--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Then you hold life like a face between…" description: "\"Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and you say, yes, I will take you I will love you, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/ellen-bass-18832_charming_then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-y_1385809.jpg" --- # Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain… ![“Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and you say, yes, I will take you I will love you, again.” quote by Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/ellen-bass-18832_charming_then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-y_1385809.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/ellen-bass-18832_charming_then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-y_1385809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/ellen-bass-18832_charming_then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-y_1385809.jpg) > “Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and you say, yes, I will take you I will love you, again.” [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Holding life plainly, without idealization, and still choosing to love it repeatedly. **In simple terms:** Accept life as it is and love it again. Key Takeaway Embrace reality, love repeatedly. Themes love acceptance reality resilience Mood reflective hopeful Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - grief coping - daily mindfulness Key Concepts existentialism human connection Questions to Reflect On - How can you love without idealizing? - What does love mean when faced with plainness? A Different Perspective Love can be challenged by disappointment and fatigue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Charming Smile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/charming-smile/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Violet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violet/) ## Related quotes > [“She had a face so charming that visitors of all ages and both sexes would stand stockstill at the sight of her, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-s-skind/she-had-a-face-so-charming-that-visitors-of-all-ages-and-both-sexes/) [Patrick Süskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-s-skind/) > [I've done a few face palms after things I've said because it's stupid. But if I'm not like that, I won't feel human anymore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-ve-done-a-few-face-palms-after-things-i-ve-said-because-it-s-stupid/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [“She reached up, held his face between her palms. "How can I help but fret? You live wi' death on your heels." "For your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-clare/she-reached-up-held-his-face-between-her-palms-how-can-i-help-but/) [Pamela Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-clare/) > [Knavery's plain face is never seen till used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/knavery-s-plain-face-is-never-seen-till-used/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I'd rather have a plain face with a beautiful soul than a beautiful face with an ugly soul any day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agidis234/i-d-rather-have-a-plain-face-with-a-beautiful-soul-than-a-beautiful/) Agidis234 > [To love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it. when grief weights you like your own flesh only more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/to-love-life-to-love-it-even-when-you-have-no-stomach-for-it-when/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [ “John Thorpe \[...\] was a stout young man of middling height, who, with a plain face and ungraceful form, seemed fearful of being too… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/john-thorpe-was-a-stout-young-man-of-middling-height-who-with-a-plain/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“comparison only. There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/comparison-only-there-were-a-king-with-a-large-jaw-and-a-queen-with-a/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [to love life, to love it even when you have no stomach for it and everything you've held dear crumbles like burnt paper in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-love-life-to-love-it-even-when-you-have-no-stomach-for-it-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Didn't you get the money for the taxes? Don't tell me the wolf is still at the door of Tara." There was a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/didn-t-you-get-the-money-for-the-taxes-don-t-tell-me-the-wolf-is/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“Ben had the most expressive face I’d ever seen. When he told a story, he dove into it, re-enacting each character with a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-duff/ben-had-the-most-expressive-face-i-d-ever-seen-when-he-told-a-story/) [Hilary Duff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-duff/) > [The prime necessities for success in life are money, athleticism, tailor made clothes and a charming smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-prime-necessities-for-success-in-life-are-money-athleticism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“He had a singularly charming smile, and it ensured for him, no matter how exacting might be his demands, the uncomplaining exertions of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/he-had-a-singularly-charming-smile-and-it-ensured-for-him-no-matter/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [“It’s destiny; the stars have aligned perfectly to bring us together as friends. You cannot argue with what’s meant to be, once the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ann/it-s-destiny-the-stars-have-aligned-perfectly-to-bring-us-together-as/) Deborah Ann > [“It seemed to him that the little Manchu had never looked so radiant. She gave him a most charming smile, but her eyes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/it-seemed-to-him-that-the-little-manchu-had-never-looked-so-radiant/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) ## More by Ellen Bass > [“In spite of the horror, in spite of the tragedy, in spite of the weeks of sleepless nights, I'm finally alive. I'm not pretending.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/in-spite-of-the-horror-in-spite-of-the-tragedy-in-spite-of-the-weeks/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [Garrison Keillor read several of my poems on 'The Writer's Almanac' and I've heard from listeners nationally and internationally. That's one of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/garrison-keillor-read-several-of-my-poems-on-the-writer-s-almanac-and/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“If You Knew What if you knew you'd be the last to touch someone? 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To and from school in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/dead-butterfly-by-ellen-bass-for-months-my-daughter-carried-a-dead/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [If you’ve managed to do one good thing, the ocean doesn’t care. But when Newton’s apple fell toward the earth, the earth, ever so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/if-you-ve-managed-to-do-one-good-thing-the-ocean-doesn-t-care-but/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [There is a comfort in knowing that you don’t have to pretend anymore, that you are going to do everything within your power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/there-is-a-comfort-in-knowing-that-you-don-t-have-to-pretend-anymore/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [ Visualizing how you want to be is \[an\] effective way to move toward your goal. