--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Where my soul went during that swoon I…" description: "\"“Where my soul went during that swoon I cannot tell. Whatever she saw, or wherever she travelled in her trance on that strange night she kept her own s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/charlotte-bronte-144_bronte_where-my-soul-went-during-that-swoon-i-c_1714151.jpg" --- # Where my soul went during that swoon I cannot tell… ![“Where my soul went during that swoon I cannot tell. Whatever she saw, or wherever she travelled in her trance on that strange night she kept her own secret; never whispering a word to Memory, and baffling imagination by an indissoluble silence. She may have gone upward, and come in sight of her…” quote by Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/charlotte-bronte-144_bronte_where-my-soul-went-during-that-swoon-i-c_1714151.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/charlotte-bronte-144_bronte_where-my-soul-went-during-that-swoon-i-c_1714151.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c6/charlotte-bronte-144_bronte_where-my-soul-went-during-that-swoon-i-c_1714151.jpg) > ““Where my soul went during that swoon I cannot tell. Whatever she saw, or wherever she travelled in her trance on that strange night she kept her own secret; never whispering a word to Memory, and baffling imagination by an indissoluble silence. She may have gone upward, and come in sight of her eternal home, hoping for leave to rest now, and deeming that her painful union with matter was at last dissolved. While she so deemed, an angel may have warned her away from heaven's threshold, and, guiding her weeping down, have bound her, once more, all shuddering and unwilling, to that poor frame, cold and wasted, of whose companionship she was grown more than weary. I know she re-entered her prison with pain, with reluctance, with a moan and a long shiver. The divorced mates, Spirit and Substance, were hard to re-unite: they greeted each other, not in an embrace, but a racking sort of struggle.”” [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage depicts the soul’s yearning to escape the confines of the body, confronting the tension between spiritual longing and earthly suffering. **In simple terms:** The soul longs for freedom but is bound to the body. Key Takeaway Recognize the pull between spirit and matter. Themes spirituality duality suffering longing Mood melancholic contemplative poetic Type literary philosophical reflective When to use this quote - grief - creative writing - personal reflection - meditative practice Key Concepts mind-body dualism existential yearning transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be truly free? - How do we reconcile spiritual desire with physical limitation? A Different Perspective The soul may never fully reunite with the body, leading to perpetual inner conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronte/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Villette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/villette/) ## Related quotes > [“Your dress is thin, you have been dancing, you are heated." "Always preaching," retorted she; "always coddling and admonishing." 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I thought he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/come-paul-she-reiterated-her-eye-grazing-me-with-its-hard-ray-like-a/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“There is enough said. Trouble no quiet, kind heart; leave sunny imaginations hope. Let it be theirs to conceive the delight of joy born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/there-is-enough-said-trouble-no-quiet-kind-heart-leave-sunny/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Much better," I said calmly. "Much better, I thank you, Dr. John." For, reader, this tall young man - this darling son - this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/much-better-i-said-calmly-much-better-i-thank-you-dr-john-for-reader/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“I do not think the sunny youth of either will prove the forerunner of stormy age. I think it is deemed good that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-do-not-think-the-sunny-youth-of-either-will-prove-the-forerunner-of/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Graham’s thoughts of me were not entirely those of a frozen indifference, after all. I believe in that goodly mansion, his heart, he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/graham-s-thoughts-of-me-were-not-entirely-those-of-a-frozen/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Once I saw Graham - wholly unconscious of her proximity - push her with his restless foot. She receded an inch or two. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/once-i-saw-graham-wholly-unconscious-of-her-proximity-push-her-with/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“His veins were dark with a vivid belladonna tincture, the essence of jealousy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/his-veins-were-dark-with-a-vivid-belladonna-tincture-the-essence-of/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“An idea once seized, I fell to work. "Human Justice" rushed before me in novel guise, a red, random beldame, with a rms akimbo.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/an-idea-once-seized-i-fell-to-work-human-justice-rushed-before-me-in/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Je fais mon lit et mon ménage; I seek my dinner in a restaurant; my supper takes care, of itself; I pass days laborious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/je-fais-mon-lit-et-mon-m-nage-i-seek-my-dinner-in-a-restaurant-my/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“It is true I little respect women or girls who are loquacious either in boasting the triumphs, or bemoaning the mortifications, of feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-true-i-little-respect-women-or-girls-who-are-loquacious-either/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Entering by the carré, a piece of mirror- glass, set in an oaken cabinet, repeated my image. It said I was changed: my cheeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/entering-by-the-carr-a-piece-of-mirror-glass-set-in-an-oaken-cabinet/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“This little man was of the order of beings who must not be opposed, unless you possessed an all-dominant force sufficient to crush him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/this-little-man-was-of-the-order-of-beings-who-must-not-be-opposed/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More by Charlotte Brontë > [When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should - so hard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-we-are-struck-at-without-a-reason-we-should-strike-back-again/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“A deal of people, Miss, are for trusting all to Providence; but I say Providence will not dispense with the means, though He often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/a-deal-of-people-miss-are-for-trusting-all-to-providence-but-i-say/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“This night is not calm; the equinox still struggles in its storms. 