--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Down the hall came the wife. She was…" description: "\"Down the hall came the wife. She was glorious, burning. She didn't know yet that her husband was dead. We knew. That's what gave her such power over us..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/denis-johnson-2135_alive_down-the-hall-came-the-wife-she-was-glor_591993.png" --- # Down the hall came the wife. She was glorious, burning… ![“Down the hall came the wife. She was glorious, burning. She didn't know yet that her husband was dead. We knew. That's what gave her such power over us. The doctor took her into a room with a desk at the end of the hall, and from under the closed door a slab of brilliance radiated as if, by some…” quote by Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/denis-johnson-2135_alive_down-the-hall-came-the-wife-she-was-glor_591993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/denis-johnson-2135_alive_down-the-hall-came-the-wife-she-was-glor_591993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/denis-johnson-2135_alive_down-the-hall-came-the-wife-she-was-glor_591993.png) > “Down the hall came the wife. She was glorious, burning. She didn't know yet that her husband was dead. We knew. That's what gave her such power over us. The doctor took her into a room with a desk at the end of the hall, and from under the closed door a slab of brilliance radiated as if, by some stupendous process, diamonds were being incinerated in there. What a pair of lungs! She shrieked as I imagined an eagle would shriek. It felt wonderful to be alive to hear it! I've gone looking for that feeling everywhere.” [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, surreal scene where a woman's presence and a doctor's observation evoke intense, almost ecstatic awareness of life and death. **In simple terms:** A powerful, strange moment highlights life's intensity. Key Takeaway Embrace moments that make you feel fully alive. Themes life death perception ecstasy surrealism Mood intense reflective surreal Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - hospital - personal crisis - artistic inspiration - seeking transcendence Key Concepts existentialism sensory vividness mortality Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize moments that make you feel alive? - What does this scene reveal about confronting mortality? A Different Perspective The intensity may be hyperbolic, not universally replicable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Brilliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance/) [Brilliance Radiated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliance-radiated-4842767/) [Burning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning/) [Closed door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closed-door/) [Closed doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closed-doors/) [Desks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desks/) [Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diamond/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eagles/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Glorious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorious/) [Glorious Burning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glorious-burning-4200260/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Halls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halls/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Lungs Shrieked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lungs-shrieked-4842766/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Pairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pairs/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Shrieked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrieked/) [Shrieked Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrieked-imagined-4842765/) [Slabs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slabs/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [“Once, at the peak of our shouting, Bird took a deep breath. At the top of his lungs, he shrieked: “I! HAVE NOT! BEEN!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/once-at-the-peak-of-our-shouting-bird-took-a-deep-breath-at-the-top/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“She would remake the world - remake it for them, those she had loved with this glorious, burning heart;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/she-would-remake-the-world-remake-it-for-them-those-she-had-loved-2/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Who is more amateurish, more vulnerable---those who rely on machines that need to be plugged in, or logged on, or in some other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fortier/who-is-more-amateurish-more-vulnerable-those-who-rely-on-machines/) [Anne Fortier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fortier/) > [There are three kinds of forms in the human figure: Ovoid forms - egg, ball and barrel masses; Column forms - cylinder, cone; Spatulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/there-are-three-kinds-of-forms-in-the-human-figure-ovoid-forms-egg/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [Slicing a warm slab of bacon is a lot like giving a ferret a shave. No matter how careful you are, somebody's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-brown/slicing-a-warm-slab-of-bacon-is-a-lot-like-giving-a-ferret-a-shave-no/) [Alton Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-brown/) > [The minute you had kids you closed ranks. You didn't plan this in advance, but it happened. Families were like individual, discrete, moated island…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/the-minute-you-had-kids-you-closed-ranks-you-didn-t-plan-this-in/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [I'm king of the dead and I make my throne On a monument slab of marble cold; And my scepter of rule is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin/i-m-king-of-the-dead-and-i-make-my-throne-on-a-monument-slab-of/) [Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin/) > [The facts are really not at all like fish on the fishmonger's slab. They are like fish swimming about in a vast and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hallett-carr/the-facts-are-really-not-at-all-like-fish-on-the-fishmonger-s-slab/) [Edward Hallett Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hallett-carr/) > [Beneath this slab John Brown is stowed. He watched the ads, And not the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/beneath-this-slab-john-brown-is-stowed-he-watched-the-ads-and-not-the/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [It was so ridiculous. We were just sitting there, thinking about how ridiculous it was because we literally had stray hairs on us. