--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith…" description: "\"“But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep. She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street, looking very lovely..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/elizabeth-gaskell-894_future-life_but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had_2295568.jpg" --- # But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep… ![“But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep. She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street, looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons. If Titania had ever been dressed in white muslin and blue ribbons, and had fallen asleep on a crimson damask…” quote by Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/elizabeth-gaskell-894_future-life_but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had_2295568.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/elizabeth-gaskell-894_future-life_but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had_2295568.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/elizabeth-gaskell-894_future-life_but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had_2295568.jpg) > ““But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep. She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street, looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons. If Titania had ever been dressed in white muslin and blue ribbons, and had fallen asleep on a crimson damask sofa in a back drawing-room, Edith might have been taken for her. Margaret was struck afresh by her cousin's beauty. They had grown up together from childhood, and all along Edith had been remarked upon by every one, except Margaret, for her prettiness; but Margaret had never thought about it until the last few days, when the prospect of soon losing her companion seemed to give force to every sweet quality and charm which Edith possessed. They had been talking about wedding dresses, and wedding ceremonies; and Captain Lennox, and what he had told Edith about her future life at Corfu, where his regiment was stationed; and the difficulty of keeping a piano in good tune (a difficulty which Edith seemed to consider as one of the most formidable that could befall her in her married life), and what gowns she should want in the visits to Scotland, which would immediately succeed her marriage; but the whispered tone had latterly become more drowsy; and Margaret, after a pause of a few minutes, found, as she fancied, that in spite of the buzz in the next room, Edith had rolled herself up into a soft ball of muslin and ribbon, and silken curls, and gone off into a peaceful little after-dinner nap.”” [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Margaret suddenly notices her cousin's beauty as she contemplates losing her, highlighting how impending loss sharpens appreciation. **In simple terms:** Loss makes us see beauty. Key Takeaway Cherish loved ones now. Themes relationships loss beauty Mood nostalgic poignant Type literary reflective When to use this quote - marriage planning - friendship - caregiver role Key Concepts ephemeral appreciation memory family bonds Questions to Reflect On - How does impending loss change perception? - What can we do to value people before loss? A Different Perspective Focusing on loss may overlook present joys. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Edith Remarked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edith-remarked-2370103/) [Future life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-life/) [Margaret Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/margaret-thought-1184883/) [Married life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-life/) [Remarked Margaret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarked-margaret-2370105/) [Room Edith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/room-edith-5410024/) [Told Edith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-edith-5410023/) ## Related quotes > [“They had grown up together from childhood, and all along Edith had been remarked upon by every one, except Margaret, for her prettiness;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/they-had-grown-up-together-from-childhood-and-all-along-edith-had/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“He never looked at her; and yet, the careful avoidance of his eyes betokened that in some way he knew exactly where, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/he-never-looked-at-her-and-yet-the-careful-avoidance-of-his-eyes/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Margaret thought of all she knew for certain, that day would always follow night that love was never wasted nor was it lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/margaret-thought-of-all-she-knew-for-certain-that-day-would-always/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [“Harry looked at Margaret and thought that, should a woman grow old, she might still have her deepest charm. Should a woman grow old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/harry-looked-at-margaret-and-thought-that-should-a-woman-grow-old-she/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [“...Time had seemed infinite when she still had many years and decades ahead of her. A book waiting to be written: as a girl,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-george/time-had-seemed-infinite-when-she-still-had-many-years-and-decades/) [Nina George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-george/) > [Walks are never as good during the day. At night, when everyone's apartments are lit up and you can see inside, that's where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/walks-are-never-as-good-during-the-day-at-night-when-everyone-s/) [Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/) > [I don't believe in telling people you can suffer this life because you're rewarded in a future life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/i-don-t-believe-in-telling-people-you-can-suffer-this-life-because/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [“If there is a God and future life, there is truth and good, and man's highest happiness consists in striving to attain them. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-there-is-a-god-and-future-life-there-is-truth-and-good-and-man-s-2/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [In the next 20-30 years, one of the hardest things our kids will have to do will be finding a screen name that hasnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/in-the-next-20-30-years-one-of-the-hardest-things-our-kids-will-have/) [Author Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-name/) > [“If there is a God and future life, there is truth and good, and man's highest happiness consists in striving to attain them. