--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The men, her husband and sons, leave for…" description: "\"“The men, her husband and sons, leave for the quarry at seven o'clock sharp and return at five. What do they imagine she does all day? It makes her shi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d82/carol-shields-9916_indolence_the-men-her-husband-and-sons-leave-for-t_2521022.jpg" --- # The men, her husband and sons, leave for the quarry at… ![“The men, her husband and sons, leave for the quarry at seven o'clock sharp and return at five. What do they imagine she does all day? It makes her shiver to think of it, how not one pair of eyes can see through the roof and walls of her house and regard her as she moves through her dreamlike days…” quote by Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d82/carol-shields-9916_indolence_the-men-her-husband-and-sons-leave-for-t_2521022.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d82/carol-shields-9916_indolence_the-men-her-husband-and-sons-leave-for-t_2521022.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d82/carol-shields-9916_indolence_the-men-her-husband-and-sons-leave-for-t_2521022.jpg) > ““The men, her husband and sons, leave for the quarry at seven o'clock sharp and return at five. What do they imagine she does all day? It makes her shiver to think of it, how not one pair of eyes can see through the roof and walls of her house and regard her as she moves through her dreamlike days, bargaining from minute to minute with indolence, that tempter.”” [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She imagines others' assumptions about her idle life, feeling unseen and judged. **In simple terms:** Feeling invisible and judged by others. Key Takeaway Seek authentic self beyond others' expectations. Themes invisibility judgment identity Mood thoughtful melancholic Type narrative psychological When to use this quote - daily routine - family dynamics - gender roles Key Concepts social perception self-worth Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you make about others? - How can you assert your own narrative? A Different Perspective Assumptions can distort reality, leading to self-doubt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Invisibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisibility/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) ## Related quotes > [“Usipobadilisha maisha yako maisha yako yatakubadilisha.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/usipobadilisha-maisha-yako-maisha-yako-yatakubadilisha/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [“For how long would I be trapped in the condition of melancholy without going insane?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neda-aria/for-how-long-would-i-be-trapped-in-the-condition-of-melancholy/) [Neda Aria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neda-aria/) > [“But the way an eloi has to darken her eyelashes every morning, cover her skin with colored cream, powder her nose and forehead all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-sinisalo/but-the-way-an-eloi-has-to-darken-her-eyelashes-every-morning-cover/) [Johanna Sinisalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-sinisalo/) > [“Move well, study well, play well, eat well, rest well - That is the turtle master way!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-toriyama/move-well-study-well-play-well-eat-well-rest-well-that-is-the-turtle/) [Akira Toriyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-toriyama/) > [“Happy people do not wake up for breakfast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tetiana-liubetska/happy-people-do-not-wake-up-for-breakfast/) Tetiana Liubetska > [“Lauren: Hey. Um. This is kind of a weird - but do you ever wonder how many times your life is gonna end? A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/lauren-hey-um-this-is-kind-of-a-weird-but-do-you-ever-wonder-how-many/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [“William had to be at his office at eight, so his mother got up at seven o' clock to prepare him. He was usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/william-had-to-be-at-his-office-at-eight-so-his-mother-got-up-at/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Tuesdays and Thursdays, I didn't do any press, I didn't do any meetings, I just wrote all day, 'cause I'd meet, via Skype, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/tuesdays-and-thursdays-i-didn-t-do-any-press-i-didn-t-do-any-meetings/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [I like to know where I'm going to be at seven o'clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-martin/i-like-to-know-where-i-m-going-to-be-at-seven-o-clock/) [Andrea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-martin/) > [Eat only when you are hungry-not because it is one o'clock or seven o'clock or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/eat-only-when-you-are-hungry-not-because-it-is-one-o-clock-or-seven-o/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [So far as I know, anything worth hearing is not usually uttered at seven o'clock in the morning; and if it is, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moss-hart/so-far-as-i-know-anything-worth-hearing-is-not-usually-uttered-at/) [Moss Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moss-hart/) > [Wars might come and go, but the seven o'clock news lives forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-h-lapham/wars-might-come-and-go-but-the-seven-o-clock-news-lives-forever/) [Lewis H. Lapham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-h-lapham/) > [Freedom is when one hears the bell at seven o'clock in the morning and knows it is the milkman and not the Gestapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bidault/freedom-is-when-one-hears-the-bell-at-seven-o-clock-in-the-morning/) [Georges Bidault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bidault/) > [On Saturday morning I rise at about seven o'clock and start thinking about the day ahead and perhaps make a short list of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-fitzgerald/on-saturday-morning-i-rise-at-about-seven-o-clock-and-start-thinking/) [Tara Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-fitzgerald/) > [It's seven o' clock nn the dot, I'm in my drop top cruisin the streets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usher/it-s-seven-o-clock-nn-the-dot-i-m-in-my-drop-top-cruisin-the-streets/) [Usher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usher/) ## More by Carol Shields > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“He wondered exactly how lost a person could get. Lost at sea, lost in the woods. Fatally lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/he-wondered-exactly-how-lost-a-person-could-get-lost-at-sea-lost-in/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Dorrie gave Larry's hand an excited, distracted squeeze that said: almost home. They were about to be matter-of-factly claimed by familiar streets and