--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A gentleman can hardly continue to sit,'…" description: "\"A gentleman can hardly continue to sit,' he explained, in his serenest and most level voice, 'when he asks a very remarkable young lady to do him the h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/elizabeth-marie-pope-40924_gentleman_a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-h_602239.jpg" --- # A gentleman can hardly continue to sit,' he explained, in… ![“A gentleman can hardly continue to sit,' he explained, in his serenest and most level voice, 'when he asks a very remarkable young lady to do him the honor of marrying him. And - 'he somehow contrived to grin at me wickedly, 'I usually get what I want, Miss Grahame,' he added, and pitched over in…” quote by Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/elizabeth-marie-pope-40924_gentleman_a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-h_602239.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/elizabeth-marie-pope-40924_gentleman_a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-h_602239.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/elizabeth-marie-pope-40924_gentleman_a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-h_602239.jpg) > “A gentleman can hardly continue to sit,' he explained, in his serenest and most level voice, 'when he asks a very remarkable young lady to do him the honor of marrying him. And - 'he somehow contrived to grin at me wickedly, 'I usually get what I want, Miss Grahame,' he added, and pitched over in a tangled heap on the floor.” [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man feels compelled to propose despite discomfort, using charm and humor. **In simple terms:** He proposes awkwardly but humorously. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability when expressing love. Themes love humor social norms Mood lighthearted reflective Type narrative romantic When to use this quote - first dates - proposal moments - social gatherings Key Concepts courtship awkwardness confidence Questions to Reflect On - What makes a proposal feel genuine? - How can humor aid in serious conversations? A Different Perspective Some may view such behavior as disrespectful or manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [Gentleman Hardly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman-hardly-3154768/) [Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grahame-4908028/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Marrying Contrived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marrying-contrived-4908026/) [Miss Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miss-grahame-4908027/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Remarkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarkable/) [Tangled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tangled/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young lady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-lady/) ## Related quotes > [“Grahame Coats did not go for walks; he had people to do that for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/grahame-coats-did-not-go-for-walks-he-had-people-to-do-that-for-him/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Prayer gives a man the opportunity of getting to know a gentleman he hardly ever meets. I do not mean his maker, but himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-gives-a-man-the-opportunity-of-getting-to-know-a-gentleman-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A real gentleman, even if he loses everything he owns, must show no emotion. Money must be so far beneath a gentleman that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/a-real-gentleman-even-if-he-loses-everything-he-owns-must-show-no/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Shut your eyes, wait, think of nothing. Now, open them ... one sees nothing but a great coloured undulation. What then? An irradiation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/shut-your-eyes-wait-think-of-nothing-now-open-them-one-sees-nothing/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > ['Come hither, my boy, tell me what thou seest there?' 'A fool tangled in a religious snare.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/come-hither-my-boy-tell-me-what-thou-seest-there-a-fool-tangled-in-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [We look at life from the back side of the tapestry. And most of the time, what we see is loose threads, tangled knots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/we-look-at-life-from-the-back-side-of-the-tapestry-and-most-of-the/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“What this requires of us is that we don’t get tangled up in the living, even when we in fact feel woefully tangled up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/what-this-requires-of-us-is-that-we-don-t-get-tangled-up-in-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [As technology has improved, our digital lives have only grown more tangled and cluttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holmes/as-technology-has-improved-our-digital-lives-have-only-grown-more/) [Ryan Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holmes/) > [I always had short hair, and I hated my short hair. I was always mistaken for a boy, but my mom wouldn't let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-always-had-short-hair-and-i-hated-my-short-hair-i-was-always/) [Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/) > [“Build a tangled bank.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/build-a-tangled-bank/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [I always thought it would be a simple matter to lie wi' a woman, he said softly. And yet... I want to fall on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-always-thought-it-would-be-a-simple-matter-to-lie-wi-a-woman-he/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [The intimate and the infinite are tangled together in this incandescent book, lit by Aristotle’s bright spark of a daughter. Lucid even in nightmare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-endicott/the-intimate-and-the-infinite-are-tangled-together-in-this/) [Marina Endicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-endicott/) > [I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-person-by-the-way-he-she/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Your hair is a tangled mess,"he said, thinking he liked it that way, like a lion's mane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/your-hair-is-a-tangled-mess-he-said-thinking-he-liked-it-that-way/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Curiosity is a raw and genuine sign from deep inside our tangled psyches, and we'd do well to follow the direction it points us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-bronson/curiosity-is-a-raw-and-genuine-sign-from-deep-inside-our-tangled/) [Po Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-bronson/) ## More by Elizabeth Marie Pope > [“There was a moment's silence;and then to her bewilderment, Christopher suddenly went into one of his wild gusts of laughter. "F-f-fifty shillings?" he gasped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/there-was-a-moment-s-silence-and-then-to-her-bewilderment-christopher/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [“You don't know you're wrong." "And I don't know I'm right either. That's what the matter is. Neither of us knows . I'd only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/you-don-t-know-you-re-wrong-and-i-don-t-know-i-m-right-either-that-s/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [I think the damned souls in hell must spend half their time wondering what it was that they really meant to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/i-think-the-damned-souls-in-hell-must-spend-half-their-time-wondering/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [I've never thought of you like that,' said Christopher. 