--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with…" description: "\"Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with lice.\" — Eileen Chang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/eileen-chang-60052_extravagant_life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with_1375809.png" --- # Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with lice. ![“Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with lice.” quote by Eileen Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/eileen-chang-60052_extravagant_life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with_1375809.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/eileen-chang-60052_extravagant_life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with_1375809.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/eileen-chang-60052_extravagant_life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with_1375809.png) > “Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with lice.” [Eileen Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-chang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Compares life's beauty to a lavish dress plagued by tiny problems. **In simple terms:** Life is beautiful yet flawed. Key Takeaway Accept imperfections amidst splendor. Themes beauty imperfection life Mood melancholy wry Type literary reflective When to use this quote - Fashion industry - personal health - social critique - creative writing Key Concepts Existential irony human condition Questions to Reflect On - What 'gilded' aspects of life do you overlook? - How can you cherish beauty despite flaws? A Different Perspective Focusing on flaws can diminish appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extravagant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extravagant/) [Extravagant Gown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extravagant-gown-3264552/) [Gown Riddled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gown-riddled-4750841/) [Gowns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gowns/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lice/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Extravagant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-extravagant-4735313/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Riddled Lice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riddled-lice-4305197/) ## Related quotes > [My life is extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudie-styler/my-life-is-extravagant/) [Trudie Styler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudie-styler/) > [I used to always be putting my hat on children being photographed and then getting home and discovering I was riddled with lice. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-baker/i-used-to-always-be-putting-my-hat-on-children-being-photographed-and/) [Tom Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-baker/) > [I'm not extra, I'm not going to be the person walking around the house in an extravagant gown during quarantine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-layne/i-m-not-extra-i-m-not-going-to-be-the-person-walking-around-the-house/) [KiKi Layne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-layne/) > [“I am filthy. I am riddled with lice. Hogs, when they look at me, vomit. My skin is encrusted with the scabs and scales…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/comte-de-lautr-amont/i-am-filthy-i-am-riddled-with-lice-hogs-when-they-look-at-me-vomit-my/) [Comte de Lautréamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comte-de-lautr-amont/) > [“She crowned him with a whisky bottle and her tongue was full of lice and tomorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/she-crowned-him-with-a-whisky-bottle-and-her-tongue-was-full-of-lice/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [Love is a delicate plant that needs constant tending and nurturing, and this cannot be done by snorting at the adored object like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-a-delicate-plant-that-needs-constant-tending-and-nurturing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Glory of war, indeed! In war, all soldiers are lousy, at least when it is warm enough. The men who fought at Verdun, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/glory-of-war-indeed-in-war-all-soldiers-are-lousy-at-least-when-it-is/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [There is a cultural taste which tries very hard to get rid of the lice in a fur coat. There is another which tolerates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/there-is-a-cultural-taste-which-tries-very-hard-to-get-rid-of-the/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Actually, scientists don't know exactly how lice jumped from gorillas to our human ancestors. They speculate that we may have eaten them or perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziya-tong/actually-scientists-don-t-know-exactly-how-lice-jumped-from-gorillas/) [Ziya Tong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziya-tong/) > [When I was a child, headlice were something to be mentioned in hushed horror. There was undoubtedly an element of snobbery in this, since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-front/when-i-was-a-child-headlice-were-something-to-be-mentioned-in-hushed/) [Rebecca Front](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-front/) > [“Lice consume grass, rust consumes iron, and lying the soul!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/lice-consume-grass-rust-consumes-iron-and-lying-the-soul/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [According to a Public Policy Polling survey, most Americans find lice and colonoscopies more appealing than Capitol Hill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/according-to-a-public-policy-polling-survey-most-americans-find-lice/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [“Indeed, to spur your Baal to action, I will taunt and challenge you ... to create as much as a single frog in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/indeed-to-spur-your-baal-to-action-i-will-taunt-and-challenge-you-to/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/the-very-first-thing-i-tell-my-new-students-on-the-first-day-of-a/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) ## More by Eileen Chang > [“Opening her handbag, she took out a small bottle of perfume and touched the stopper behind her ears. Its cool, glassy edge felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/opening-her-handbag-she-took-out-a-small-bottle-of-perfume-and/) [Eileen Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-chang/) > [Between memory and reality there are awkward discrepancies...