--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The immense accretion of flesh which had…" description: "\"The immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her in middle life like a flood of lava on a doomed city had changed her from a plump active litt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/edith-wharton-512_accepted_the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had_1418930.png" --- # The immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her… ![“The immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her in middle life like a flood of lava on a doomed city had changed her from a plump active little woman with a neatly-turned foot and ankle into something as vast and august as a natural phenomenon. She had accepted this submergence as…” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/edith-wharton-512_accepted_the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had_1418930.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/edith-wharton-512_accepted_the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had_1418930.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/edith-wharton-512_accepted_the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had_1418930.png) > “The immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her in middle life like a flood of lava on a doomed city had changed her from a plump active little woman with a neatly-turned foot and ankle into something as vast and august as a natural phenomenon. She had accepted this submergence as philosohpically as all her other trials, and now, in extreme old age, was rewarded by presenting to her mirror an almost unwrinkled expanse of firm pink and white flesh, in the centre of which the traces of a small face survived as if awaiting excavation.” [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. A woman’s physical transformation mirrors her inner growth and acceptance of aging. **In simple terms:** Body changes reflect inner evolution. Key Takeaway Embrace change at any age. Themes aging identity beauty Mood reflective poetic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - personal reflection - artistic description - literary analysis Key Concepts self‑acceptance body image Questions to Reflect On - How does appearance shape self‑perception? - What does the metaphor reveal about society? A Different Perspective Focus on physicality may overlook emotional nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/august/) [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Flood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flood/) [Lava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lava/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Little women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-women/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) ## Related quotes > [Bulletproof is about the fact that I was shot in the face and survived. 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She had accepted this submergence as philosohpically as all her other trials, and now, in extreme old age, was rewarded by presenting to her mirror an almost unwrinkled expanse of firm pink and white flesh, in the centre of which the traces of a small face survived as if awaiting excavation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edith Wharton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had-descended-on-her-in-middle/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepted" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had-descended-on-her-in-middle/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/edith-wharton-512_accepted_the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had_1418930.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/edith-wharton-512_accepted_the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had_1418930.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/edith-wharton-512_accepted_the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had_1418930.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The immense accretion of flesh which had descended on her in middle life like a flood of lava on a doomed…” — 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": "The immense accretion of flesh which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had-descended-on-her-in-middle/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-immense-accretion-of-flesh-which-had-descended-on-her-in-middle/#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 } } ] } ```