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/visualizing-how-you-want-to-be-is-an-effective-way-to-move-toward/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“Healing was a terrifying and painful experience and my life was as full of struggle and heartache as it had always been. Several years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/healing-was-a-terrifying-and-painful-experience-and-my-life-was-as/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [“The World Has Need Of You” everything here seems to need us —Rainer Maria Rilke I can hardly imagine it as I walk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/the-world-has-need-of-you-everything-here-seems-to-need-us-rainer/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [Exercise stimulates your circulation, massages your internal organs, stretches and strengthens your muscles, and energizes you. Exercise is also a great way to discharge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/exercise-stimulates-your-circulation-massages-your-internal-organs/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [I wanted to be a writer since I was in high school, but I never thought it was possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-since-i-was-in-high-school-but-i-never/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [Your wallet will be stolen, you'll get fat, slip on the bathroom tiles of a foreign hotel and crack your hip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/your-wallet-will-be-stolen-you-ll-get-fat-slip-on-the-bathroom-tiles/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [What would people look like if we could see them as they are, soaked in honey, stung and swollen, reckless, pinned against time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/what-would-people-look-like-if-we-could-see-them-as-they-are-soaked/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) [Explore all 34 Ellen Bass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) ## More Charming quotes > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [Ninety-eight percent of the things that come out of my mouth are intended to be harmless or even charming. They're not ever intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/ninety-eight-percent-of-the-things-that-come-out-of-my-mouth-are/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [You have to be nicer to me," I said. Again he laughed. "What? I'm the King of nice. What are you talking about?" "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-myracle/you-have-to-be-nicer-to-me-i-said-again-he-laughed-what-i-m-the-king/) [Lauren Myracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-myracle/) > [Everything was so designed by Hannibal to break down Will in the first season, until Will's sanity became questionable. It's so much easier to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/everything-was-so-designed-by-hannibal-to-break-down-will-in-the/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [Old Etonians are the most charming people in the world. It's not just the analytic ability and the great education; there is a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-wade/old-etonians-are-the-most-charming-people-in-the-world-it-s-not-just/) [Laura Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-wade/) > [My beloved friend - one of the most unique and charming personalities of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/my-beloved-friend-one-of-the-most-unique-and-charming-personalities/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [Wouldn’t that make a charming epitaph? Here lies Cat. Killed not by fang, but Ferragamos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/wouldn-t-that-make-a-charming-epitaph-here-lies-cat-killed-not-by/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Sir, money, money, the most charming of all things; money, which will say more in one moment than the most elegant lover can in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/sir-money-money-the-most-charming-of-all-things-money-which-will-say/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [Charming Alnaschar visions! it is the happy privilege of youth to construct you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/charming-alnaschar-visions-it-is-the-happy-privilege-of-youth-to/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [I wasn‘t—" I began. I didn‘t—" He began. How charming," V‘lane cut us off. His voice arrived before he did. "The very portrait of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-wasn-t-i-began-i-didn-t-he-began-how-charming-v-lane-cut-us-off-his/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Lillian Gish may be a charming person, but she is not Ophelia. She comes on stage as if she had been sent for to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mrs-patrick-campbell/lillian-gish-may-be-a-charming-person-but-she-is-not-ophelia-she/) [Mrs. Patrick Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mrs-patrick-campbell/) > [There are likable characters in prison. Sometimes the worst criminals are also some of the most charming people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taryn-manning/there-are-likable-characters-in-prison-sometimes-the-worst-criminals/) [Taryn Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taryn-manning/) > [The secular mind and heart, however gifted and personally charming, has no place in the leadership of the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/the-secular-mind-and-heart-however-gifted-and-personally-charming-has/) [J. Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders/) Browse all 808 Charming quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and you say, yes, I will take you I will love you, again.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Bass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-your-palms-a-plain-face-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Charming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-your-palms-a-plain-face-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/ellen-bass-18832_charming_then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-y_1385809.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/ellen-bass-18832_charming_then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-y_1385809.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/437/ellen-bass-18832_charming_then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-y_1385809.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Then you hold life like a face between your palms, a plain face, no charming smile, no violet eyes, and you…” — Ellen Bass", "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": "Ellen Bass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Then you hold life like a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-your-palms-a-plain-face-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/then-you-hold-life-like-a-face-between-your-palms-a-plain-face-no/#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 } } ] } ```