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With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Poverty, for me, is synonymous with degradation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/poverty-for-me-is-synonymous-with-degradation/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [When his first-born was put into his arms, he could see that the boy had inherited his own eyes, as they once were -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/when-his-first-born-was-put-into-his-arms-he-could-see-that-the-boy/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Talented people almost always know full well the excellence that is in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/talented-people-almost-always-know-full-well-the-excellence-that-is/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Not one spark of spirit, not one symptom of resistance, would they have shown till the hand of the Corsican bandit had grasped that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/not-one-spark-of-spirit-not-one-symptom-of-resistance-would-they-have/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Love can excuse anything except meanness; but meanness kills love, cripples even natural affection; without esteem true love cannot exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/love-can-excuse-anything-except-meanness-but-meanness-kills-love/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [I think you will learn to be natural with me, as I find it impossible to be conventional with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-think-you-will-learn-to-be-natural-with-me-as-i-find-it-impossible/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“You are no ruin sir--no lighting-struck tree: you are green and vigorous. Plants will grow about your roots, whether you ask them or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/you-are-no-ruin-sir-no-lighting-struck-tree-you-are-green-and/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) [Explore all 1,082 Charlotte Brontë quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More Bronte quotes > ['Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte has been my all-time favorite book since I was in middle school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-serle/wuthering-heights-by-emily-bronte-has-been-my-all-time-favorite-book/) [Rebecca Serle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-serle/) > [Of course, Jack Kilborn is better than both of us combined and mixed with a side helping of the Bronte sisters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-konrath/of-course-jack-kilborn-is-better-than-both-of-us-combined-and-mixed/) [J.A. Konrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-konrath/) > [But you know, where did the Brontes go to college? Where did George Eliot go to college? Where did Thomas Paine or Thomas Jefferson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/but-you-know-where-did-the-brontes-go-to-college-where-did-george/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“For a century and a half, people have wondered what factors - genetic and environmental - were especially significant in the evolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-thorm-hlen/for-a-century-and-a-half-people-have-wondered-what-factors-genetic/) [Marianne Thormählen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-thorm-hlen/) > [I'm glad nobody has asked me to adapt 'Wuthering Heights' because I think I would make a mess of it. Everybody makes a mess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/i-m-glad-nobody-has-asked-me-to-adapt-wuthering-heights-because-i/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [I loved Charlotte Bronte when I was little, and I wanted to be Charlotte Bronte the way people want to be a princess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-loved-charlotte-bronte-when-i-was-little-and-i-wanted-to-be/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I think I learned discipline on 'Jane Eyre.' Charlotte Bronte's dialogue, the intellectual duel between Rochester and Jane Eyre's character, is so compelling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/i-think-i-learned-discipline-on-jane-eyre-charlotte-bronte-s-dialogue/) [Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/) > [I actually didn't like Jane Austen. I was more into the Brontes. They were so wild and passionate. 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Here, she reads, Emily would sometimes make bread with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jackson/she-pops-her-head-into-a-bare-looking-kitchen-and-has-a-little-wander/) Mick Jackson > [“I turn to our father, searching for an ally. "So Dad, is it legal for Bronte to date out of her species?" Dad looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/i-turn-to-our-father-searching-for-an-ally-so-dad-is-it-legal-for/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“I know more about Emily Bronte than anyone I know. I know enough about her family to have been a part. I’ve walked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chila-woychik/i-know-more-about-emily-bronte-than-anyone-i-know-i-know-enough-about/) [Chila Woychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chila-woychik/) > [“Some people are very unfulfilled. In consequence they write passionately good romance because they believe that they could still find happiness. Emily Bronte was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bingham/some-people-are-very-unfulfilled-in-consequence-they-write/) [Charlotte Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bingham/) > [“She was painfully shy, but physically she was brave to a surprising degree. She loved few persons, but those few with a passion of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-hope/she-was-painfully-shy-but-physically-she-was-brave-to-a-surprising/) Eva Hope [Browse all 46 Bronte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronte/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Where my soul went during that swoon I cannot tell. Whatever she saw, or wherever she travelled in her trance on that strange night she kept her own secret; never whispering a word to Memory, and baffling imagination by an indissoluble silence. She may have gone upward, and come in sight of her eternal home, hoping for leave to rest now, and deeming that her painful union with matter was at last dissolved. While she so deemed, an angel may have warned her away from heaven's threshold, and, guiding her weeping down, have bound her, once more, all shuddering and unwilling, to that poor frame, cold and wasted, of whose companionship she was grown more than weary. I know she re-entered her prison with pain, with reluctance, with a moan and a long shiver. 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