'How could I? If you were any other woman, I could tell you I loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/i-ve-never-thought-of-you-like-that-said-christopher-how-could-i-if/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [How did you ever happen to remember that I might be hungry? But of course you would. Will you mind very much if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/how-did-you-ever-happen-to-remember-that-i-might-be-hungry-but-of/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [Put him in there and chain him up," he ordered curtly. "Yes, that chain, you fool - do you see any other chain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/put-him-in-there-and-chain-him-up-he-ordered-curtly-yes-that-chain/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [I never thought of it like that. I always thought of you as a part of me, like my own eyes or my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/i-never-thought-of-it-like-that-i-always-thought-of-you-as-a-part-of/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [I — I mean," Kate stumbled on, "that with us there is a time past and time present, and time future, and with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/i-i-mean-kate-stumbled-on-that-with-us-there-is-a-time-past-and-time/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) > [“Just answer me this, will you? You said you were going to dispose of me. How are you planning to do it?" Master John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/just-answer-me-this-will-you-you-said-you-were-going-to-dispose-of-me/) [Elizabeth Marie Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) [Explore all 10 Elizabeth Marie Pope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/) ## More Gentleman quotes > [“Like this, Rook.” Ford’s soft words vibrate into me. “I like you. I’d like to show you how much, actually. I’m being a gentleman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-huss/like-this-rook-ford-s-soft-words-vibrate-into-me-i-like-you-i-d-like/) [J.A. Huss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-huss/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Call me old-fashioned, but whenever I see those wire-fortified ribbons, I have the secret stab of nostalgia for old-timey ribbon, the kind whose ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-janzen/call-me-old-fashioned-but-whenever-i-see-those-wire-fortified-ribbons/) [Rhoda Janzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-janzen/) > [ I failed, I think, seven \[or\] eight times before I finally got my first \[championship\]. It was just, you know, just about me growing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-failed-i-think-seven-or-eight-times-before-i-finally-got-my-first/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Brothers all In honour, as in one community, Scholars and gentlemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/brothers-all-in-honour-as-in-one-community-scholars-and-gentlemen/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-like-to-be-bought-flowers-and-taken-out-for-dinner-i-like-a-man-to/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [A gentleman is not born but crafted. He had to work on himself in the same way as a sculptor shaped a rough stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/a-gentleman-is-not-born-but-crafted-he-had-to-work-on-himself-in-the/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I'm old school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-old-school/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some Iranian doctors from Europe and America go to Iran and operate for free or teach medical students there. The other day, I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/some-iranian-doctors-from-europe-and-america-go-to-iran-and-operate/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [I'm an old-fashioned girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chita-rivera/i-m-an-old-fashioned-girl/) [Chita Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chita-rivera/) > [I am a bit old-school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-kay/i-am-a-bit-old-school/) [Jay Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-kay/) > [What's wrong with death sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can't we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/what-s-wrong-with-death-sir-what-are-we-so-mortally-afraid-of-why-can/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [The president of the United States of North America, George W. Bush, the little gentleman of the North, the political cadaver that is visiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-chavez/the-president-of-the-united-states-of-north-america-george-w-bush-the/) [Hugo Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-chavez/) > [Acknowledge yourself, man up along age and then decide to be a gentleman or an another asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniyal-butt/acknowledge-yourself-man-up-along-age-and-then-decide-to-be-a/) [Daniyal Butt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniyal-butt/) > [It is possible that blondes also prefer gentleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mamie-van-doren/it-is-possible-that-blondes-also-prefer-gentleman/) [Mamie Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mamie-van-doren/) [Browse all 1,653 Gentleman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A gentleman can hardly continue to sit,' he explained, in his serenest and most level voice, 'when he asks a very remarkable young lady to do him the honor of marrying him. And - 'he somehow contrived to grin at me wickedly, 'I usually get what I want, Miss Grahame,' he added, and pitched over in a tangled heap on the floor.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Marie Pope" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-he-explained-in-his-serenest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gentleman" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-he-explained-in-his-serenest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/elizabeth-marie-pope-40924_gentleman_a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-h_602239.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/elizabeth-marie-pope-40924_gentleman_a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-h_602239.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acb/elizabeth-marie-pope-40924_gentleman_a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-h_602239.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A gentleman can hardly continue to sit,' he explained, in his serenest and most level voice, 'when he asks a…” — Elizabeth Marie Pope", "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 Marie Pope", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-marie-pope/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A gentleman can hardly continue to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-he-explained-in-his-serenest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-marie-pope/a-gentleman-can-hardly-continue-to-sit-he-explained-in-his-serenest/#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 } } ] } ```