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-yeun/it-was-so-ridiculous-we-were-just-sitting-there-thinking-about-how/) [Steven Yeun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-yeun/) > [It's as if Japanese men, all to aware that deep inside they'd like to stomp Tokyo flat, breathe fire, and do truly terrible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-bourdain/it-s-as-if-japanese-men-all-to-aware-that-deep-inside-they-d-like-to/) [Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-bourdain/) > [At a certain fork in the road of automatization, Europeans chose to have more time, and they work far less than we do and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/at-a-certain-fork-in-the-road-of-automatization-europeans-chose-to/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [When you think about a barbecue, most people think of slabs of ribs, but you don't need to do that in today's culinary barbecue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-garvin/when-you-think-about-a-barbecue-most-people-think-of-slabs-of-ribs/) [G. Garvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-garvin/) > [In America, even your menus have the gift of language… The Chef's own Vienna Roast. A hearty, rich meat loaf, gently seasoned to perfection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-lee/in-america-even-your-menus-have-the-gift-of-language-the-chef-s-own/) [Laurie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-lee/) > [To make a face from marble means to remove from the slab everything that is not the face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/to-make-a-face-from-marble-means-to-remove-from-the-slab-everything/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## More by Denis Johnson > [“You’ve never felt good. Your suffering protects you. Pain is the ransom you have gladly paid not to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/you-ve-never-felt-good-your-suffering-protects-you-pain-is-the-ransom/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He had laid his head back until his scalp had contacted his spine, that far back, and opened his throat, and a sound rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-had-laid-his-head-back-until-his-scalp-had-contacted-his-spine/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Everything is arranged," John Robertson told me. Thank God." I forgot to mention that we appear to have one small problem," he said. Okay..."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/everything-is-arranged-john-robertson-told-me-thank-god-i-forgot-to/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [Before this moment I'd lived as a mind. Body, heart, soul, intellect, so we care ourselves into parts. But the whole of us, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/before-this-moment-i-d-lived-as-a-mind-body-heart-soul-intellect-so/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [He got right down in the dark between heartbeats, and rested there. And then he saw that another one wasn't going to come. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-got-right-down-in-the-dark-between-heartbeats-and-rested-there-and/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I’d been staying at the Holiday Inn with my girlfriend, honestly the most beautiful woman I’d even known, for three days under a phony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-d-been-staying-at-the-holiday-inn-with-my-girlfriend-honestly-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“All of this while I left lifted by a strange new medium, a strange element--I now tell you that I was newly buoyant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/all-of-this-while-i-left-lifted-by-a-strange-new-medium-a-strange/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He didn’t know what country he was in, but he was at home in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-didn-t-know-what-country-he-was-in-but-he-was-at-home-in-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“There's a dizzying thrill in a philosophy that can only be tested by suicide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/there-s-a-dizzying-thrill-in-a-philosophy-that-can-only-be-tested-by/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-it-s-like-the-ocean-you-can-just-build/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Who said it? – probably Confucius – “I can’t beat a sculpture from a stone with a sledgehammer; I can’t free the soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/who-said-it-probably-confucius-i-can-t-beat-a-sculpture-from-a-stone/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“A bus came. I climbed aboard and sat on the plastic seat while the things of our city turned in the windows like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/a-bus-came-i-climbed-aboard-and-sat-on-the-plastic-seat-while-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I knew every raindrop by its name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-knew-every-raindrop-by-its-name/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“To find the people who've became truly sane, seek among those who've managed to do without sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/to-find-the-people-who-ve-became-truly-sane-seek-among-those-who-ve/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“eventually these encounters forced him to acknowledge the reality of fate, and the truth inherent in things of the imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/eventually-these-encounters-forced-him-to-acknowledge-the-reality-of/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) [Explore all 183 Denis Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Down the hall came the wife. She was glorious, burning. She didn't know yet that her husband was dead. We knew. That's what gave her such power over us. The doctor took her into a room with a desk at the end of the hall, and from under the closed door a slab of brilliance radiated as if, by some stupendous process, diamonds were being incinerated in there. What a pair of lungs! She shrieked as I imagined an eagle would shriek. It felt wonderful to be alive to hear it! 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