---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Kate had never in her life seen such…"
description: "\"Kate had never in her life seen such frightful deformities, and the goblins had never seen such a hideous dress.\" — Clare B. Dunkle"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/clare-b-dunkle-34829_deformity_kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-fri_1598267.png"
---

#  Kate had never in her life seen such frightful…

![“Kate had never in her life seen such frightful deformities, and the goblins had never seen such a hideous dress.” quote by Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/clare-b-dunkle-34829_deformity_kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-fri_1598267.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/clare-b-dunkle-34829_deformity_kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-fri_1598267.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/clare-b-dunkle-34829_deformity_kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-fri_1598267.png)

> “Kate had never in her life seen such frightful deformities, and the goblins had never seen such a hideous dress.”

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

## About This Quote

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

The narrator describes grotesque scenes that shock both the protagonist and the creatures, highlighting horror and alienation.

**In simple terms:** Horrific images cause shock and alienation.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how horror reflects inner fears.

Themes

horror alienation visual imagery

Mood

dark intense

Type

literary descriptive

When to use this quote

- fantasy writing
- art critique
- psychology of fear

Key Concepts

fear otherness grotesque

Questions to Reflect On

- What emotions do grotesque images evoke?
- How do they serve the story’s purpose?

A Different Perspective

May desensitize readers to real suffering.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Goblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goblin/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [“Fear is another hideous dress to wear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petra-f-bagnardi/fear-is-another-hideous-dress-to-wear/)

[Petra F. Bagnardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petra-f-bagnardi/)

> [Some of the things I've seen a lot of my female-actress friends who are relatively famous receive - I've seen some hideous things. Like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisha-cuthbert/some-of-the-things-i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-my-female-actress-friends-who/)

[Elisha Cuthbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisha-cuthbert/)

> [Go to Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue, I think it's the eighth floor, and it's just a department called 'Woman.' It's rather devastating.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/go-to-lord-taylor-on-fifth-avenue-i-think-it-s-the-eighth-floor-and/)

[Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/)

> [We know great Nature's pow'r, Mother of things, whose vast unbounded sway From the deep centre all around extends Wide to the flaming barriers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/we-know-great-nature-s-pow-r-mother-of-things-whose-vast-unbounded/)

[John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/)

> [In such a world as this, with such hearts as ours, weakness is wickedness in the long run. Whoever lets himself be shaped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/in-such-a-world-as-this-with-such-hearts-as-ours-weakness-is/)

[Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/)

> [Well, I will scourge those apes, And to these courteous eyes oppose a mirror, As large as is the stage whereon we act; Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/well-i-will-scourge-those-apes-and-to-these-courteous-eyes-oppose-a/)

[Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/)

> [All our distinctions ire accidental; beauty and deformity, though personal qualities, are neither entitled to praise nor censure; yet it so happens that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/all-our-distinctions-ire-accidental-beauty-and-deformity-though/)

[Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/)

> [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [In all human love it must be realized that every man promises a woman, and every woman promises a man that which only God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/in-all-human-love-it-must-be-realized-that-every-man-promises-a-woman/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Information leads to transformation. If you are not inspired by being informed, you will expire by becoming deformed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/information-leads-to-transformation-if-you-are-not-inspired-by-being/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [I refuse the title of artist to those who owe their reputations to a physical deformity. I regard them as buffoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bernhardt/i-refuse-the-title-of-artist-to-those-who-owe-their-reputations-to-a/)

[Sarah Bernhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bernhardt/)

> [Physical deformity, calls forth our charity. But the infinite misfortune of moral deformity calls forth nothing but hatred and vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/physical-deformity-calls-forth-our-charity-but-the-infinite/)

[Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/)

> [What’s with her?” says the painter. “She’s mad because she’s a woman,” Jon says. This is something I haven’t heard for years, not since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/what-s-with-her-says-the-painter-she-s-mad-because-she-s-a-woman-jon/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [By all means, there should be no children when either mother or father suffers from such diseases as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, cancer, epilepsy, insanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/by-all-means-there-should-be-no-children-when-either-mother-or-father/)

[Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/)

> [Rewards and punishments, to speak frankly, are the desk of the soul, that is, a means of enslaving a child's spirit, and better suited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/rewards-and-punishments-to-speak-frankly-are-the-desk-of-the-soul/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

## More by Clare B. Dunkle

> [Don't fret. We'll just have to find something else you're good at besides killing people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/don-t-fret-we-ll-just-have-to-find-something-else-you-re-good-at/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [“It’s a prison. It’s twenty-four-hour-a-day life in a jail cell. We never get out, not even for one second. All we can do, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/it-s-a-prison-it-s-twenty-four-hour-a-day-life-in-a-jail-cell-we/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [“Then-then I'm not going to die? Well, then-crap!-what am I doing here, Anyway?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/then-then-i-m-not-going-to-die-well-then-crap-what-am-i-doing-here/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [Em, I am trying to have an important conversation!" shouted Seylin. "I will not change into a cat!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/em-i-am-trying-to-have-an-important-conversation-shouted-seylin-i/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [Mom actually said that?" Cassie's face shown with happiness. "She always hated my math!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/mom-actually-said-that-cassie-s-face-shown-with-happiness-she-always/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [That's exactly how I want you to feel. When you finish this book, I want you to be filled with curiosity. I want you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/that-s-exactly-how-i-want-you-to-feel-when-you-finish-this-book-i/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [For how many generations now had his people been turning their backs on things? How long had they sat in their living rooms and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/for-how-many-generations-now-had-his-people-been-turning-their-backs/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [Forks are absurd, he scoffed. They insult your food. They make it think you're killing it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/forks-are-absurd-he-scoffed-they-insult-your-food-they-make-it-think/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [Being a writer means crying over the sad parts, even though you already know it’s going to be okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/being-a-writer-means-crying-over-the-sad-parts-even-though-you/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [ Lively, intelligent, and quite immature, \[Emily\] usually burst out with exactly the comment that summed up the situation beautifully and therefore could never in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/lively-intelligent-and-quite-immature-emily-usually-burst-out-with/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [I had no fear of the stream's perils, and I listened with the greatest contentment to the quiet slap of water on rocks, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/i-had-no-fear-of-the-stream-s-perils-and-i-listened-with-the-greatest/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [Mom actually said that?" Cassie's face shown with happiness. "She always hated my math!" "Nah," Martin said. "She was just being that way for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/mom-actually-said-that-cassie-s-face-shown-with-happiness-she-always-2/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

