--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The afternoon slipped away while we…" description: "\"“The afternoon slipped away while we talked -- she talked brightly when any subject came up that interested her -- and it was the last hour of day -- t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/ellen-glasgow-1897_afternoon_the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talk_1271975.jpg" --- # The afternoon slipped away while we talked -- she talked… ![“The afternoon slipped away while we talked -- she talked brightly when any subject came up that interested her -- and it was the last hour of day -- that grave, still hour when the movement of life seems to droop and falter for a few precious minutes -- that brought us the thing I had dreaded…” quote by Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/ellen-glasgow-1897_afternoon_the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talk_1271975.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/ellen-glasgow-1897_afternoon_the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talk_1271975.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/ellen-glasgow-1897_afternoon_the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talk_1271975.jpg) > ““The afternoon slipped away while we talked -- she talked brightly when any subject came up that interested her -- and it was the last hour of day -- that grave, still hour when the movement of life seems to droop and falter for a few precious minutes -- that brought us the thing I had dreaded silently since my first night in the house.”” [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels a lingering dread during a fleeting, bright conversation, highlighting how moments of connection can surface deep anxieties. **In simple terms:** Brief joy can reveal hidden fears. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and explore underlying dread. Themes anxiety connection time reflection memory Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - readers - therapists - writers - friends - family Key Concepts psychology human experience narrative tension Questions to Reflect On - What fears surface during your happiest moments? - How can you reconcile joy with lingering dread? A Different Perspective Even brief happiness can be haunted by past trauma. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afternoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) [Afternoon Slipped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon-slipped-1996089/) [Dreaded Silently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreaded-silently-4081088/) [Dusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dusk/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Silently Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silently-night-2523973/) [Slipped Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slipped-away/) [Sunset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunset/) [Talked Brightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talked-brightly-4081089/) ## Related quotes > [“Only the dead dream fought on as the afternoon slipped away, trying to touch what was no longer tangible, struggling unhappily, undespairingly, towards that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/only-the-dead-dream-fought-on-as-the-afternoon-slipped-away-trying-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The great fish moved silently through the night water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-great-fish-moved-silently-through-the-night-water/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [God speaks to each of us as he makes us, then walks with us silently out of the night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/god-speaks-to-each-of-us-as-he-makes-us-then-walks-with-us-silently/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [I miss you, miss you so bad I don't forget you, oh it's so sad I hope you can hear me, I remember it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-you-miss-you-so-bad-i-don-t-forget-you-oh-it-s-so-sad-i-hope-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A flood of nostalgia swallowed me up as his taillights passed out of sight, and I realized with a start that my last true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pitre/a-flood-of-nostalgia-swallowed-me-up-as-his-taillights-passed-out-of/) [Michael Pitre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pitre/) > [I miss you, miss you so bad I don't forget you, oh it's so sad I hope you can hear me I remember it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/i-miss-you-miss-you-so-bad-i-don-t-forget-you-oh-it-s-so-sad-i-hope/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [“Out in the country it was not uncommon to discover that she had slipped away, alone, out to the lake, maybe, or down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/out-in-the-country-it-was-not-uncommon-to-discover-that-she-had/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Initially they waited with hope, but as each hour passed, hope slipped away like the wind, the wind that as a small boy Ethan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-martin-beckner/initially-they-waited-with-hope-but-as-each-hour-passed-hope-slipped/) [K. Martin Beckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-martin-beckner/) > [The certainty that she would find what it was she sought just slipped away, until one night she knew there was nothing, no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/the-certainty-that-she-would-find-what-it-was-she-sought-just-slipped/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [The day you went away, my world slipped away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-day-you-went-away-my-world-slipped-away/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The one thing I’d learned was that having someone with you all the time did not take away the loneliness. You could be surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/the-one-thing-i-d-learned-was-that-having-someone-with-you-all-the/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [Death is nothing at all; it does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-scott-holland/death-is-nothing-at-all-it-does-not-count-i-have-only-slipped-away/) [Henry Scott Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-scott-holland/) > [If I didn't have my camera to remind me constantly, I am here to do this, I would eventually have slipped away, I think.