---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He didn’t even look at Lizzie, just…"
description: "\"“He didn’t even look at Lizzie, just stared at Emily, his cold blue eyes filled with such contempt she feared she might cry.”\" — Bev Pettersen"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/bev-pettersen-55183_contempt_he-didn-t-even-look-at-lizzie-just-stare_2315742.jpg"
---

#  He didn’t even look at Lizzie, just stared at Emily, his…

![“He didn’t even look at Lizzie, just stared at Emily, his cold blue eyes filled with such contempt she feared she might cry.” quote by Bev Pettersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/bev-pettersen-55183_contempt_he-didn-t-even-look-at-lizzie-just-stare_2315742.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/bev-pettersen-55183_contempt_he-didn-t-even-look-at-lizzie-just-stare_2315742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/bev-pettersen-55183_contempt_he-didn-t-even-look-at-lizzie-just-stare_2315742.jpg)

> ““He didn’t even look at Lizzie, just stared at Emily, his cold blue eyes filled with such contempt she feared she might cry.””

[Bev Pettersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bev-pettersen/)

## 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's contempt is so intense it evokes empathy, showing how cruelty can elicit sorrow.

**In simple terms:** Contempt caused fear and tears.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the pain of cruelty.

Themes

empathy contempt emotional intensity

Mood

somber intense

Type

literary character study

When to use this quote

- conflict resolution
- writing
- therapy

Key Concepts

psychology of hatred character analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- How does contempt affect relationships?
- Can empathy soften contempt?

A Different Perspective

Contempt may be misread as strength.

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[Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/)

## Related quotes

> [“As painful as it is to receive contempt from another, it is more debilitating by far to be filled with contempt for another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arbinger-institute/as-painful-as-it-is-to-receive-contempt-from-another-it-is-more/)

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> [Every person of any rank in the left, from voter on up to cabinet member to elected official in the Democrat Party, has contempt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-person-of-any-rank-in-the-left-from-voter-on-up-to-cabinet/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

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[Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/)

> [Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/contempt-for-an-assailant-is-best-shown-by-bravery-in-action/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [Much of the same sort of degraded and filthy talk can still be heard among the orc-minded; dreary and repetitive with hatred and contempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/much-of-the-same-sort-of-degraded-and-filthy-talk-can-still-be-heard/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/)

[Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/)

> [Somebody once told me that if you laugh at a George Bush joke, or you send an email cartoon to your friends that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ramis/somebody-once-told-me-that-if-you-laugh-at-a-george-bush-joke-or-you/)

[Harold Ramis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-ramis/)

> [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [There is no real elevation of mind in a contempt of little things; it is, on the contrary, from too narrow views that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-no-real-elevation-of-mind-in-a-contempt-of-little-things-it/)

[Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/)

> [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

> [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/)

[Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/)

> [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

## More by Bev Pettersen

> [“The mouth-watering smell of bacon wafted from the dining tent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bev-pettersen/the-mouth-watering-smell-of-bacon-wafted-from-the-dining-tent/)

[Bev Pettersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bev-pettersen/)

> [“You okay? the voice above her repeated. Julie squeezed her eyes shut, unable to answer the man's simple question. Was she okay? No, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bev-pettersen/you-okay-the-voice-above-her-repeated-julie-squeezed-her-eyes-shut/)

[Bev Pettersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bev-pettersen/)

> [“Difficult trainers were the ones most willing to take a chance with a green jockey, and Bill Chandler was a prince compared to Otto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bev-pettersen/difficult-trainers-were-the-ones-most-willing-to-take-a-chance-with-a/)

[Bev Pettersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bev-pettersen/)

> [“she’d wanted to crawl beneath a rock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bev-pettersen/she-d-wanted-to-crawl-beneath-a-rock/)

[Bev Pettersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bev-pettersen/)

> [“But even at the lowest level, I think the trainers worry as much, and the horses want to win as much, and the workers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bev-pettersen/but-even-at-the-lowest-level-i-think-the-trainers-worry-as-much-and/)

[Bev Pettersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bev-pettersen/)

[Explore all 6 Bev Pettersen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bev-pettersen/)

## More Contempt quotes

> [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/)

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> [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/)

[Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/)

> [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/)

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> [Unless a man gives himself entirely to the Cross, in a spirit of humility and self-abasement; unless he casts himself down to be trampled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-the-evangelist/unless-a-man-gives-himself-entirely-to-the-cross-in-a-spirit-of/)

[Mark the Evangelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-the-evangelist/)

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[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [Contempt for an assailant is best shown by bravery in action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/contempt-for-an-assailant-is-best-shown-by-bravery-in-action/)

[Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/)

> [Statuettes of drunken sailors, velvet pictures of island maidens, plastic seashell lamps made in Taiwan. What contempt the people who think up souvenirs have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/statuettes-of-drunken-sailors-velvet-pictures-of-island-maidens/)

[Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/)

> [Every person of any rank in the left, from voter on up to cabinet member to elected official in the Democrat Party, has contempt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/every-person-of-any-rank-in-the-left-from-voter-on-up-to-cabinet/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/)

[Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/)

> [“opprobrious term, employed to impose contempt upon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jabari-asim/opprobrious-term-employed-to-impose-contempt-upon/)

[Jabari Asim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jabari-asim/)

> [Heterosexual intercourse is the pure, formalized expression of contempt for women's bodies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/heterosexual-intercourse-is-the-pure-formalized-expression-of/)

[Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/)

[Browse all 1,034 Contempt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/)

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