--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: September had never been betrayed before…" description: "\"September had never been betrayed before. She did not even know what to call the feeling in her chest, so bitter and sour. Poor child. There is always ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/catherynne-m-valente-375_betrayed_september-had-never-been-betrayed-before_2466397.png" --- # September had never been betrayed before. She did not even… ![“September had never been betrayed before. She did not even know what to call the feeling in her chest, so bitter and sour. Poor child. There is always a first time, and it is never the last time.” quote by Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/catherynne-m-valente-375_betrayed_september-had-never-been-betrayed-before_2466397.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/catherynne-m-valente-375_betrayed_september-had-never-been-betrayed-before_2466397.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6de/catherynne-m-valente-375_betrayed_september-had-never-been-betrayed-before_2466397.png) > “September had never been betrayed before. She did not even know what to call the feeling in her chest, so bitter and sour. Poor child. There is always a first time, and it is never the last time.” [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. First experiences of betrayal are intense and lingering, marking a lasting emotional imprint. **In simple terms:** Betrayal feels bitter and unforgettable. Key Takeaway Recognize and process early betrayals to heal. Themes betrayal emotion growth memory vulnerability Mood poignant introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - friendships - family dynamics - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts Psychology trauma first experiences Questions to Reflect On - How did your first betrayal shape you? - What steps help you move beyond that pain? A Different Perspective Not all betrayals are equal; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Poor children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-children/) [September](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/september/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [A big hole in a poor child's shoe is the simplest evidence to condemn the society he lives in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-big-hole-in-a-poor-child-s-shoe-is-the-simplest-evidence-to-condemn/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The presence of even a single poor child on the street means a million defeats for mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-presence-of-even-a-single-poor-child-on-the-street-means-a/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The poor child was the drudge of the household, and was always in the wrong. He was, however, the most bright and discreet of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-perrault/the-poor-child-was-the-drudge-of-the-household-and-was-always-in-the/) [Charles Perrault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-perrault/) > [Where can one find a profounder desolation than in the poor child who has lost its mother?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/where-can-one-find-a-profounder-desolation-than-in-the-poor-child-who/) [Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/) > [A poor child who receives high-quality early childhood development is 40 percent less likely to need special education, twice as likely to attend college…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/a-poor-child-who-receives-high-quality-early-childhood-development-is/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Frankly, to be a poor child in Cuba may in many instances be better than being a poor child in Miami, and I’m not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clift/frankly-to-be-a-poor-child-in-cuba-may-in-many-instances-be-better/) [Eleanor Clift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clift/) > [“The poor child felt like a little bird that is placed in a glittering cage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-spyri/the-poor-child-felt-like-a-little-bird-that-is-placed-in-a-glittering/) [Johanna Spyri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-spyri/) > [“A poor child knew what it meant to be poor. We didn't ask for much, and sometimes we didn't even ask.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/da-chen/a-poor-child-knew-what-it-meant-to-be-poor-we-didn-t-ask-for-much-and/) Da Chen > [“My poor little child Karin Boye My poor child, so afraid of the dark, who has met ghosts of another kind, who always among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/my-poor-little-child-karin-boye-my-poor-child-so-afraid-of-the-dark/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [I was very poor. As a child my dream was to have a leather football.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chow/i-was-very-poor-as-a-child-my-dream-was-to-have-a-leather-football/) [Stephen Chow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chow/) > [“She was a poor person, I was her poor child, and no one asks poor people if they want war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viet-thanh-nguyen/she-was-a-poor-person-i-was-her-poor-child-and-no-one-asks-poor/) [Viet Thanh Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viet-thanh-nguyen/) > [“Poor child! it was very early for her to know one of those supreme moments in life when all we have hoped or delighted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/poor-child-it-was-very-early-for-her-to-know-one-of-those-supreme/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [A starving poor child once asked his mother, 'What's Christmas, mom?' The mother replied: 