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/if-i-didn-t-have-my-camera-to-remind-me-constantly-i-am-here-to-do/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [“I regret not telling her how much she meant to me, how much I'd miss her, how devastated I'd be to see her go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-augustine/i-regret-not-telling-her-how-much-she-meant-to-me-how-much-i-d-miss/) [L.M. Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-augustine/) > [“But godhead gradually slipped away from him, leaving only a sense of election and the power, through his music, to to change landscapes, seasons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-wroe/but-godhead-gradually-slipped-away-from-him-leaving-only-a-sense-of/) [Ann Wroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-wroe/) ## More by Ellen Glasgow > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I have watchedmany literary fashions shoot up and blossom, and then fade and drop… Yet with the many that I have seen comeand go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-watchedmany-literary-fashions-shoot-up-and-blossom-and-then/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [After a day of rain the sun came out suddenly at five o'clock and threw a golden bar into the deep Victorian gloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/after-a-day-of-rain-the-sun-came-out-suddenly-at-five-o-clock-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [What I hated even more than the conflict was the lurid spectacle of a world of unreason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-i-hated-even-more-than-the-conflict-was-the-lurid-spectacle-of-a/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Preserve, within a wild sanctuary, an inaccessible valley of reverie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/preserve-within-a-wild-sanctuary-an-inaccessible-valley-of-reverie/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I was always a feminist, for I liked intellectual revolt as much as I disliked physical violence. On the whole, I think women havelost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-was-always-a-feminist-for-i-liked-intellectual-revolt-as-much-as-i/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Although the primitive in art may be both interesting and impressive, as portrayed in American fiction it is conspicuous for dullness alone. Drab persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/although-the-primitive-in-art-may-be-both-interesting-and-impressive/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Do you know there is always a barrier between me and any man or woman who does not like dogs?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/do-you-know-there-is-always-a-barrier-between-me-and-any-man-or-woman/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [You look as if you lived on duty and it hadn't;t agreed with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/you-look-as-if-you-lived-on-duty-and-it-hadn-t-t-agreed-with-you/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [there are times when life surprises one, and anything may happen, even what one had hoped for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/there-are-times-when-life-surprises-one-and-anything-may-happen-even/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Life may take away happiness. But it can't take away having had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/life-may-take-away-happiness-but-it-can-t-take-away-having-had-it/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [So long as one is able to pose one has still much to learn about suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/so-long-as-one-is-able-to-pose-one-has-still-much-to-learn-about/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [...I had grown up in a world that was dominated by immature age. Not by vigorous immaturity, but by immaturity that was old and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-had-grown-up-in-a-world-that-was-dominated-by-immature-age-not-by/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I hated the things they believe in, the things they so innocently and charmingly pretended. I hated the sanctimonious piety that let people hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-hated-the-things-they-believe-in-the-things-they-so-innocently-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) [Explore all 200 Ellen Glasgow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## More Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) [Ban Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-johnson/) > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afternoon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The afternoon slipped away while we talked -- she talked brightly when any subject came up that interested her -- and it was the last hour of day -- that grave, still hour when the movement of life seems to droop and falter for a few precious minutes -- that brought us the thing I had dreaded silently since my first night in the house.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Glasgow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talked-she-talked-brightly-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talked-she-talked-brightly-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/ellen-glasgow-1897_afternoon_the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talk_1271975.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/ellen-glasgow-1897_afternoon_the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talk_1271975.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cff/ellen-glasgow-1897_afternoon_the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talk_1271975.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The afternoon slipped away while we talked -- she talked brightly when any subject came up that interested…” — Ellen Glasgow", "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 Glasgow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The afternoon slipped away while we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talked-she-talked-brightly-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-afternoon-slipped-away-while-we-talked-she-talked-brightly-when/#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 } } ] } ```