--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...there must be something she wanted…" description: "\"...there must be something she wanted; and that therefore she was no lady.\" — Elizabeth Bowen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/elizabeth-bowen-1197_lady_there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-t_2312911.png" --- # ...there must be something she wanted; and that therefore… ![“...there must be something she wanted; and that therefore she was no lady.” quote by Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/elizabeth-bowen-1197_lady_there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-t_2312911.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/elizabeth-bowen-1197_lady_there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-t_2312911.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/elizabeth-bowen-1197_lady_there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-t_2312911.png) > “...there must be something she wanted; and that therefore she was no lady.” [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She suggests that a woman’s desire for agency leads to her being denied traditional ladyhood. **In simple terms:** Desire for agency can strip a woman of conventional status. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect women’s ambitions. Themes gender agency social roles Mood reflective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - personal relationships - political activism - educational reform Key Concepts feminist critique identity societal expectations Questions to Reflect On - How does ambition reshape identity? - What price do women pay for defying expectations? A Different Perspective Societal norms may resist change, causing conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lady/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Wanted Lady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-lady-1906411/) ## Related quotes > [“I’ll be on my way as soon as we’ve reached the king’s court. I wondered if there was anything you wanted, Lady, that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/i-ll-be-on-my-way-as-soon-as-we-ve-reached-the-king-s-court-i/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“Have the last word ma'm," he said cheerfully. "It's a lady's privilege.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/have-the-last-word-ma-m-he-said-cheerfully-it-s-a-lady-s-privilege/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Every discussion of the status of woman is complicated by the existence of the lady. She overshadows the rest of her sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-james-smith-putnam/every-discussion-of-the-status-of-woman-is-complicated-by-the/) [Emily James Smith Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-james-smith-putnam/) > [In a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank whom the emperor loved more than any of the others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/in-a-certain-reign-there-was-a-lady-not-of-the-first-rank-whom-the/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) > [“Age doesn’t make you a man my lady. If he’s that easily swayed away from a beauty such as you then he’s still a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-leighanne-grimm-weever/age-doesn-t-make-you-a-man-my-lady-if-he-s-that-easily-swayed-away/) [E. Leighanne Grimm-Weever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-leighanne-grimm-weever/) > [Maybe because Im a nice and sweet person in life, I like the darker roles. 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People say they didn't know I could sing and dance. Well, nobody ever asks me - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caan/i-loved-funny-lady-for-whatever-reason-people-say-they-didn-t-know-i/) [James Caan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caan/) > [People see me as a tomboy. But I can be quite a lady if I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esha-deol/people-see-me-as-a-tomboy-but-i-can-be-quite-a-lady-if-i-want-to-be/) [Esha Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esha-deol/) > [“Upon her butler’s announcing the arrival of Mr Ravenscar, Lady Mablethorpe, who had been dozing over a novel from the Circulating Library, sat up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/upon-her-butler-s-announcing-the-arrival-of-mr-ravenscar-lady/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [“You know the legend, lady, but you don’t know the man. And damn if I’m not tempted to introduce you to the man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/you-know-the-legend-lady-but-you-don-t-know-the-man-and-damn-if-i-m/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) ## More by Elizabeth Bowen > [Temperamentally, the writer exists on happenings, on contacts, conflicts, action and reaction, speed, pressure, tension. Were he acontemplative purely, he would not write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/temperamentally-the-writer-exists-on-happenings-on-contacts-conflicts/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“Are you really an orphan? Yes, I am, said Portia a shade shortly. Are you? No, not at present, but I suppose it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/are-you-really-an-orphan-yes-i-am-said-portia-a-shade-shortly-are-you/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [It is not our exalted feelings, it is our sentiments that build the necessary home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/it-is-not-our-exalted-feelings-it-is-our-sentiments-that-build-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Every love has a poetic relevance of its own; each love brings to light only what to it is relevant. Outside lies the junk-yard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/every-love-has-a-poetic-relevance-of-its-own-each-love-brings-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [without fiction, either life would be insufficient or the winds from the north would blow too cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/without-fiction-either-life-would-be-insufficient-or-the-winds-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [One's sentiments -- call them that -- one's fidelities are so instinctive that one hardly knows they exist: only when they are betrayed or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/one-s-sentiments-call-them-that-one-s-fidelities-are-so-instinctive/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Only in a house where one has learnt to be lonely does one have this solicitude for things. One's relation to them, the daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/only-in-a-house-where-one-has-learnt-to-be-lonely-does-one-have-this/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [To walk into history is to be free at once, to be at large among people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-walk-into-history-is-to-be-free-at-once-to-be-at-large-among-people/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [The wish to lead out one's lover must be a tribal feeling; the wish to be seen as loved is part of one's self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/the-wish-to-lead-out-one-s-lover-must-be-a-tribal-feeling-the-wish-to/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [Convention was our safeguard: could one have stronger?