--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And yet I cannot shake off my misgivings…" description: "\"“And yet I cannot shake off my misgivings. Even now I can picture her face—so innocent in appearance, so distressed at being accused—and I am forced to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/diane-setterfield-1008_doubt_and-yet-i-cannot-shake-off-my-misgivings_226650.jpg" --- # And yet I cannot shake off my misgivings. Even now I can… ![“And yet I cannot shake off my misgivings. Even now I can picture her face—so innocent in appearance, so distressed at being accused—and I am forced to wonder, is there some additional factor at play here that I have failed to take into account? When I view the matter in this light it gives rise to…” quote by Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/diane-setterfield-1008_doubt_and-yet-i-cannot-shake-off-my-misgivings_226650.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/diane-setterfield-1008_doubt_and-yet-i-cannot-shake-off-my-misgivings_226650.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/448/diane-setterfield-1008_doubt_and-yet-i-cannot-shake-off-my-misgivings_226650.jpg) > ““And yet I cannot shake off my misgivings. Even now I can picture her face—so innocent in appearance, so distressed at being accused—and I am forced to wonder, is there some additional factor at play here that I have failed to take into account? When I view the matter in this light it gives rise to an uneasiness in me: I am suddenly overwhelmed by the presentiment that none of my plans is destined to come to fruition. Something has been against me ever since I came to this house! Something that wants to thwart me and frustrate me in every project I undertake! I have checked and rechecked my thinking, retraced every step in my logic, I can find no flaw, yet still I find myself beset by doubt . . . . What is it that I am failing to see?”” [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## 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 doubts her judgments, fearing unseen forces sabotage her plans, despite thorough reasoning, leading to pervasive anxiety. **In simple terms:** Doubt persists even after logical checks. Key Takeaway Question hidden assumptions, seek clarity. Themes doubt anxiety self‑scrutiny Mood uncertain reflective Type philosophical introspective When to use this quote - decision making - creative projects - personal reflection Key Concepts cognitive bias uncertainty paranoia Questions to Reflect On - What concrete evidence contradicts your fear? - How can you balance caution with confidence? A Different Perspective Over‑analysis can paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Every step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-step/) [Misgivings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misgivings/) [Misgivings Picture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misgivings-picture-2305049/) [Overwhelmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelmed/) [Shake Misgivings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shake-misgivings-2305048/) ## Related quotes > [“ misgivings , n . Last night, I got up the courage to ask you if you regretted us. "There are things I miss,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/misgivings-n-last-night-i-got-up-the-courage-to-ask-you-if-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Every crime has, in the moment of its perpetration, Its own avenging angel-dark misgiving, An ominous sinking at the inmost heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/every-crime-has-in-the-moment-of-its-perpetration-its-own-avenging/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [A prudent mind can see room for misgiving, lest he who prospers should one day suffer reverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/a-prudent-mind-can-see-room-for-misgiving-lest-he-who-prospers-should/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [For the few little successes I may seem to have, there are acres of misgivings and self-doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/for-the-few-little-successes-i-may-seem-to-have-there-are-acres-of/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Let him that sows the serpent's teeth not hope to reap a joyous harvest. Every crime has, in the moment of its perpetration, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/let-him-that-sows-the-serpent-s-teeth-not-hope-to-reap-a-joyous/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [One day, digital will be it. Analog will just be another oddity, and that's fine, too. I have no great misgivings about it, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanderslice/one-day-digital-will-be-it-analog-will-just-be-another-oddity-and/) [John Vanderslice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanderslice/) > [There will be no misgiving, no shrinking back, no calculation of overpowering odds, no terror of possible consequences, if you frankly accept the gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/there-will-be-no-misgiving-no-shrinking-back-no-calculation-of-2/) [Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/) > [Nobody ever launched an attack without having misgivings beforehand, You ought to have misgivings before; but when the moment of action is come, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/nobody-ever-launched-an-attack-without-having-misgivings-beforehand/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I had been conscious of depression and so I voiced to (Sec. Of War Stimson) my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/i-had-been-conscious-of-depression-and-so-i-voiced-to-sec-of-war/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Those obstinate questionings Of sense and outward things, Fallings from us, vanishings; Blank misgivings of a Creature Moving about in worlds not realised, High…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/those-obstinate-questionings-of-sense-and-outward-things-fallings/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“When we fail to reflect on the undercurrents of the circumstances of our life, we may have permanent misgivings about the quality of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/when-we-fail-to-reflect-on-the-undercurrents-of-the-circumstances-of/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Initially, less appealing to me than the idea of a vampire that is drawn by some misgiving or drawn by some sense of longing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/initially-less-appealing-to-me-than-the-idea-of-a-vampire-that-is/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [“Part II: Misgivings & Magic Darkness? Is it terrifying, or is it beautiful?