--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The walnut tree told me when Emeline…" description: "\"“The walnut tree told me when Emeline Margulies turned eighteen. Law-wise in Pennsylvania, a girl burns her ships at eighteen. Her daddy was dead and s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/clayton-lindemuth-56834_eighteen_the-walnut-tree-told-me-when-emeline-mar_2648212.jpg" --- # The walnut tree told me when Emeline Margulies turned… ![“The walnut tree told me when Emeline Margulies turned eighteen. Law-wise in Pennsylvania, a girl burns her ships at eighteen. Her daddy was dead and she was alone, so I bound her with spells, talk of blue spruce situated off the front porch, small-mouth bass jumping bugs at the lake, and how…” quote by Clayton Lindemuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/clayton-lindemuth-56834_eighteen_the-walnut-tree-told-me-when-emeline-mar_2648212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/clayton-lindemuth-56834_eighteen_the-walnut-tree-told-me-when-emeline-mar_2648212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/clayton-lindemuth-56834_eighteen_the-walnut-tree-told-me-when-emeline-mar_2648212.jpg) > ““The walnut tree told me when Emeline Margulies turned eighteen. Law-wise in Pennsylvania, a girl burns her ships at eighteen. Her daddy was dead and she was alone, so I bound her with spells, talk of blue spruce situated off the front porch, small-mouth bass jumping bugs at the lake, and how sunshine bounces from the water to the orchard and turns pear blossoms gold. She bought every word and wiggled close. I took her wrist and got my hand on her neck and I couldn’t think of nothing save the bones inside her.”” [Clayton Lindemuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-lindemuth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal, vivid narrative blends mythic imagery with intimate, unsettling intimacy, exploring desire, control, and the intertwining of nature and human emotion. **In simple terms:** A dark, poetic tale of obsession and nature’s symbolism. Key Takeaway Beware of consuming desire. Themes obsession myth intimacy nature Mood poetic dark intense Type short story fiction When to use this quote - creative writing - art analysis - psychotherapy Key Concepts symbolism power dynamics psychological tension Questions to Reflect On - What does the walnut tree represent? - How does nature reflect inner turmoil? A Different Perspective Graphic content may be disturbing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eighteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighteen/) [Front Porch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/front-porch/) [Pennsylvania Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pennsylvania-girl-2328176/) [Told Emeline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-emeline-2328175/) [Tree Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-told-818586/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Turned Eighteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turned-eighteen-445186/) ## Related quotes > [“She escaped from the schools when she turned eighteen. And she went on to be a Doctor, because the only way to fight what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-bobet/she-escaped-from-the-schools-when-she-turned-eighteen-and-she-went-on/) [Leah Bobet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-bobet/) > [“When, she wonders, did she stop being a child? The law says it was when she turned eighteen, but the law doesn't know her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/when-she-wonders-did-she-stop-being-a-child-the-law-says-it-was-when/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“It was two weeks after the day she turned eighteen All dressed in white Going to the church that night She had his box…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-underwood/it-was-two-weeks-after-the-day-she-turned-eighteen-all-dressed-in/) [Carrie Underwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-underwood/) > [Once I turned eighteen, I could cut myself off from everyone and finally get what I wanted, which was to be on my own,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/once-i-turned-eighteen-i-could-cut-myself-off-from-everyone-and/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“What happens to you when you get older? Do you just forget everything from before you turned eighteen? Do you make yourself forget?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ness/what-happens-to-you-when-you-get-older-do-you-just-forget-everything/) [Patrick Ness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ness/) > [ Elle Fanning was fifteen when we started \[The Neon Demon\]. She turned seventeen during the shoot. Four weeks before Cannes, she turned eighteen. She… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/elle-fanning-was-fifteen-when-we-started-the-neon-demon-she-turned/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [“On my birthday, every year since I turned eighteen, she called me at twelve twenty in the morning to wish me happy birthday and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-webb/on-my-birthday-every-year-since-i-turned-eighteen-she-called-me-at/) [T.A. Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-webb/) > [I don't know," I said. "What else did you do for your first eighteen years?" "Like I said," he said as I unlocked the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-don-t-know-i-said-what-else-did-you-do-for-your-first-eighteen/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“it’s not until the third verse that “The Hanging Tree” begins to get unnerving. You realize the singer of the song is the dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-not-until-the-third-verse-that-the-hanging-tree-begins-to-get/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“I think I’d want to be a tree,” I told him, finally. “A tree? Why’s that?” “Because. Everyone loves a tree.” “Ah.” He nodded.