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/convention-was-our-safeguard-could-one-have-stronger/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“First love, with its frantic haughty imagination, swings its object clear of the everyday, over the rut of living, making him all looks, silences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/first-love-with-its-frantic-haughty-imagination-swings-its-object/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [to leap is not only to leap, it is to hit the ground somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/to-leap-is-not-only-to-leap-it-is-to-hit-the-ground-somewhere/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [That is partly why women marry - to keep up the fiction of being in the hub of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/that-is-partly-why-women-marry-to-keep-up-the-fiction-of-being-in-the/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [“But Miss Pym gave an impression, somehow, of having been attacked from within .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/but-miss-pym-gave-an-impression-somehow-of-having-been-attacked-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [rudeness to Mrs. Dosely was like dropping a pat of butter on to a hot plate - it slid and melted away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/rudeness-to-mrs-dosely-was-like-dropping-a-pat-of-butter-on-to-a-hot/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) [Explore all 275 Elizabeth Bowen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) ## More Lady quotes > [“You know the legend, lady, but you don’t know the man. And damn if I’m not tempted to introduce you to the man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-heath/you-know-the-legend-lady-but-you-don-t-know-the-man-and-damn-if-i-m/) [Lorraine Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-heath/) > [“Upon her butler’s announcing the arrival of Mr Ravenscar, Lady Mablethorpe, who had been dozing over a novel from the Circulating Library, sat up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/upon-her-butler-s-announcing-the-arrival-of-mr-ravenscar-lady/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [People see me as a tomboy. But I can be quite a lady if I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esha-deol/people-see-me-as-a-tomboy-but-i-can-be-quite-a-lady-if-i-want-to-be/) [Esha Deol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esha-deol/) > [I loved 'Funny Lady' for whatever reason. People say they didn't know I could sing and dance. Well, nobody ever asks me - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caan/i-loved-funny-lady-for-whatever-reason-people-say-they-didn-t-know-i/) [James Caan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caan/) > [It's wonderful to see a young lady headbutt somebody and kick somebody's face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-wonderful-to-see-a-young-lady-headbutt-somebody-and-kick/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [A fine lady; by which term I wish to express the result of that perfect education in taste and manner, down to every gesture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/a-fine-lady-by-which-term-i-wish-to-express-the-result-of-that/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [“A lady need never apologize. ~ Joseph de Bonaparte (Brother of Napoleon)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pataki/a-lady-need-never-apologize-joseph-de-bonaparte-brother-of-napoleon/) [Allison Pataki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-pataki/) > [I haven't talked to any young artists for a long time. But if we did sit down, I'd definitely tell them my viewpoint. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/i-haven-t-talked-to-any-young-artists-for-a-long-time-but-if-we-did/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [A good leader brins the lady partner dance level to a superior level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-burns/a-good-leader-brins-the-lady-partner-dance-level-to-a-superior-level/) [Donnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-burns/) > [Maybe because Im a nice and sweet person in life, I like the darker roles. The really dark one is Lady Macbeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-netrebko/maybe-because-im-a-nice-and-sweet-person-in-life-i-like-the-darker/) [Anna Netrebko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-netrebko/) > [“Age doesn’t make you a man my lady. If he’s that easily swayed away from a beauty such as you then he’s still a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-leighanne-grimm-weever/age-doesn-t-make-you-a-man-my-lady-if-he-s-that-easily-swayed-away/) [E. Leighanne Grimm-Weever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-leighanne-grimm-weever/) > [In a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank whom the emperor loved more than any of the others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/in-a-certain-reign-there-was-a-lady-not-of-the-first-rank-whom-the/) [Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/) > [Every discussion of the status of woman is complicated by the existence of the lady. She overshadows the rest of her sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-james-smith-putnam/every-discussion-of-the-status-of-woman-is-complicated-by-the/) [Emily James Smith Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-james-smith-putnam/) > [“Have the last word ma'm," he said cheerfully. "It's a lady's privilege.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/have-the-last-word-ma-m-he-said-cheerfully-it-s-a-lady-s-privilege/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Lady, no man in his right mind would want to kill you. There’s many things I could think of that a man would want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/lady-no-man-in-his-right-mind-would-want-to-kill-you-there-s-many/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) [Browse all 1,132 Lady quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lady/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...there must be something she wanted; and that therefore she was no lady.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Bowen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-that-therefore-she-was-no-lady/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Lady" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-that-therefore-she-was-no-lady/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/elizabeth-bowen-1197_lady_there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-t_2312911.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/elizabeth-bowen-1197_lady_there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-t_2312911.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/elizabeth-bowen-1197_lady_there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-t_2312911.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...there must be something she wanted; and that therefore she was no lady.” — Elizabeth Bowen", "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": "Elizabeth Bowen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...there must be something she wanted;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-that-therefore-she-was-no-lady/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/there-must-be-something-she-wanted-and-that-therefore-she-was-no-lady/#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 } } ] } ```