--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mrs Forrester ... sat in state…" description: "\"Mrs Forrester ... sat in state, pretending not to know what cakes were sent up, though she knew, and we knew, and she knew that we knew, and we knew th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/elizabeth-gaskell-894_bread_mrs-forrester-sat-in-state-pretending-no_657331.jpg" --- # Mrs Forrester ... sat in state, pretending not to know… ![“Mrs Forrester ... sat in state, pretending not to know what cakes were sent up, though she knew, and we knew, and she knew that we knew, and we knew that she knew that we knew, she had been busy all the morning making tea-bread and sponge-cakes.” quote by Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/elizabeth-gaskell-894_bread_mrs-forrester-sat-in-state-pretending-no_657331.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/elizabeth-gaskell-894_bread_mrs-forrester-sat-in-state-pretending-no_657331.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/161/elizabeth-gaskell-894_bread_mrs-forrester-sat-in-state-pretending-no_657331.jpg) > “Mrs Forrester ... sat in state, pretending not to know what cakes were sent up, though she knew, and we knew, and she knew that we knew, and we knew that she knew that we knew, she had been busy all the morning making tea-bread and sponge-cakes.” [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. A character pretends ignorance while secretly aware, highlighting social pretenses and hidden knowledge. **In simple terms:** Pretending not to know while actually aware. Key Takeaway Recognize and address hidden dynamics. Themes social masks class communication secrecy Mood thoughtful critical Type literary social commentary When to use this quote - family dinner - workplace meetings - political negotiations - community events Key Concepts social psychology class consciousness Questions to Reflect On - Why do we hide what we know? - What are the costs of pretending? A Different Perspective Denial can strain relationships and trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) [Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busy/) [Cake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cake/) [Cakes Sent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cakes-sent-5244218/) [Knew Busy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-busy-800310/) [Know Cakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-cakes-5244217/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending/) [Pretending Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending-know-529269/) [Sat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sat/) [Sponge Cakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sponge-cakes-5244219/) [Sponges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sponges/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Tea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tea/) ## Related quotes > [“Her sponge cakes had the aroma of crucifixion.Within them was the sap of slyness and the fragrant frenzy of the Vatican.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-babel/her-sponge-cakes-had-the-aroma-of-crucifixion-within-them-was-the-sap/) [Isaac Babel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-babel/) > [The single moment when I knew that I had to get busy and do more was around the death of my son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-rush/the-single-moment-when-i-knew-that-i-had-to-get-busy-and-do-more-was/) [Bobby Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-rush/) > [Blot your misdeeds out (if you are particularly conscientious), by a good deed, as soon as you can; just as we did a correct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/blot-your-misdeeds-out-if-you-are-particularly-conscientious-by-a/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [ We're \[parents\]) always bluffing, pretending we know best, when most of the time we're just praying we won't screw up too badly. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/we-re-parents-always-bluffing-pretending-we-know-best-when-most-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I like to hide behind my intellect. 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Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-d-levitt/) ## 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." 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