--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Selden and Lily stood still, accepting…" description: "\"Selden and Lily stood still, accepting the unreality of the scene as a part of their own dream-like sensations. It would not have surprised them to fee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-wharton-512_accepting_selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-th_1490312.png" --- # Selden and Lily stood still, accepting the unreality of… ![“Selden and Lily stood still, accepting the unreality of the scene as a part of their own dream-like sensations. It would not have surprised them to feel a summer breeze on their faces, or to see the lights among the boughs reduplicated in the arch of a starry sky. The strange solitude about them…” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-wharton-512_accepting_selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-th_1490312.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-wharton-512_accepting_selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-th_1490312.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-wharton-512_accepting_selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-th_1490312.png) > “Selden and Lily stood still, accepting the unreality of the scene as a part of their own dream-like sensations. It would not have surprised them to feel a summer breeze on their faces, or to see the lights among the boughs reduplicated in the arch of a starry sky. The strange solitude about them was no stranger than the sweetness of being alone in it together.” [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters accept surreal surroundings as part of a shared dream, finding comfort in solitary togetherness. **In simple terms:** Finding peace in shared solitude. Key Takeaway Embrace collective solitude. Themes solitude dreams shared experience comfort acceptance Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - artistic reflection - personal meditation - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism subjective reality psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does shared solitude affect personal identity? - What does the dream-like setting reveal about their inner world? A Different Perspective The perception of unreality may mask underlying anxieties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Arches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arches/) [Breeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breeze/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Lilies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lilies/) [Lily Stood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lily-stood-3105811/) [Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene/) [Selden Lily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selden-lily-5445665/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Solitude Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude-stranger-487823/) [Starry sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starry-sky/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-solitude-5445664/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Summer breeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-breeze/) [Sweetness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweetness/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Unreality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unreality/) ## Related quotes > [ I have at last, after several months' experience, made up my mind that \[New York\] is a splendid desert--a domed and steepled solitude, where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-at-last-after-several-months-experience-made-up-my-mind-that/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“But as the sun slipped even further, his eyes weren’t drawn to the horizon. He watched Lily as she stood on the dock, glorying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elyse-mady/but-as-the-sun-slipped-even-further-his-eyes-weren-t-drawn-to-the/) [Elyse Mady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elyse-mady/) > [At first glance, I underestimated how much of an impact you would have on my life. But now, every time I see your infectious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-s-onda/at-first-glance-i-underestimated-how-much-of-an-impact-you-would-have/) [Ty S Onda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-s-onda/) > [“Standing in front of the white picket fence, I stared at the multitude of champagne roses weaving their hunter green vines gracefully through and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-lozano/standing-in-front-of-the-white-picket-fence-i-stared-at-the-multitude/) [Leah Lozano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-lozano/) > [“The two of us sat back down in the swing and continued sitting side-by-side the first Day of June; moving to-and-fro in the swing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-kaelin/the-two-of-us-sat-back-down-in-the-swing-and-continued-sitting-side/) [Kat Kaelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-kaelin/) > [“He may have liked many other things, but we know for certain only that he liked a sweet summer breeze, stars shining softly above,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-sorrentino/he-may-have-liked-many-other-things-but-we-know-for-certain-only-that/) [Gilbert Sorrentino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-sorrentino/) > [“She smiles at me and it sends a warm summer breeze around the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jandy-nelson/she-smiles-at-me-and-it-sends-a-warm-summer-breeze-around-the-room/) [Jandy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jandy-nelson/) > [“This afternoon, being on Fair Haven Hill, I heard the sound of a saw, and soon after from the Cliff saw two men sawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-afternoon-being-on-fair-haven-hill-i-heard-the-sound-of-a-saw/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am sad, like the hot dust on the streets And the music of fresh fallen leaves Caught in a sliding summer breeze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hastie/i-am-sad-like-the-hot-dust-on-the-streets-and-the-music-of-fresh/) [Scott Hastie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hastie/) > [“Remember children, once I am gone I will be part of it all Everything will be me and together be free The songs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-leckman/remember-children-once-i-am-gone-i-will-be-part-of-it-all-everything/) [Neil Leckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-leckman/) > [“And so everything is new and brave, red poppies and good food, cigarettes and summer breeze.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/and-so-everything-is-new-and-brave-red-poppies-and-good-food/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [The summer breeze was blowing on your face Within your violet you treasure your summery words And as the shiver from my neck down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-summer-breeze-was-blowing-on-your-face-within-your-violet-you/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Summer breeze you been calling my name it's been a while but my hearts still the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-snow/summer-breeze-you-been-calling-my-name-it-s-been-a-while-but-my/) [Christy Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-snow/) > [“I sit down by the river. Its incessant flow has polished the rocks carried from the top of the mountain. The aqueous caress, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-dubois/i-sit-down-by-the-river-its-incessant-flow-has-polished-the-rocks/) [Gabrielle Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-dubois/) > [So, when I was eight or nine my mom's friend gave her a big purple bag full of cassettes and I found Seals and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-harding/so-when-i-was-eight-or-nine-my-mom-s-friend-gave-her-a-big-purple-bag/) [Aldous Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-harding/) ## More by Edith Wharton > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. And he felt himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/untrained-human-nature-was-not-frank-and-innocent-it-was-full-of-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“High Pasture Come up--come up: in the dim vale below The autumn mist muffles the fading trees, But on this keen hill-pasture, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/high-pasture-come-up-come-up-in-the-dim-vale-below-the-autumn-mist/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“... no treasure-house of Atreus was ever as rich as a well-stored memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/no-treasure-house-of-atreus-was-ever-as-rich-as-a-well-stored-memory/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of-the-other-marriages-about/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-the-saddest-thing-there-is-next-to-death/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Dialogue in fiction should be reserved for the culminating moments and regarded as the spray into which the great wave of narrative breaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/dialogue-in-fiction-should-be-reserved-for-the-culminating-moments/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“These Americans, under their forthcoming manner, their surface-gush, as some might call it, have an odd reticence about what goes on underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/these-americans-under-their-forthcoming-manner-their-surface-gush-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Explore all 504 Edith Wharton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Selden and Lily stood still, accepting the unreality of the scene as a part of their own dream-like sensations. It would not have surprised them to feel a summer breeze on their faces, or to see the lights among the boughs reduplicated in the arch of a starry sky. The strange solitude about them was no stranger than the sweetness of being alone in it together.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edith Wharton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-the-unreality-of-the-scene-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-the-unreality-of-the-scene-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-wharton-512_accepting_selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-th_1490312.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-wharton-512_accepting_selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-th_1490312.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/591/edith-wharton-512_accepting_selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-th_1490312.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Selden and Lily stood still, accepting the unreality of the scene as a part of their own dream-like…” — Edith Wharton", "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": "Edith Wharton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Selden and Lily stood still, accepting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-the-unreality-of-the-scene-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/selden-and-lily-stood-still-accepting-the-unreality-of-the-scene-as-a/#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 } } ] } ```