Child Quote by Davis Grubb
““All that evening Nell sat alone in her bedroom trembling with curious satisfaction. For punishment Eva had been sent to her room without supper and Nell sat listening now to the even, steady sobs far off down the hall. It was dark and on the river shore a night bird tried its note cautiously against the silence. Down in the pantry, the dishes done, Suse and Jessie, dark as night itself, drank coffee by the great stove and mumbled over stories of the old times before the War. Nell fetched her smelling salts and sniffed the frosted stopper of the flowered bottle till the trembling stopped. ("Where The Woodbine Twineth")””
About This Quote
Source Short Story: “Where The Woodbine Twineth” by Davis Grubb, 1945
A girl experiences a mix of fear and secret pleasure while being punished, observing the quiet domestic scene around her.
In simple terms: A child feels nervous excitement during a punishment.
Key Takeaway
Notice hidden emotions in uncomfortable moments.
Themes
fear
curiosity
punishment
solitude
family
Mood
tense
reflective
Type
literary
psychological
When to use this quote
- school discipline
- family dinner
- nighttime reflections
- personal introspection
Key Concepts
psychology
social dynamics
childhood
routine
Questions to Reflect On
- What does the quiet setting reveal about inner conflict?
- How do small acts of rebellion feel rewarding?
A Different Perspective
The context may limit the universality of the emotional response.
![“To wake up on a gloriously bright morning, in a tent pitched beneath spruce trees, and to look out lazily and sleepily for a moment from the open side of the tent, across the dead camp-fire of the night before, to the river, where the light of morning rests and perhaps some early-rising[240]…” quote by Josiah Edward Spurr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/00a/josiah-edward-spurr-169067_alaska_to-wake-up-on-a-gloriously-bright-mornin_1772902.jpg)
