---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As she stooped over him, her tears fell…"
description: "\"“As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead. The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as though these marks of pity and compassion had ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/charles-dickens-34_compassion_as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-u_745722.jpg"
---

#  As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead…

![“As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead. The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as though these marks of pity and compassion had awakened some pleasant dream of a love and affection he had never known; as a strain of gentle music, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or…” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/charles-dickens-34_compassion_as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-u_745722.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/charles-dickens-34_compassion_as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-u_745722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/charles-dickens-34_compassion_as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-u_745722.jpg)

> ““As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead. The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as though these marks of pity and compassion had awakened some pleasant dream of a love and affection he had never known; as a strain of gentle music, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or the odour of a flower, or even the mention of a familiar word, will sometimes call up sudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were, in this life; which vanish like a breath; and which some brief memory of a happier existence, long gone by, would seem to have awakened, for no voluntary exertion of the mind can ever recall them.””

[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.

Compassionate memories can evoke powerful, imagined feelings of love and loss.

**In simple terms:** Kindness can trigger vivid, imagined memories.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the power of empathy.

Themes

memory compassion imagination loneliness nostalgia

Mood

melancholic poetic

Type

literary reflective

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- creative writing
- therapy sessions

Key Concepts

psychology literature empathy

Questions to Reflect On

- How does empathy shape our recollections?
- Can imagined love heal real sorrow?

A Different Perspective

Memories may be unreliable; imagined scenes can distort reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Affection Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection-known-2693840/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Dim Remembrances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dim-remembrances-5811761/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love and affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-affection/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Pleasant Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasant-dream-1325074/) [Remembrances Scenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembrances-scenes-5811759/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Stooped Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stooped-tears-5811760/) [Tenderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenderness/)

## Related quotes

> [Which role to love and affection are known difference of love he does not complain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/which-role-to-love-and-affection-are-known-difference-of-love-he-does/)

[Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/)

> [“She had a dream about a tattoo. This was a pleasant dream. She was walking away and she had the most beautiful tattoo. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-williams/she-had-a-dream-about-a-tattoo-this-was-a-pleasant-dream-she-was/)

[Joy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-williams/)

> [Oh, Marilla, I thought I was happy before. Now I know that I just dreamed a pleasant dream of happiness. This is the reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-marilla-i-thought-i-was-happy-before-now-i-know-that-i-just/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Kissing is not a matter of deserving.” “Then what is it?” “It is an easy way to express affection.” “I should have known you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-shea/kissing-is-not-a-matter-of-deserving-then-what-is-it-it-is-an-easy/)

[K.M. Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-shea/)

> [“She'd spent seven long years without so much as a hug, and she was starved for physical affection. She had known what it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/she-d-spent-seven-long-years-without-so-much-as-a-hug-and-she-was/)

[Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/)

> [Making your affection known, and being sidelined and forgotten. Life goes on as if you never existed, and when you cease to exist, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/making-your-affection-known-and-being-sidelined-and-forgotten-life/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Some philosophers tell us that selfishness is at the root of our best loves and affections. Mr. Dombey's young child was, from the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/some-philosophers-tell-us-that-selfishness-is-at-the-root-of-our-best/)

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

> [Heartbreak is our indication of sincerity: in a love relationship, in a work, in trying to learn a musical instrument, in the attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/heartbreak-is-our-indication-of-sincerity-in-a-love-relationship-in-a/)

[David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/)

> [You have to create love and affection for your body, for what it can do for you. Love must be incarnated in the smallest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/you-have-to-create-love-and-affection-for-your-body-for-what-it-can/)

[B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/)

> [A friend is the best gift we give to ourselves. Friends are those people in our life with whom we do not have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/a-friend-is-the-best-gift-we-give-to-ourselves-friends-are-those/)

[Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/)

> [You, yourself, as much as anybody else in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/you-yourself-as-much-as-anybody-else-in-the-entire-universe-deserve/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [My only sanction is the love and affection in which you hold me. But it has its weaknesses, as it has its strengths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-only-sanction-is-the-love-and-affection-in-which-you-hold-me-but/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-explore-the-universe-looking-for-somebody-who-is-more/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I am not after any award. Love and affection of the audience is the biggest award for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mukesh-tiwari/i-am-not-after-any-award-love-and-affection-of-the-audience-is-the/)

[Mukesh Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mukesh-tiwari/)

## 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 Compassion quotes

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/)

[Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/)

> [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/)

[Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/)

> [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/)

[Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/)

> [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/)

[R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/)

> [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/)

[Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/)

> [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/)

[Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/)

> [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/)

[Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/)

> [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/)

[Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/)

[Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead. The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as though these marks of pity and compassion had awakened some pleasant dream of a love and affection he had never known; as a strain of gentle music, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or the odour of a flower, or even the mention of a familiar word, will sometimes call up sudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were, in this life; which vanish like a breath; and which some brief memory of a happier existence, long gone by, would seem to have awakened, for no voluntary exertion of the mind can ever recall them.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Charles Dickens"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-upon-his-forehead-the-boy/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Compassion"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-upon-his-forehead-the-boy/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/charles-dickens-34_compassion_as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-u_745722.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/charles-dickens-34_compassion_as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-u_745722.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/charles-dickens-34_compassion_as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-u_745722.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“As she stooped over him, her tears fell upon his forehead. The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as…” — 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": "“As she stooped over him, her...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-upon-his-forehead-the-boy/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/as-she-stooped-over-him-her-tears-fell-upon-his-forehead-the-boy/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
