--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mick frowned and rubbed her fist hard…" description: "\"“Mick frowned and rubbed her fist hard across her forehead. That was the way things were. It was like she was mad all the time. Not how a kid gets mad ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carson-mccullers-1694_like-mad_mick-frowned-and-rubbed-her-fist-hard-ac_2553033.png" --- # Mick frowned and rubbed her fist hard across her forehead… ![“Mick frowned and rubbed her fist hard across her forehead. That was the way things were. It was like she was mad all the time. Not how a kid gets mad quick so that soon it is all over--but in another way. Only there was nothing to be mad at. Unless the store. But the store hadn't asked her to take…” quote by Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carson-mccullers-1694_like-mad_mick-frowned-and-rubbed-her-fist-hard-ac_2553033.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carson-mccullers-1694_like-mad_mick-frowned-and-rubbed-her-fist-hard-ac_2553033.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carson-mccullers-1694_like-mad_mick-frowned-and-rubbed-her-fist-hard-ac_2553033.png) > ““Mick frowned and rubbed her fist hard across her forehead. That was the way things were. It was like she was mad all the time. Not how a kid gets mad quick so that soon it is all over--but in another way. Only there was nothing to be mad at. Unless the store. But the store hadn't asked her to take the job. So there was nothing to be mad at. It was like she was cheated. Only nobody had cheated her. So there was nobody to take it out on. However, just the same she had that feeling. Cheated. But maybe it would be true about the piano and turn out O.K. Maybe she would get a chance soon. Else what the hell good had it all been--the way she felt about music and the plans she had made in the inside room? It had to be some good if anything made sense. And it was too and it was too and it was too and it was too. It was some good. All right! O.K! Some good.”” [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## 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 feels pervasive, unidentifiable frustration and seeks meaning in work and music, hoping for a positive shift. **In simple terms:** She is angry without a clear target, hoping work will bring purpose. Key Takeaway Find purpose in creative pursuits. Themes frustration search for meaning hope creative outlet Mood conflicted hopeful determined Type literary psychological inspirational When to use this quote - employment - music practice - personal growth - mental health - artistic ambition Key Concepts existential angst self‑reflection validation Questions to Reflect On - What underlying needs are driving this anger? - How can creative work transform vague frustration? A Different Perspective The feeling may stem from deeper unresolved issues, not just external circumstances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [It was like she was cheated. Only nobody had cheated her. So there was nobody to take it out on. However, just the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-was-like-she-was-cheated-only-nobody-had-cheated-her-so-there-was/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“That was the way things were. It was like she was mad all the time. 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Mick frowned with displeasure. “Why?” “Because of Mary Darling.” He shrugged. “One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/i-must-be-getting-back-to-my-rooms-silence-said-and-stood-mick/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [Love burns like fire in us when we get cheated on, but it is up to us to use your mind to say is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenchqueen/love-burns-like-fire-in-us-when-we-get-cheated-on-but-it-is-up-to-us/) Frenchqueen > [“What about you? You ever done anything wrong in your entire life?" "Why do you ask that?" "Honey, you look like the Virgin Mary."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-shay/what-about-you-you-ever-done-anything-wrong-in-your-entire-life-why/) [Kathryn Shay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-shay/) > [Grandma cheated whenever she could. 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Infidelity stems from low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preity-zinta/i-ve-never-cheated-or-been-cheated-upon-i-ve-seen-my-parents-together/) [Preity Zinta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preity-zinta/) > [Everybody has been cheated on, everyone will be cheated on,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/everybody-has-been-cheated-on-everyone-will-be-cheated-on/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [People don't know how chickens can turn on you, but they can -- just like mad dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/people-don-t-know-how-chickens-can-turn-on-you-but-they-can-just-like/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [I like that 'Mad Men' is now an adjective I use to describe clothing when I'm shopping: 'I like this top. It's very 'Mad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-brie/i-like-that-mad-men-is-now-an-adjective-i-use-to-describe-clothing/) [Alison Brie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-brie/) > [I do like to do mad stuff on occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-coyle/i-do-like-to-do-mad-stuff-on-occasions/) [Nadine Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-coyle/) > [I'm not going to rush anything and scamper around like a mad person and make myself crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/i-m-not-going-to-rush-anything-and-scamper-around-like-a-mad-person/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) ## More by Carson McCullers > [“Because things accumulate around your name," said Berenice. "You have a name and one thing after another happens to you, and you behave in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/because-things-accumulate-around-your-name-said-berenice-you-have-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [It was like she was cheated. Only nobody had cheated her. So there was nobody to take it out on. However, just the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/it-was-like-she-was-cheated-only-nobody-had-cheated-her-so-there-was/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Love is a joint experience between two persons—but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/love-is-a-joint-experience-between-two-persons-but-the-fact-that-it/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The thinking mind is best controlled by the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-thinking-mind-is-best-controlled-by-the-imagination/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“He was like a man who had served a term in prison or had been to Harvard College or had left for a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/he-was-like-a-man-who-had-served-a-term-in-prison-or-had-been-to/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Comparing the Brooklyn that I know with Manhattan is like comparing a comfortable and complacent duenna to her more brilliant and neurotic sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/comparing-the-brooklyn-that-i-know-with-manhattan-is-like-comparing-a/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Son, do you know how love should be begun?" The boy sat small and listening and still. Slowly he shook his head. The old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/son-do-you-know-how-love-should-be-begun-the-boy-sat-small-and/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The most fatal thing a man can do is try to stand alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-most-fatal-thing-a-man-can-do-is-try-to-stand-alone/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [The dimensions of a work of art are seldom realized by the author until the work is accomplished. It is like a flowering dream.