--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God…" description: "\"“But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God knows who put the words into her mouth. They were not her own. They were foreign to her, stupid words behind whi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_but-alberta-sat-there-wretchedly-god-kno_2699667.jpg" --- # But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God knows who put the… ![“But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God knows who put the words into her mouth. They were not her own. They were foreign to her, stupid words behind which she hid herself. Her own never saw the light of day, they died unborn or withered on her tongue and were born distorted. She was disabled, she…” quote by Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_but-alberta-sat-there-wretchedly-god-kno_2699667.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_but-alberta-sat-there-wretchedly-god-kno_2699667.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/cora-sandel-31039_alberta_but-alberta-sat-there-wretchedly-god-kno_2699667.jpg) > ““But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God knows who put the words into her mouth. They were not her own. They were foreign to her, stupid words behind which she hid herself. Her own never saw the light of day, they died unborn or withered on her tongue and were born distorted. She was disabled, she was without the use of speech, she would die of muteness.”” [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman’s speech is suppressed by foreign, meaningless words, leading to muteness and loss of voice. **In simple terms:** She cannot speak because of imposed words. Key Takeaway Encourage authentic self‑expression. Themes silence identity oppression Mood sad empathetic Type literary psychological When to use this quote - education - therapy - advocacy Key Concepts language self‑worth communication Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape personal identity? - What helps reclaim a lost voice? A Different Perspective Words can imprison the mind. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alberta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alberta/) [Died Unborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died-unborn-2723005/) [God knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-knows/) [Speech Die](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-die-2723006/) [Withered Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/withered-tongue-2723003/) [Words Hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-hid-2723004/) ## Related quotes > [“For her too, she had words on her lips, which died unborn, lay in her mind and turned to poison.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/for-her-too-she-had-words-on-her-lips-which-died-unborn-lay-in-her/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [I'd rather die on my feet making a speech than die of Alzheimer's - and that's what I'm planning to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-d-rather-die-on-my-feet-making-a-speech-than-die-of-alzheimer-s-and/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [There was a wise old owl who sat in a tree The less he spoke the more he heard The more he heard the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/there-was-a-wise-old-owl-who-sat-in-a-tree-the-less-he-spoke-the-more/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [“The truth was Alberta only knew what she did not want. She had no idea what she did want. And not knowing brought unrest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/the-truth-was-alberta-only-knew-what-she-did-not-want-she-had-no-idea/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Sometimes Alberta felt as if there were a conspiracy against her, as if the whole world were in agreement not to say a word.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/sometimes-alberta-felt-as-if-there-were-a-conspiracy-against-her-as/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Alberta had always had many forms of idling. She frittered away her time with virtuosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-had-always-had-many-forms-of-idling-she-frittered-away-her/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Alberta was back again. Back to it all, to all that was warped and desultory, to the lies and evasions and small, hidden irons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-was-back-again-back-to-it-all-to-all-that-was-warped-and/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [And if our goal as moral citizens is to make the world a better place, then there is only once choice: to pump as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-levant/and-if-our-goal-as-moral-citizens-is-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/) [Ezra Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-levant/) > [Before you rip off three feet of toilet paper, consider that each year 500,000 acres of virgin boreal forest in northern Alberta and Ontario…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/before-you-rip-off-three-feet-of-toilet-paper-consider-that-each-year/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [You can be in Tokyo or Alberta at four in the morning in your hotel and you can still practice if you feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toots-thielemans/you-can-be-in-tokyo-or-alberta-at-four-in-the-morning-in-your-hotel/) [Toots Thielemans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toots-thielemans/) > [Passionate and forcefully argued, Tar Sands is a wake-up call not just to Canadians but to the wider world to take a serious look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/passionate-and-forcefully-argued-tar-sands-is-a-wake-up-call-not-just/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [My husband was a hospital architect and he was working on some hospitals in Alberta, and I told him to try to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/my-husband-was-a-hospital-architect-and-he-was-working-on-some/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [It is imperative to take the initiative, to build firewalls around Alberta, to limit the extent to which an aggressive and hostile federal government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/it-is-imperative-to-take-the-initiative-to-build-firewalls-around/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [Probably no single event highlights the strength of Campbell's argument (on peak oil) better than the rapid development of the Alberta tar sands. Bitumen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/probably-no-single-event-highlights-the-strength-of-campbell-s/) [Andrew Nikiforuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-nikiforuk/) > [What's really important to remember is that this type of legislation exists in one form or another in every other province in the country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-notley/what-s-really-important-to-remember-is-that-this-type-of-legislation/) [Rachel Notley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-notley/) ## More by Cora Sandel > [“Alberta had always had many forms of idling. She frittered away her time with virtuosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-had-always-had-many-forms-of-idling-she-frittered-away-her/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Alberta was back again. Back to it all, to all that was warped and desultory, to the lies and evasions and small, hidden irons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-was-back-again-back-to-it-all-to-all-that-was-warped-and/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Old repressed antipathy stirred in her. She had a rooted fear of rooms full of objects. They weighed on down and held one there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/old-repressed-antipathy-stirred-in-her-she-had-a-rooted-fear-of-rooms/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“There was something she should have experienced, something besides this. There was a path somewhere that she could not find. It was and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/there-was-something-she-should-have-experienced-something-besides/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Alberta felt her face grow old and shrivelled at her own words. She was a shadow already, half old, distressing, comic. Something happened from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-felt-her-face-grow-old-and-shrivelled-at-her-own-words-she/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“She had some kind of foolish and unreasonable notion that the more doggedly she stood, the more would she placate certain mysterious powers which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/she-had-some-kind-of-foolish-and-unreasonable-notion-that-the-more/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“One was always met by a gust of greyness and narrow circumstances.