---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An unfinished coffin on black tressels…"
description: "\"An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so gloomy and death-like that a cold tremble came over him, every..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/charles-dickens-34_black_an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-w_2394922.jpg"
---

#  An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the…

![“An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so gloomy and death-like that a cold tremble came over him, every time his eyes wandered in the direction of the dismal object: from which he almost expected to see some frightful form slowly rear its head, to…” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/charles-dickens-34_black_an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-w_2394922.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/charles-dickens-34_black_an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-w_2394922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/charles-dickens-34_black_an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-w_2394922.jpg)

> “An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so gloomy and death-like that a cold tremble came over him, every time his eyes wandered in the direction of the dismal object: from which he almost expected to see some frightful form slowly rear its head, to drive him mad with terror.”

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The sight of a morbid, unfinished coffin evokes deep dread, making the observer imagine a terrifying figure emerging, amplifying fear.

**In simple terms:** A grim coffin triggers intense fear and imagined horror.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how unsettling images can amplify anxiety.

Themes

fear gothic psychology death imagination

Mood

eerie anxious foreboding

Type

literary gothic descriptive

When to use this quote

- reading gothic literature
- visiting funeral homes
- watching horror movies
- encountering macabre art

Key Concepts

mortality anticipation mental imagery

Questions to Reflect On

- What personal fears does this image awaken?
- How do you react to unsettling symbols in daily life?

A Different Perspective

The fear may be exaggerated by personal anxieties, not the object itself.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Coffin Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffin-black-5977309/) [Coffins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffins/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Expected Frightful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected-frightful-5977307/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Gloomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloomy/) [Gloomy Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloomy-death-5977310/) [His eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his-eyes/) [Looked Gloomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked-gloomy-5977306/) [Mad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mad/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Objects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objects/) [Shops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shops/) [Spooky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spooky/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Unfinished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfinished/) [Unfinished Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfinished-coffin-5977308/)

## Related quotes

> [For a long time, no village girl would dress her hair or bosom with the sweetest flower from that field of death: and after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/for-a-long-time-no-village-girl-would-dress-her-hair-or-bosom-with/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The beating of my heart was so violent and wild that I felt as if my life were breaking from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-beating-of-my-heart-was-so-violent-and-wild-that-i-felt-as-if-my/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [As the gloom and shadow thickened behind him, in that place where it had been gathering so darkly, it took, by slow degrees, -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/as-the-gloom-and-shadow-thickened-behind-him-in-that-place-where-it/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There was no wind; there was no passing shadow on the deep shade of the night; there was no noise. The city lay behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-was-no-wind-there-was-no-passing-shadow-on-the-deep-shade-of/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [It is a silent, shady place, with a paved courtyard so full of echoes, that sometimes I am tempted to believe that faint responses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-is-a-silent-shady-place-with-a-paved-courtyard-so-full-of-echoes/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [He says-him as was here just now-'When Tom shut up the house, mate, to go to rack, the beds was left, all made, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-says-him-as-was-here-just-now-when-tom-shut-up-the-house-mate-to/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [As he glided stealthily along, creeping beneath the shelter of the walls and doorways, the hideous old man seemed like some loathsome reptile, engendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/as-he-glided-stealthily-along-creeping-beneath-the-shelter-of-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [They enter, locking themselves in, descend the rugged steps, and are down in the Crypt. The lantern is not wanted, for the moonlight strikes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/they-enter-locking-themselves-in-descend-the-rugged-steps-and-are/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Surely there had been no figure leaning on the back of his chair; no face looking over it. It is certain that no gliding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/surely-there-had-been-no-figure-leaning-on-the-back-of-his-chair-no/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Night, like a giant, fills the church, from pavement to roof, and holds dominion through the silent hours. Pale dawn again comes peeping through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/night-like-a-giant-fills-the-church-from-pavement-to-roof-and-holds/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [The first diabolical character who intruded himself on my peaceful youth (as I called to mind that day at Dullborough), was a certain Captain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-first-diabolical-character-who-intruded-himself-on-my-peaceful/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [Under none of the accredited ghostly circumstances, and environed by none of the conventional ghostly surroundings, did I first make acquaintance with the house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/under-none-of-the-accredited-ghostly-circumstances-and-environed-by/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There was not one straight floor from the foundation to the roof; the ceilings were so fantastically clouded by smoke and dust, that old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-was-not-one-straight-floor-from-the-foundation-to-the-roof-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [He was sailing over a boundless expanse of sea, with a blood-red sky above, and the angry waters, lashed into fury beneath, boiling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/he-was-sailing-over-a-boundless-expanse-of-sea-with-a-blood-red-sky/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [People can't die, along the coast," said Mr. Peggotty, "except when the tide's pretty nigh out. They can't be born, unless it's pretty nigh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/people-can-t-die-along-the-coast-said-mr-peggotty-except-when-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## More by Charles Dickens

> [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

[Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

## More Black quotes

> [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/)

[Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/)

> [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/)

[Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/)

> [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/)

[Frank B. Wilderson III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/)

> [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/)

[Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/)

> [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/)

[R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/)

> [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/)

[John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/)

> [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/)

[Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/)

> [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

[Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so gloomy and death-like that a cold tremble came over him, every time his eyes wandered in the direction of the dismal object: from which he almost expected to see some frightful form slowly rear its head, to drive him mad with terror.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Dickens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-which-stood-in-the-middle-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Black"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-which-stood-in-the-middle-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/charles-dickens-34_black_an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-w_2394922.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/charles-dickens-34_black_an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-w_2394922.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce5/charles-dickens-34_black_an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-w_2394922.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“An unfinished coffin on black tressels, which stood in the middle of the shop, looked so gloomy and…” — Charles Dickens",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Charles Dickens",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "An unfinished coffin on black tressels,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-which-stood-in-the-middle-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/an-unfinished-coffin-on-black-tressels-which-stood-in-the-middle-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
