--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She looked up at me, her eyes large with…" description: "\"“She looked up at me, her eyes large with compassion, with understanding of the solitude and incivility of grief.”\" — Donna Tartt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/donna-tartt-391_compassion_she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with_1654537.jpg" --- # She looked up at me, her eyes large with compassion, with… ![“She looked up at me, her eyes large with compassion, with understanding of the solitude and incivility of grief.” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/donna-tartt-391_compassion_she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with_1654537.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/donna-tartt-391_compassion_she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with_1654537.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/donna-tartt-391_compassion_she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with_1654537.jpg) > ““She looked up at me, her eyes large with compassion, with understanding of the solitude and incivility of grief.”” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compassionate eyes convey deep empathy for the isolated and grieving, highlighting shared humanity. **In simple terms:** Kind eyes show empathy for lonely grief. Key Takeaway Offer genuine compassion to those in sorrow. Themes empathy grief human connection literature Mood somber hopeful intimate Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - supporting a grieving friend - volunteering at a hospice - writing about loss - counseling sessions Key Concepts psychology emotional intelligence narrative therapy Questions to Reflect On - How do you express empathy without overstepping? - What gestures best comfort someone grieving? A Different Perspective Compassion can be misread as pity if not sincere. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-understanding-531709/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Large Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-compassion-690925/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Looked Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looked-eyes/) [Understanding Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-solitude-690926/) ## Related quotes > [Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/conversation-enriches-the-understanding-but-solitude-is-the-school-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Loving ourselves points us to capacities of resilience, compassion, and understanding within that are simply part of being alive. —S”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-neff/loving-ourselves-points-us-to-capacities-of-resilience-compassion-and/) [Kristin Neff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-neff/) > [“as a collective whole we ask for compassion and understanding but have a hard time handing it out when the time comes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-quinn/as-a-collective-whole-we-ask-for-compassion-and-understanding-but/) [Meghan Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-quinn/) > [At the end of the day, I believe we can all work to foster a spirit of compassion, understanding, and awareness within our communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-stills/at-the-end-of-the-day-i-believe-we-can-all-work-to-foster-a-spirit-of/) [Kenny Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-stills/) > [Though we all have the fear and the seeds of anger within us, we must learn not to water those seeds and instead nourish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/though-we-all-have-the-fear-and-the-seeds-of-anger-within-us-we-must/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves "inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/the-essence-of-love-and-compassion-is-understanding-the-ability-to/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [“It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding. - Erma Bombeck”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjuelle-floyd/it-is-not-until-you-become-a-mother-that-your-judgment-slowly-turns/) [Anjuelle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjuelle-floyd/) > [“You are the very creator and co-creator of your own reality. When you allow yourself to remember what you already know about yourself on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-zernoff/you-are-the-very-creator-and-co-creator-of-your-own-reality-when-you/) [Raphael Zernoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-zernoff/) > [Compassion and understanding are like my life principles I plan on practicing till the day I die. It may take a long, long time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/compassion-and-understanding-are-like-my-life-principles-i-plan-on/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Creating unity and compassion and understanding of each of our brothers and sisters is so powerful. We have to preach that to the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubba-wallace/creating-unity-and-compassion-and-understanding-of-each-of-our/) [Bubba Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubba-wallace/) > [I've done and said a lot of things when I was younger that I don't know if I even understood what I was doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-ve-done-and-said-a-lot-of-things-when-i-was-younger-that-i-don-t/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [“Cruel people offer pity when they no longer feel threatened. However, kind people offer compassion and understanding regardless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/cruel-people-offer-pity-when-they-no-longer-feel-threatened-however/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Love, compassion and understanding can help the world become a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika-chawla/love-compassion-and-understanding-can-help-the-world-become-a-better/) [Bhumika Chawla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika-chawla/) > [“Nothing on earth is as unbearable as dealing with other people if you are a person who lacks compassion and understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/nothing-on-earth-is-as-unbearable-as-dealing-with-other-people-if-you/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“Two people may suffer the same disappointment, one might be saddened, the other understanding. Two people may receive the same insult, one might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-dooley/two-people-may-suffer-the-same-disappointment-one-might-be-saddened/) [Mike Dooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-dooley/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always remember, the person we’re really working for is the person who’s restoring the piece a hundred years from now. He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She looked up at me, her eyes large with compassion, with understanding of the solitude and incivility of grief.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donna Tartt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with-compassion-with-understanding/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with-compassion-with-understanding/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/donna-tartt-391_compassion_she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with_1654537.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/donna-tartt-391_compassion_she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with_1654537.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/363/donna-tartt-391_compassion_she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with_1654537.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She looked up at me, her eyes large with compassion, with understanding of the solitude and incivility of…” — Donna Tartt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Donna Tartt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“She looked up at me, her...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with-compassion-with-understanding/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/she-looked-up-at-me-her-eyes-large-with-compassion-with-understanding/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```