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-vaineo/part-ii-misgivings-magic-darkness-is-it-terrifying-or-is-it-beautiful/) [J.R. Vaineo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-vaineo/) > [Like many others, I have deep misgivings about the state of education in the United States. Too many of our students fail to graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/like-many-others-i-have-deep-misgivings-about-the-state-of-education/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I return with feelings of misgiving from my third war-I was the first American commander to put his signature to a paper ending a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-return-with-feelings-of-misgiving-from-my-third-war-i-was-the-first/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Diane Setterfield > [“They are more real than the books on the shelves, books that are sketched with the barest hint of a line here and there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/they-are-more-real-than-the-books-on-the-shelves-books-that-are/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Margaret Lea.” “The biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/margaret-lea-the-biographer/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“He was the first of my ghosts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-was-the-first-of-my-ghosts/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“It was like living entirely inside a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/it-was-like-living-entirely-inside-a-book/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Then something rang a bell in his mind. What”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/then-something-rang-a-bell-in-his-mind-what/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [What better way to get to know someone than through her choice and treatment of books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/what-better-way-to-get-to-know-someone-than-through-her-choice-and/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“I have always been a reader; I have read at every stage of my life, and there has never been a time when reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-have-always-been-a-reader-i-have-read-at-every-stage-of-my-life-and/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Yesterday or the day before, while I had been going about my business, quietly and in private, some unknown person—some stranger—had gone to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/yesterday-or-the-day-before-while-i-had-been-going-about-my-business/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“the Missus stood like a ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-missus-stood-like-a-ghost/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“But perhaps the answer is to stop writing altogether, for when I do write, even now as I write this very sentence, this very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/but-perhaps-the-answer-is-to-stop-writing-altogether-for-when-i-do/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Our clients' faces, with the customary outward paleness and inner glow of the book lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/our-clients-faces-with-the-customary-outward-paleness-and-inner-glow/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“He felt something move in his chest, as though an organ had been removed and something unfamiliar left in its place. A sentiment he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-felt-something-move-in-his-chest-as-though-an-organ-had-been/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Still in my coat and hat, I sank onto the stair to read the letter. (I never read without making sure I am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/still-in-my-coat-and-hat-i-sank-onto-the-stair-to-read-the-letter-i/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [I still believe in stories. I still forget myself when I am in the middle of a good book. Books are for me, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-still-believe-in-stories-i-still-forget-myself-when-i-am-in-the/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Of course I loved books more than people. Of course I valued "Jane Eyre" over the anonymous stranger...Of course all of Shakespeare was worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/of-course-i-loved-books-more-than-people-of-course-i-valued-jane-eyre/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) [Explore all 292 Diane Setterfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## More Doubt quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [We know accurately only when we know little, with knowledge doubt increases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-know-accurately-only-when-we-know-little-with-knowledge-doubt/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100%](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-and-i-know-in-my-time-there-will-be-a/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Two powerful, little words I've learned to use when facing challenges, fears, and doubts— so what? ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/two-powerful-little-words-i-ve-learned-to-use-when-facing-challenges/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible - and no one can now doubt the word of America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/for-diplomacy-to-be-effective-words-must-be-credible-and-no-one-can/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Vision motivates, sustains and dispels doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-young/vision-motivates-sustains-and-dispels-doubt/) [Thomas Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-young/) > [One may not doubt that, somehow Good Shall come of Water and of Mud; And sure, the reverent eye must see A purpose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-brooke/one-may-not-doubt-that-somehow-good-shall-come-of-water-and-of-mud/) [Rupert Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-brooke/) > [Let smiles overshadow sadness. Let faith make you believe. Let confidence wash away doubts. Let love complete your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/let-smiles-overshadow-sadness-let-faith-make-you-believe-let/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When in doubt, suggest that a subcommittee be appointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapman/when-in-doubt-suggest-that-a-subcommittee-be-appointed/) [Harry Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapman/) > [“Those who contemplate never escape the doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/those-who-contemplate-never-escape-the-doubt/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) [Browse all 9,582 Doubt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And yet I cannot shake off my misgivings. 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