'That's a good question, but I really don't know because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/a-starving-poor-child-once-asked-his-mother-what-s-christmas-mom-the/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [Rich or poor, every child comes into the world with some imperative need of its own, which shapes its individuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/rich-or-poor-every-child-comes-into-the-world-with-some-imperative/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [“Oh, my poor child.” I felt the touch of Miss Winter’s hand on my shoulder, and while I cried over the corpses of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/oh-my-poor-child-i-felt-the-touch-of-miss-winter-s-hand-on-my/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## More by Catherynne M. Valente > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Truly, Mallow yearned to know everything. Curiosity was part of her, like her short blond hair and bitten fingernails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/truly-mallow-yearned-to-know-everything-curiosity-was-part-of-her/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“The cicada lies in the earth for seventeen years. It is warm and dark there, it is soft and wet. Its little legs curl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/the-cicada-lies-in-the-earth-for-seventeen-years-it-is-warm-and-dark/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Explore all 621 Catherynne M. Valente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ## More Betrayed quotes > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [We are all too keenly aware that those of you who supported us by purchasing the 3DS in the beginningmay feel betrayed and criticize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoru-iwata/we-are-all-too-keenly-aware-that-those-of-you-who-supported-us-by/) [Satoru Iwata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoru-iwata/) > [In tragic life, God wot, No villain need be! Passions spin the plot: We are betrayed by what is false within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-meredith/in-tragic-life-god-wot-no-villain-need-be-passions-spin-the-plot-we/) [George Meredith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-meredith/) > [The mantra of the new historicists was "we have betrayed ourselves." Since their emergence, there have been more or less interesting paradigm shifts having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/the-mantra-of-the-new-historicists-was-we-have-betrayed-ourselves/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [It is less painful, it turns out, to feel betrayed than to feel forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-grosz/it-is-less-painful-it-turns-out-to-feel-betrayed-than-to-feel/) [Stephen Grosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-grosz/) > [Being betrayed by someone you love just makes you more selective and careful when trying out a new relationship/friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-someone-you-love-just-makes-you-more-selective-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Rome has betrayed itself. It knew the truth and chose violence, it knew humaneness and it chose tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/rome-has-betrayed-itself-it-knew-the-truth-and-chose-violence-it-knew/) [Friedrich Durrenmatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-d-rrenmatt/) > [Those who are successfully to lead their fellow-men, should have once possessed the nobler feelings. We have all known individuals whose magnanimity was not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-helps/those-who-are-successfully-to-lead-their-fellow-men-should-have-once/) [Arthur Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-helps/) > [I'm a military man, I did what I did only because my country had to be saved from tribalism and feudalism. If I failed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mengistu-haile-mariam/i-m-a-military-man-i-did-what-i-did-only-because-my-country-had-to-be/) [Mengistu Haile Mariam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mengistu-haile-mariam/) > [To be robbed and betrayed by a fiendish underground conspiracy, or by the earthly agents of Satan, is at least a romantic sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/to-be-robbed-and-betrayed-by-a-fiendish-underground-conspiracy-or-by/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [“Cathy, don't look so defeated. She was only trying to put us down again. Maybe nothing did work out right for her, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/cathy-don-t-look-so-defeated-she-was-only-trying-to-put-us-down-again/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [When I was young, I had a favorite movie star. One day, I saw one of his movies, and it was bad, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/when-i-was-young-i-had-a-favorite-movie-star-one-day-i-saw-one-of-his/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I really had faith in you but you betrayed me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafee/i-really-had-faith-in-you-but-you-betrayed-me/) [Lafee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafee/) > [No-one is ever betrayed by true love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaufre-rudel/no-one-is-ever-betrayed-by-true-love/) Jaufre Rudel Browse all 708 Betrayed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "September had never been betrayed before. She did not even know what to call the feeling in her chest, so bitter and sour. Poor child. There is always a first time, and it is never the last time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherynne M. 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