> [Kate felt very offended. 'I am not an elf,' she insisted. 'I'm an Englishwoman!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/kate-felt-very-offended-i-am-not-an-elf-she-insisted-i-m-an/)

[Clare B. Dunkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

[Explore all 14 Clare B. Dunkle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/)

## More Deformity quotes

> [Rewards and punishments, to speak frankly, are the desk of the soul, that is, a means of enslaving a child's spirit, and better suited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/rewards-and-punishments-to-speak-frankly-are-the-desk-of-the-soul/)

[Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/)

> [By all means, there should be no children when either mother or father suffers from such diseases as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, syphilis, cancer, epilepsy, insanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/by-all-means-there-should-be-no-children-when-either-mother-or-father/)

[Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/)

> [What’s with her?” says the painter. “She’s mad because she’s a woman,” Jon says. This is something I haven’t heard for years, not since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/what-s-with-her-says-the-painter-she-s-mad-because-she-s-a-woman-jon/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [Physical deformity, calls forth our charity. But the infinite misfortune of moral deformity calls forth nothing but hatred and vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/physical-deformity-calls-forth-our-charity-but-the-infinite/)

[Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/)

> [I refuse the title of artist to those who owe their reputations to a physical deformity. I regard them as buffoons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bernhardt/i-refuse-the-title-of-artist-to-those-who-owe-their-reputations-to-a/)

[Sarah Bernhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bernhardt/)

> [“Information leads to transformation. If you are not inspired by being informed, you will expire by becoming deformed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/information-leads-to-transformation-if-you-are-not-inspired-by-being/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [In all human love it must be realized that every man promises a woman, and every woman promises a man that which only God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/in-all-human-love-it-must-be-realized-that-every-man-promises-a-woman/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [He had a head which statuaries loved to copy, and a foot the deformity of which the beggars in the streets mimicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/he-had-a-head-which-statuaries-loved-to-copy-and-a-foot-the-deformity/)

[Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/)

> [All our distinctions ire accidental; beauty and deformity, though personal qualities, are neither entitled to praise nor censure; yet it so happens that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/all-our-distinctions-ire-accidental-beauty-and-deformity-though/)

[Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/)

> [Well, I will scourge those apes, And to these courteous eyes oppose a mirror, As large as is the stage whereon we act; Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-jonson/well-i-will-scourge-those-apes-and-to-these-courteous-eyes-oppose-a/)

[Ben Jonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-jonson/)

> [In such a world as this, with such hearts as ours, weakness is wickedness in the long run. Whoever lets himself be shaped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/in-such-a-world-as-this-with-such-hearts-as-ours-weakness-is/)

[Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/)

> [We know great Nature's pow'r, Mother of things, whose vast unbounded sway From the deep centre all around extends Wide to the flaming barriers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/we-know-great-nature-s-pow-r-mother-of-things-whose-vast-unbounded/)

[John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/)

> [Most of the reasons for late-term abortions have to do with severe fetal deformities, but when I found out that dwarfism was also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-richardson/most-of-the-reasons-for-late-term-abortions-have-to-do-with-severe/)

[John H Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-richardson/)

> [No person who is well bred, kind and modest is ever offensively plain; all real deformity means want for manners or of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/no-person-who-is-well-bred-kind-and-modest-is-ever-offensively-plain/)

[John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/)

> [It seems to be a law of nature that no man, unless he has some obvious physical deformity, ever is loth to sit for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beerbohm/it-seems-to-be-a-law-of-nature-that-no-man-unless-he-has-some-obvious/)

[Max Beerbohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beerbohm/)

Browse all 92 Deformity quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Kate had never in her life seen such frightful deformities, and the goblins had never seen such a hideous dress.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Clare B. Dunkle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-frightful-deformities-and-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Deformity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-frightful-deformities-and-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/clare-b-dunkle-34829_deformity_kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-fri_1598267.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/clare-b-dunkle-34829_deformity_kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-fri_1598267.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/clare-b-dunkle-34829_deformity_kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-fri_1598267.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Kate had never in her life seen such frightful deformities, and the goblins had never seen such a hideous…” — Clare B. Dunkle",
                "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": "Clare B. Dunkle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-b-dunkle/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Kate had never in her life...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-frightful-deformities-and-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-b-dunkle/kate-had-never-in-her-life-seen-such-frightful-deformities-and-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```