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-delucy/i-think-i-d-want-to-be-a-tree-i-told-him-finally-a-tree-why-s-that/) [Jennifer DeLucy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-delucy/) > [The truths of nature are one eternal change, one infinite variety. There is no bush on the face of the globe exactly like another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/the-truths-of-nature-are-one-eternal-change-one-infinite-variety/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [“You know that smell, when you put your nose up to a pine tree?" I told her I did perfectly. "No matter how long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramona-ausubel/you-know-that-smell-when-you-put-your-nose-up-to-a-pine-tree-i-told/) [Ramona Ausubel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramona-ausubel/) > [“Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where I told you to run, so we’d both be free. Strange things did happen here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/are-you-are-you-coming-to-the-tree-where-i-told-you-to-run-so-we-d/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“God made a garden for man and woman and he told them 'Do not eat the fruit from that tree.' A serpent visited the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-hustle/god-made-a-garden-for-man-and-woman-and-he-told-them-do-not-eat-the/) [Mickey Hustle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-hustle/) > [“Every so often the authorities registered voters in order to find out who was missing and why. I had turned eighteen and was old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyeonseo-lee/every-so-often-the-authorities-registered-voters-in-order-to-find-out/) [Hyeonseo Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyeonseo-lee/) ## More by Clayton Lindemuth > [“The Lord could communicate through any number of channels, other believers, nonbelievers, even dreams, apparitions and visions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-lindemuth/the-lord-could-communicate-through-any-number-of-channels-other/) [Clayton Lindemuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-lindemuth/) > [“Deet slid down from the bale to the barn floor. “You know Em, here’s what I think of, when I got time for puzzles.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-lindemuth/deet-slid-down-from-the-bale-to-the-barn-floor-you-know-em-here-s/) [Clayton Lindemuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-lindemuth/) > [“Readers want white knuckles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-lindemuth/readers-want-white-knuckles/) [Clayton Lindemuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-lindemuth/) > [“This very morning she’d browsed her favorite chapter in Ephesians, which reminded her that the Lord had a plan for her life, with good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-lindemuth/this-very-morning-she-d-browsed-her-favorite-chapter-in-ephesians/) [Clayton Lindemuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-lindemuth/) [Explore all 5 Clayton Lindemuth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-lindemuth/) ## More Eighteen quotes > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) > [“Caleb frowns at him. "How old are you, anyway?" "Eighteen." "And you don't think you're too old to be with my little sister?" Tobias…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/caleb-frowns-at-him-how-old-are-you-anyway-eighteen-and-you-don-t/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She escaped from the schools when she turned eighteen. 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The rest of your life is nothing but a bunch of big beautiful tomorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-abrams/so-what-do-you-know-about-life-when-you-re-eighteen-the-rest-of-your/) [Lauren Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-abrams/) > [My first real acting job was 'Skins' at eighteen years old, and I just kind of grew into myself in those two years; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-pasqualino/my-first-real-acting-job-was-skins-at-eighteen-years-old-and-i-just/) [Luke Pasqualino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-pasqualino/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“Forever feels a long time when you're eighteen. When you're away from home for the first time in your life, when you forge instant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/forever-feels-a-long-time-when-you-re-eighteen-when-you-re-away-from/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [I remember the first time I went to Italy when I was eighteen, I was in Florence and there were all these eighteen, nineteen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-italy-when-i-was-eighteen-i-was/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Seventeen's not so young. A hundred years ago people got married when they were practically our age." "Yeah, that was before electricity and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/seventeen-s-not-so-young-a-hundred-years-ago-people-got-married-when/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [ Elle Fanning was fifteen when we started \[The Neon Demon\]. She turned seventeen during the shoot. Four weeks before Cannes, she turned eighteen. She… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/elle-fanning-was-fifteen-when-we-started-the-neon-demon-she-turned/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [Anyone that has come to America past the age of eighteen will be able to understand when I say that you can never shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-yan/anyone-that-has-come-to-america-past-the-age-of-eighteen-will-be-able/) [Martin Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-yan/) [Browse all 465 Eighteen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighteen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The walnut tree told me when Emeline Margulies turned eighteen. Law-wise in Pennsylvania, a girl burns her ships at eighteen. 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