they learn to please others at the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simmons/as-girls-grow-up-and-download-what-it-means-to-be-a-culturally/) [Rachel Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simmons/) > [I want to encourage other young girls not to grow up too soon. Just enjoy the now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bindi-irwin/i-want-to-encourage-other-young-girls-not-to-grow-up-too-soon-just/) [Bindi Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bindi-irwin/) > [Why did the little girls grow crippled While the little boys grow strong The boys allowed to come of age The girls just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/why-did-the-little-girls-grow-crippled-while-the-little-boys-grow/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [I want my girls to grow up learning that it is important their mum worked like a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/i-want-my-girls-to-grow-up-learning-that-it-is-important-their-mum/) [Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/) > [We ask these young girls to grow up too fast. In the society where they grow up, they are asked to grow up too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimouna-doucoure/we-ask-these-young-girls-to-grow-up-too-fast-in-the-society-where/) [Maimouna Doucoure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimouna-doucoure/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Awful quotes > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. "I have wanted to, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/layla-brought-her-arms-around-herself-no-doubt-because-she-was/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [You've seen the first issue and what happened in the last page. Some pretty awful stuff. I don't know why I seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-shalvey/you-ve-seen-the-first-issue-and-what-happened-in-the-last-page-some/) [Declan Shalvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-shalvey/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There was a special challenge in describing the awful childhood of a person who happens to be my own husband. It was very painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/there-was-a-special-challenge-in-describing-the-awful-childhood-of-a/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [On balance the moral influence of religion has been awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/on-balance-the-moral-influence-of-religion-has-been-awful/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [Fascism: awful stench of saw and axe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/fascism-awful-stench-of-saw-and-axe/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [No one with a bad tie is getting my vote. Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/no-one-with-a-bad-tie-is-getting-my-vote-some-lib-dems-wear-the-most/) [Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/) > [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“I am awful. I am heartless. I am scared that these things are actually true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-awful-i-am-heartless-i-am-scared-that-these-things-are-actually/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-an-awful-way-to-run-a-country-but-it-s-the-best-system/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Browse all 1,826 Awful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For time and eternity there have been fathers like Nathan who simply can see no way to have a daughter but to own her like a plot of land. To work her, plow her under, rain down a dreadful poison upon her. Miraculously, it causes these girls to grow. They elongate on the pale slender stalks of their longing, like sunflowers with heavy heads. You can shield them with your body and soul, trying to absorb that awful rain, but they'll still move toward him. 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