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-there-is-a-god-and-future-life-there-is-truth-and-good-and-man-s/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [It is my greatest misfortune to be too lazy, and by the few mortifications I have already set with on that account I predict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-allston/it-is-my-greatest-misfortune-to-be-too-lazy-and-by-the-few/) [Washington Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-allston/) > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Masonry inculcates faith in immortality as indispensable to moral living and urges its members to qualify for eternal life by the practice of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-hammond/masonry-inculcates-faith-in-immortality-as-indispensable-to-moral/) [William E Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-hammond/) > [“Actually, the substitution of the reality-principle for the pleasure-principle denotes no dethronement of the pleasure-principle, but only a safeguarding of it. A momentary pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/actually-the-substitution-of-the-reality-principle-for-the-pleasure/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Your current thoughts are creating your future life. What you think about the most or focus on the most will appear as your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/your-current-thoughts-are-creating-your-future-life-what-you-think/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) ## More by Elizabeth Gaskell > [“Osborne and Roger knowing that the wife of the former was a Frenchwoman, and, conscious of each other's knowledge, felt doubly awkward; while Molly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/osborne-and-roger-knowing-that-the-wife-of-the-former-was-a/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Well, He had known what love was-a sharp pang, a fierce experience, in the midst of whose flames he was struggling! but, through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/well-he-had-known-what-love-was-a-sharp-pang-a-fierce-experience-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [In all disappointments sympathy is a great balm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/in-all-disappointments-sympathy-is-a-great-balm/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [But Margaret went less abroad, among machinery and men; saw less of power in its public effect, and, as it happened, she was thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-margaret-went-less-abroad-among-machinery-and-men-saw-less-of/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“And besides, in the matter of friendship, I have observed that the disappointment here arises chiefly, not from liking our friends too well, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/and-besides-in-the-matter-of-friendship-i-have-observed-that-the/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [What other people may think of the rightness or wrongness is nothing in comparison to my own deep knowledge, my innate conviction that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/what-other-people-may-think-of-the-rightness-or-wrongness-is-nothing/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“The first question sobbed out by his choking voice, oppressed with emotion, was-- "Where is she?" They led him to the room where his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/the-first-question-sobbed-out-by-his-choking-voice-oppressed-with/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Wearily she went to bed, wearily she arose in four or five hours' time. But with the morning came hope, and a brighter view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/wearily-she-went-to-bed-wearily-she-arose-in-four-or-five-hours-time/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [No one loves me, - no one cares for me, but you, mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/no-one-loves-me-no-one-cares-for-me-but-you-mother/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [I won't say she was silly, but I think one of us was silly, and it wasn't me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/i-won-t-say-she-was-silly-but-i-think-one-of-us-was-silly-and-it-wasn/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Mr. Thorton love Margaret! Why, Margraret would never think of him, I'm sure! Such a thing has never entered her head." "Entering her heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/mr-thorton-love-margaret-why-margraret-would-never-think-of-him-i-m/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“He never looked at her; and yet, the careful avoidance of his eyes betokened that in some way he knew exactly where, if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/he-never-looked-at-her-and-yet-the-careful-avoidance-of-his-eyes/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“Ay! but mother's words are scarce, and weigh heavy. Father's liker me, and we talk a deal o' rubble; but mother's words are liker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/ay-but-mother-s-words-are-scarce-and-weigh-heavy-father-s-liker-me/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Margaret liked this smile; it was the first thing she had admired in this new friend of her father's; and the opposition of character,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/margaret-liked-this-smile-it-was-the-first-thing-she-had-admired-in/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [Don’t be afraid,” she said, coldly, “ as far as love may go she may be worthy of you. It must have taken a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/don-t-be-afraid-she-said-coldly-as-far-as-love-may-go-she-may-be/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) [Explore all 330 Elizabeth Gaskell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) ## More Future life quotes > [Your current thoughts are creating your future life. What you think about the most or focus on the most will appear as your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/your-current-thoughts-are-creating-your-future-life-what-you-think/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [“Actually, the substitution of the reality-principle for the pleasure-principle denotes no dethronement of the pleasure-principle, but only a safeguarding of it. A momentary pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/actually-the-substitution-of-the-reality-principle-for-the-pleasure/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Masonry inculcates faith in immortality as indispensable to moral living and urges its members to qualify for eternal life by the practice of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-hammond/masonry-inculcates-faith-in-immortality-as-indispensable-to-moral/) [William E Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-hammond/) > [I have never seen what to me seemed an atom of proof that there is a future life. And yet-I am inclined to expect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-seen-what-to-me-seemed-an-atom-of-proof-that-there-is-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It is my greatest misfortune to be too lazy, and by the few mortifications I have already set with on that account I predict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-allston/it-is-my-greatest-misfortune-to-be-too-lazy-and-by-the-few/) [Washington Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-allston/) > [“If there is a God and future life, there is truth and good, and man's highest happiness consists in striving to attain them. