--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: yet he felt the contrast between the…" description: "\"“yet he felt the contrast between the well-filled, well-lighted shops and the dim gloomy cellar, and it made him moody that such contrasts should exist..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/elizabeth-gaskell-894_flowing-river_yet-he-felt-the-contrast-between-the-wel_1005488.jpg" --- # yet he felt the contrast between the well-filled… ![“yet he felt the contrast between the well-filled, well-lighted shops and the dim gloomy cellar, and it made him moody that such contrasts should exist. They are the mysterious problem of life to more than him. He wondered if any in all the hurrying crowd had come from such a house of mourning. He…” quote by Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/elizabeth-gaskell-894_flowing-river_yet-he-felt-the-contrast-between-the-wel_1005488.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/elizabeth-gaskell-894_flowing-river_yet-he-felt-the-contrast-between-the-wel_1005488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/elizabeth-gaskell-894_flowing-river_yet-he-felt-the-contrast-between-the-wel_1005488.jpg) > ““yet he felt the contrast between the well-filled, well-lighted shops and the dim gloomy cellar, and it made him moody that such contrasts should exist. They are the mysterious problem of life to more than him. He wondered if any in all the hurrying crowd had come from such a house of mourning. He thought they all looked joyous, and he was angry with them. But he could not, you cannot, read the lot of those who daily pass you by in the street. How do you know the wild romances of their lives; the trials, the temptations they are even now enduring, resisting, sinking under? You may be elbowed one instant by the girl desperate in her abandonment, laughing in mad merriment with her outward gesture, while her soul is longing for the rest of the dead, and bringing itself to think of the cold flowing river as the only mercy of God remaining to her here. You may pass the criminal, meditating crimes at which you will to-morrow shudder with horror as you read them. You may push against one, humble and unnoticed, the last upon earth, who in heaven will for ever be in the immediate light of God’s countenance. Errands of mercy — errands of sin”” [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. Observing stark social contrasts evokes empathy, anger, and existential reflection on human suffering. **In simple terms:** Seeing inequality stirs deep emotional and moral responses. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on societal inequities. Themes social inequality empathy existentialism Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - urban life - poverty aid - community outreach Key Concepts moral philosophy human condition Questions to Reflect On - How can you move from feeling to helping? - What responsibilities arise from witnessing suffering? 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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 Flowing river quotes > [What makes a kingdom great is its being like a down-flowing river,--the central point towards which all the smaller streams under Heaven converge; or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-makes-a-kingdom-great-is-its-being-like-a-down-flowing-river-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“movements must be like a long, flowing river, continuous without jerks or stopping.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-alve-olson/movements-must-be-like-a-long-flowing-river-continuous-without-jerks/) [Stuart Alve Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-alve-olson/) > [“I'll never be able to be here again. 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How do you know the wild romances of their lives; the trials, the temptations they are even now enduring, resisting, sinking under? You may be elbowed one instant by the girl desperate in her abandonment, laughing in mad merriment with her outward gesture, while her soul is longing for the rest of the dead, and bringing itself to think of the cold flowing river as the only mercy of God remaining to her here. You may pass the criminal, meditating crimes at which you will to-morrow shudder with horror as you read them. You may push against one, humble and unnoticed, the last upon earth, who in heaven will for ever be in the immediate light of God’s countenance. 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