houses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dorrie-gave-larry-s-hand-an-excited-distracted-squeeze-that-said/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“…it's occurred to her that there are millions, billions, of other men and women in the world who wake up early in their separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/it-s-occurred-to-her-that-there-are-millions-billions-of-other-men/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [nothing she did or said was quite what she meant but still her life could be called a monument shaped in a slant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/nothing-she-did-or-said-was-quite-what-she-meant-but-still-her-life/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [So this is where the years of maturity deliver us - to this needy, selfish, unwieldy wish to be somebody else's first and primal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/so-this-is-where-the-years-of-maturity-deliver-us-to-this-needy/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [In a long and healthy life, which is what most of us have, there is plenty of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/in-a-long-and-healthy-life-which-is-what-most-of-us-have-there-is/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“This was during a period in my reading life when I was given to understand that "relating" to the fictional characters or situation was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/this-was-during-a-period-in-my-reading-life-when-i-was-given-to/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [Open a book this minute and start reading. Don’t move until you’ve reached page fifty. Until you’ve buried your thoughts in print. Cover yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/open-a-book-this-minute-and-start-reading-don-t-move-until-you-ve/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [A woman's life isn't worth a plateful of cabbage if she hasn't felt life stir under her heart. Taking a little one to nurse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/a-woman-s-life-isn-t-worth-a-plateful-of-cabbage-if-she-hasn-t-felt/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“I won't even mention the swift, transitory reward of lemon spray wax. Danielle Westerman and I have discussed the matter of housework. Not surprisingly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/i-won-t-even-mention-the-swift-transitory-reward-of-lemon-spray-wax/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“A Canadian journalist named Pinky Fulham was killed when a soft drinks vending machine overturned, crushing him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/a-canadian-journalist-named-pinky-fulham-was-killed-when-a-soft/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Men, it seemed to me in those days, were uniquely honored by the stories that erupted in their lives, whereas women were more likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/men-it-seemed-to-me-in-those-days-were-uniquely-honored-by-the/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [Bookish people, who are often maladroit people, persist in thinking they can master any subtlety so long as it's been shaped into acceptable expository…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/bookish-people-who-are-often-maladroit-people-persist-in-thinking/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Safety was one thing, but what he really wanted was to be electrified, to be wounded, to be cast into the wilderness, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/safety-was-one-thing-but-what-he-really-wanted-was-to-be-electrified/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) [Explore all 67 Carol Shields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) ## More Indolence quotes > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The critic is a man who prefers the indolence of opinion to the trials of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/the-critic-is-a-man-who-prefers-the-indolence-of-opinion-to-the/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [To will the impossible is usually a sin of indolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-lewald/to-will-the-impossible-is-usually-a-sin-of-indolence/) Fanny Lewald > [“A sloppy half-Windsor is the first symptom of serial indolence' she replied in the patronizing voice that Yellows reserved for Rule-breakers, 'and ignoring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/a-sloppy-half-windsor-is-the-first-symptom-of-serial-indolence-she/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“A man must find his occasions in himself, it is true. The natural day is very calm, and will hardly reprove his indolence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-must-find-his-occasions-in-himself-it-is-true-the-natural-day/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The love of indolence is universal, or next to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-love-of-indolence-is-universal-or-next-to-it/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [To an active mind, indolence is more painful than labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/to-an-active-mind-indolence-is-more-painful-than-labor/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [It is not error which opposes the progress of truth; it is indolence, obstinacy, the spirit of routine, every thing which favors inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/it-is-not-error-which-opposes-the-progress-of-truth-it-is-indolence/) [Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robert-jacques-turgot-baron-de-laune/) > [“You despise books; you whose lives are absorbed in the vanities of ambition, the pursuit of pleasure or indolence; but remember that all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/you-despise-books-you-whose-lives-are-absorbed-in-the-vanities-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [I suppose that there is no point wasting time being lazy, though of course indolence in a divine way, actually has its advantages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-suppose-that-there-is-no-point-wasting-time-being-lazy-though-of/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Indolence is the dry rot of even a good mind and a good character; the practical uselessness of both. It is the waste of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/indolence-is-the-dry-rot-of-even-a-good-mind-and-a-good-character-the/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [Pain, indolence, sterility, endless ennui have also their lesson for you, if you are great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/pain-indolence-sterility-endless-ennui-have-also-their-lesson-for-you/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) Browse all 169 Indolence quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The men, her husband and sons, leave for the quarry at seven o'clock sharp and return at five. What do they imagine she does all day? 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