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/one-was-always-met-by-a-gust-of-greyness-and-narrow-circumstances/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Sometimes Alberta felt as if there were a conspiracy against her, as if the whole world were in agreement not to say a word.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/sometimes-alberta-felt-as-if-there-were-a-conspiracy-against-her-as/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“For a moment they all stood silent. The departure of this autumn ship gave rise to many different thoughts. Something came out of hiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/for-a-moment-they-all-stood-silent-the-departure-of-this-autumn-ship/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“She laced up her shoes and put on her coat, bracing herself as she got ready to leave, trying to find that feeling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/she-laced-up-her-shoes-and-put-on-her-coat-bracing-herself-as-she-got/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“The truth was Alberta only knew what she did not want. She had no idea what she did want. And not knowing brought unrest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/the-truth-was-alberta-only-knew-what-she-did-not-want-she-had-no-idea/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“It placed its finger roughly on sore places.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/it-placed-its-finger-roughly-on-sore-places/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“It was not altogether easy when one's daughters were too gifted, it really wasn't. Mrs. Lossius nodded in the direction of Harriet, who, well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/it-was-not-altogether-easy-when-one-s-daughters-were-too-gifted-it/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“One morning there was newly fallen snow in the mountains. It lay halfway down them, and a raw cold, naked and biting, set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/one-morning-there-was-newly-fallen-snow-in-the-mountains-it-lay/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Jacob was to travel second class. This alone was inexpressibly tragic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/jacob-was-to-travel-second-class-this-alone-was-inexpressibly-tragic/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) [Explore all 17 Cora Sandel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) ## More Alberta quotes > [“Alberta had always had many forms of idling. She frittered away her time with virtuosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-had-always-had-many-forms-of-idling-she-frittered-away-her/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [“Alberta was back again. Back to it all, to all that was warped and desultory, to the lies and evasions and small, hidden irons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-sandel/alberta-was-back-again-back-to-it-all-to-all-that-was-warped-and/) [Cora Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-sandel/) > [Probably no single event highlights the strength of Campbell's argument (on peak oil) better than the rapid development of the Alberta tar sands. Bitumen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/probably-no-single-event-highlights-the-strength-of-campbell-s/) [Andrew Nikiforuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-nikiforuk/) > [It is imperative to take the initiative, to build firewalls around Alberta, to limit the extent to which an aggressive and hostile federal government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/it-is-imperative-to-take-the-initiative-to-build-firewalls-around/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [Before you rip off three feet of toilet paper, consider that each year 500,000 acres of virgin boreal forest in northern Alberta and Ontario…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/before-you-rip-off-three-feet-of-toilet-paper-consider-that-each-year/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [And if our goal as moral citizens is to make the world a better place, then there is only once choice: to pump as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-levant/and-if-our-goal-as-moral-citizens-is-to-make-the-world-a-better-place/) [Ezra Levant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-levant/) > [What's really important to remember is that this type of legislation exists in one form or another in every other province in the country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-notley/what-s-really-important-to-remember-is-that-this-type-of-legislation/) [Rachel Notley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-notley/) > [You can be in Tokyo or Alberta at four in the morning in your hotel and you can still practice if you feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toots-thielemans/you-can-be-in-tokyo-or-alberta-at-four-in-the-morning-in-your-hotel/) [Toots Thielemans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toots-thielemans/) > [Passionate and forcefully argued, Tar Sands is a wake-up call not just to Canadians but to the wider world to take a serious look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/passionate-and-forcefully-argued-tar-sands-is-a-wake-up-call-not-just/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [My husband was a hospital architect and he was working on some hospitals in Alberta, and I told him to try to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/my-husband-was-a-hospital-architect-and-he-was-working-on-some/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [You know what? I look forward to the Battle of Alberta for the next X number of years. If the idea is, 'Burn it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-feaster/you-know-what-i-look-forward-to-the-battle-of-alberta-for-the-next-x/) [Jay Feaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-feaster/) > [Rural Alberta is a lot less homogeneous than it used to be, partly because of my immigration policies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kenney/rural-alberta-is-a-lot-less-homogeneous-than-it-used-to-be-partly/) [Jason Kenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kenney/) > [Bishop Frederick Henry of Calgary is facing at least two official objections to his public statements along with expensive hearings before the Alberta Human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stockwell-day/bishop-frederick-henry-of-calgary-is-facing-at-least-two-official/) [Stockwell Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stockwell-day/) > [“Rose," Alberta said, leaning toward me. "I'm going to be blunt with you. I'm not going to give you lectures or demand any explanations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/rose-alberta-said-leaning-toward-me-i-m-going-to-be-blunt-with-you-i/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [You go to a lot of small communities in rural Alberta and you'll find a degree of diversity that probably hasn't existed in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kenney/you-go-to-a-lot-of-small-communities-in-rural-alberta-and-you-ll-find/) [Jason Kenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kenney/) [Browse all 42 Alberta quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alberta/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But Alberta sat there wretchedly. God knows who put the words into her mouth. They were not her own. They were foreign to her, stupid words behind which she hid herself. 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