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-there-is-a-god-and-future-life-there-is-truth-and-good-and-man-s/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [In the next 20-30 years, one of the hardest things our kids will have to do will be finding a screen name that hasnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author-name/in-the-next-20-30-years-one-of-the-hardest-things-our-kids-will-have/) [Author Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/author-name/) > [“If there is a God and future life, there is truth and good, and man's highest happiness consists in striving to attain them. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-there-is-a-god-and-future-life-there-is-truth-and-good-and-man-s-2/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I don't believe in telling people you can suffer this life because you're rewarded in a future life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-noe/i-don-t-believe-in-telling-people-you-can-suffer-this-life-because/) [Gaspar Noe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-noe/) > [Walks are never as good during the day. At night, when everyone's apartments are lit up and you can see inside, that's where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/walks-are-never-as-good-during-the-day-at-night-when-everyone-s/) [Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/) > [“...Time had seemed infinite when she still had many years and decades ahead of her. A book waiting to be written: as a girl,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-george/time-had-seemed-infinite-when-she-still-had-many-years-and-decades/) [Nina George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-george/) > [“Insults may hurt at first, but a callus will form to protect you in the future. Life is gonna be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dean-russell-jr/insults-may-hurt-at-first-but-a-callus-will-form-to-protect-you-in/) [Michael Dean Russell Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dean-russell-jr/) > [Our lives as we lead them as passed on to others, whether in physical or mental forms, tingeing all future lives together. This should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-burbank/our-lives-as-we-lead-them-as-passed-on-to-others-whether-in-physical/) [Luther Burbank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-burbank/) > [Life is not lived in the past, neither is it lived wandering in future. Life is for today, and it is today. Live it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-not-lived-in-the-past-neither-is-it-lived-wandering-in-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life have many ways to show us who is in charge,It's always US ,we make our decisions and we make our future , Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laylablack/life-have-many-ways-to-show-us-who-is-in-charge-it-s-always-us-we/) [Laylablack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laylablack/) [Browse all 184 Future life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep. She lay curled up on the sofa in the back drawing-room in Harley Street, looking very lovely in her white muslin and blue ribbons. If Titania had ever been dressed in white muslin and blue ribbons, and had fallen asleep on a crimson damask sofa in a back drawing-room, Edith might have been taken for her. Margaret was struck afresh by her cousin's beauty. They had grown up together from childhood, and all along Edith had been remarked upon by every one, except Margaret, for her prettiness; but Margaret had never thought about it until the last few days, when the prospect of soon losing her companion seemed to give force to every sweet quality and charm which Edith possessed. They had been talking about wedding dresses, and wedding ceremonies; and Captain Lennox, and what he had told Edith about her future life at Corfu, where his regiment was stationed; and the difficulty of keeping a piano in good tune (a difficulty which Edith seemed to consider as one of the most formidable that could befall her in her married life), and what gowns she should want in the visits to Scotland, which would immediately succeed her marriage; but the whispered tone had latterly become more drowsy; and Margaret, after a pause of a few minutes, found, as she fancied, that in spite of the buzz in the next room, Edith had rolled herself up into a soft ball of muslin and ribbon, and silken curls, and gone off into a peaceful little after-dinner nap.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Gaskell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had-fallen-asleep-she-lay-curled/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Future life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had-fallen-asleep-she-lay-curled/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/elizabeth-gaskell-894_future-life_but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had_2295568.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/elizabeth-gaskell-894_future-life_but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had_2295568.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/516/elizabeth-gaskell-894_future-life_but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had_2295568.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith had fallen asleep. She lay curled up on the sofa in the back…” — Elizabeth Gaskell", "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 Gaskell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But, as Margaret half suspected, Edith...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had-fallen-asleep-she-lay-curled/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-as-margaret-half-suspected-edith-had-fallen-asleep-she-lay-curled/#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 } } ] } ```