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/the-dimensions-of-a-work-of-art-are-seldom-realized-by-the-author/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Now hoppin'-john was F. Jasmine's very favorite food. She had always warned them to wave a plate of rice and peas before her nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/now-hoppin-john-was-f-jasmine-s-very-favorite-food-she-had-always/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [There's nothing that makes you so aware of the improvisation of human existence as a song unfinished. Or an old address book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/there-s-nothing-that-makes-you-so-aware-of-the-improvisation-of-human/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/maybe-when-people-longed-for-a-thing-that-bad-the-longing-made-them/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“But the music did not come again. The tune was left broken, unfinished. And the drawn tightness she could no longer stand. She felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/but-the-music-did-not-come-again-the-tune-was-left-broken-unfinished/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“...we must remember that we all make the things of this earth of value because of labor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/we-must-remember-that-we-all-make-the-things-of-this-earth-of-value/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I have more to say than Hemingway, and God knows, I say it better than Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-have-more-to-say-than-hemingway-and-god-knows-i-say-it-better-than/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) [Explore all 211 Carson McCullers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) ## More Like Mad quotes > [I'm not going to rush anything and scamper around like a mad person and make myself crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/i-m-not-going-to-rush-anything-and-scamper-around-like-a-mad-person/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) > [I do like to do mad stuff on occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-coyle/i-do-like-to-do-mad-stuff-on-occasions/) [Nadine Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-coyle/) > [I like that 'Mad Men' is now an adjective I use to describe clothing when I'm shopping: 'I like this top. It's very 'Mad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-brie/i-like-that-mad-men-is-now-an-adjective-i-use-to-describe-clothing/) [Alison Brie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-brie/) > [People don't know how chickens can turn on you, but they can -- just like mad dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/people-don-t-know-how-chickens-can-turn-on-you-but-they-can-just-like/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [I'm like a duck. On the surface, I look cool and sleek and elegant. And underneath I'm kicking like mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-pearson/i-m-like-a-duck-on-the-surface-i-look-cool-and-sleek-and-elegant-and/) [Adam Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-pearson/) > [“Being mad at a drug addict for doing what drug addicts do, is like being mad at a shark for doing what sharks do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus/being-mad-at-a-drug-addict-for-doing-what-drug-addicts-do-is-like/) [Oliver Markus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus/) > [ Drive them \[Jews\] like mad dogs from our land... let not one of them live. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/drive-them-jews-like-mad-dogs-from-our-land-let-not-one-of-them-live/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [“Humans, as a rule, don't like mad people unless they are good at painting, and only then once they are dead. But the definition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/humans-as-a-rule-don-t-like-mad-people-unless-they-are-good-at/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [A song about post-teenage angst like 'Mad World' seems to be permanently relevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-orzabal/a-song-about-post-teenage-angst-like-mad-world-seems-to-be/) [Roland Orzabal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-orzabal/) > [There was always something. It's like with this one, there's always something that's mad that I look back on it and go, that's pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/there-was-always-something-it-s-like-with-this-one-there-s-always/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [That's how women are with me " said Paul. "They want me like mad but they don't want to belong to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-s-how-women-are-with-me-said-paul-they-want-me-like-mad-but-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That was the way things were. It was like she was mad all the time. Not how a kid gets mad quick so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/that-was-the-way-things-were-it-was-like-she-was-mad-all-the-time-not/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I really had the best time on 'Mad Men.' It was a wonderful place for me, because I never went to an acting school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiernan-shipka/i-really-had-the-best-time-on-mad-men-it-was-a-wonderful-place-for-me/) [Kiernan Shipka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiernan-shipka/) > [Things like 'mad as a hatter' or 'grinning like a Cheshire cat', are so powerful that music and songs incorporate the imagery. Writers, artists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/things-like-mad-as-a-hatter-or-grinning-like-a-cheshire-cat-are-so/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) > [“Ego is like a mad elephant which is ridden by our blind heart and blind mind and which ultimately destroys our real selves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kapil-kumar-bhaskar/ego-is-like-a-mad-elephant-which-is-ridden-by-our-blind-heart-and/) Kapil Kumar Bhaskar Browse all 37 Like Mad quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Mick frowned and rubbed her fist hard across her forehead. That was the way things were. It was like she was mad all the time. Not how a kid gets mad quick so that soon it is all over--but in another way. Only there was nothing to be mad at. Unless the store. But the store hadn't asked her to take the job. So there was nothing to be mad at. It was like she was cheated. Only nobody had cheated her. So there was nobody to take it out on. However, just the same she had that feeling. Cheated. But maybe it would be true about the piano and turn out O.K. Maybe she would get a chance soon. Else what the hell good had it all been--the way she felt about music and the plans she had made in the inside room? It had to be some good if anything made sense. And it was too and it was too and it was too and it was too. It was some good. All right! O.K! 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