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/between-memory-and-reality-there-are-awkward-discrepancies/) [Eileen Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-chang/) > [“She wasn’t a bird in a cage. A bird in a cage, when the cage is opened, can still fly away. She was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/she-wasn-t-a-bird-in-a-cage-a-bird-in-a-cage-when-the-cage-is-opened/) [Eileen Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-chang/) > [“In that little pocket-size world of his, he was the absolute master.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/in-that-little-pocket-size-world-of-his-he-was-the-absolute-master/) [Eileen Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-chang/) [Explore all 5 Eileen Chang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-chang/) ## More Extravagant quotes > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I read the most extravagant things about people who suffer and depress because of things written about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jagger/i-read-the-most-extravagant-things-about-people-who-suffer-and/) [Mick Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-jagger/) > [When you think that most of us are doomed by divine grace to roast in hell, to say nothing of mortgages and hail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/when-you-think-that-most-of-us-are-doomed-by-divine-grace-to-roast-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [People say, 'Oh, to be the daughter of Picasso!' But it's not as extravagant as it seems. He was very special, very vibrant, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paloma-picasso/people-say-oh-to-be-the-daughter-of-picasso-but-it-s-not-as/) [Paloma Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paloma-picasso/) > [Rarity gives a charm; so early fruits and winter roses are the most prized; and coyness sets off an extravagant mistress, while the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/rarity-gives-a-charm-so-early-fruits-and-winter-roses-are-the-most/) [Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/) > [God's extravagant generosity toward us compels us to be extravagantly generous toward others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-stanley/god-s-extravagant-generosity-toward-us-compels-us-to-be-extravagantly/) [Andy Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-stanley/) > [ Her \[Mary's\] motherhood extends beyond view. In the will of the Son, she becomes at once mother and maid: sheltering him, but sheltered in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-von-speyr/her-mary-s-motherhood-extends-beyond-view-in-the-will-of-the-son-she/) [Adrienne von Speyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-von-speyr/) > [I always say you can never be extravagant with beauty. Beauty is God made real. Beauty is life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-marcos/i-always-say-you-can-never-be-extravagant-with-beauty-beauty-is-god/) [Imelda Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-marcos/) > [New York... Babylon-on-the-Hudson, sinful, extravagant, full of the nervous hilarity of the doomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-beebe/new-york-babylon-on-the-hudson-sinful-extravagant-full-of-the-nervous/) [Lucius Beebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-beebe/) > [Islands are havens and breeding grounds for the unique and anomalous. They are natural laboratories of extravagant evolutionary experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/islands-are-havens-and-breeding-grounds-for-the-unique-and-anomalous/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) > [I cap myself when I shop; I don't like to spend extravagant amounts on clothes. But, I do get lent clothes for events, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-cap-myself-when-i-shop-i-don-t-like-to-spend-extravagant-amounts-on/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I don't like giving a gift just to cross the person off my list. They don't have to be extravagant or expensive things, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-facinelli/i-don-t-like-giving-a-gift-just-to-cross-the-person-off-my-list-they/) [Peter Facinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-facinelli/) > [Tis no extravagant arithmetic to say, that for every ten jokes, thou hast got an hundred enemies; and till thou hast gone on, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/tis-no-extravagant-arithmetic-to-say-that-for-every-ten-jokes-thou/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [I love giving gifts and I love receiving them. I really like giving little kids extravagant gifts. You see their little faces light up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-gershon/i-love-giving-gifts-and-i-love-receiving-them-i-really-like-giving/) [Gina Gershon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-gershon/) [Browse all 216 Extravagant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extravagant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with lice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eileen Chang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with-lice/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Extravagant" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with-lice/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/eileen-chang-60052_extravagant_life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with_1375809.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/eileen-chang-60052_extravagant_life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with_1375809.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ae/eileen-chang-60052_extravagant_life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with_1375809.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is an extravagant gown, riddled with lice.” — Eileen Chang", "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": "Eileen Chang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-chang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life is an extravagant gown, riddled...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with-lice/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-chang/life-is-an-extravagant-gown-riddled-with-lice/#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 } } ] } ```