--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How old are you?' The question startled…" description: "\"“How old are you?' The question startled him. 'Earth and Air. There are times you are no more comfortable a companion than I am. The answer to that ser..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/emma-bull-16750_beauty_how-old-are-you-the-question-startled-hi_1920257.jpg" --- # How old are you?' The question startled him. 'Earth and… ![“How old are you?' The question startled him. 'Earth and Air. There are times you are no more comfortable a companion than I am. The answer to that serves no conceivable purpose, and I refuse to give it to you.' When I was a kid I read Black Beauty. There were horse-drawn cabs in that. Are you that…” quote by Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/emma-bull-16750_beauty_how-old-are-you-the-question-startled-hi_1920257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/emma-bull-16750_beauty_how-old-are-you-the-question-startled-hi_1920257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da9/emma-bull-16750_beauty_how-old-are-you-the-question-startled-hi_1920257.jpg) > ““How old are you?' The question startled him. 'Earth and Air. There are times you are no more comfortable a companion than I am. The answer to that serves no conceivable purpose, and I refuse to give it to you.' When I was a kid I read Black Beauty. There were horse-drawn cabs in that. Are you that old?' Older, older, older. I shall not tell you, so you may as well leave off, my primrose.' She snorted. 'I think that means I should give up. You've started sweet-talking.' I am torn,' the phouka said, grinning, 'between responding, 'Oh, absolutely!' and 'What do you mean, started?'' He grabbed her hand, dropped a kiss on the knuckles, and loped across the street. Eddi felt the touch of his mouth on her hand for an inexplicably long time.”” [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A dialogue explores identity, age, and the futility of answering meaningless questions, highlighting a desire for mystery and connection **In simple terms:** A conversation about age and mystery, showing reluctance to reveal personal details Key Takeaway Embrace mystery, avoid over‑explaining Themes identity communication intimacy Mood playful thoughtful enigmatic Type literary conversational philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative writing - role‑playing games - storytelling - character development Key Concepts existentialism psychology literary dialogue Questions to Reflect On - What does refusing to answer reveal about the speaker? - How does mystery affect intimacy? A Different Perspective The exchange may seem whimsical but can obscure deeper emotional needs ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Black beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-beauty/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The only women who ever hit on me are 30 years old or older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-women-who-ever-hit-on-me-are-30-years-old-or-older/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No, no, no, Landemere. This time I'm putting my foot down. I mean it. Don't think you're going to smear syrup on my beard,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ashling/no-no-no-landemere-this-time-i-m-putting-my-foot-down-i-mean-it-don-t/) [Andrew Ashling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ashling/) > [Don't trust what I tell you when I'm in a good mood. If I'm being nice and sweet talking you, its all fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-trust-what-i-tell-you-when-i-m-in-a-good-mood-if-i-m-being-nice/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never never trust a sweet talking man or woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dkumar/never-never-trust-a-sweet-talking-man-or-woman/) Dkumar > [“You’re trying to change the subject, aren’t you?” “Definitely. In hindsight, that assistant comment probably wasn’t so slick. 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I'm not old, but I'm older and wiser.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torii-hunter/i-m-older-and-i-m-better-i-m-not-old-but-i-m-older-and-wiser/) [Torii Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torii-hunter/) > [“I’ll never be as old as someone older than me, but I can be older than them if I outlive their lifespan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-ll-never-be-as-old-as-someone-older-than-me-but-i-can-be-older-than/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [It's a good thing to be old. Because when you get older, that means you haven't died yet, right? And when I do get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/it-s-a-good-thing-to-be-old-because-when-you-get-older-that-means-you/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [I'll bet I'm as old as you are." "I'm older than Sanskrit." "Well, I was waitress at the Last Supper." 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Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-shea/) > [“A real advantage to gettin' old is that the older ou get, the fewer people there are left alive who can refute anything you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-crouch/a-real-advantage-to-gettin-old-is-that-the-older-ou-get-the-fewer/) Clark Crouch ## More by Emma Bull > [“Is negative space the space you don't like, or the space that is not there? And if it's not there how can you tell?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/is-negative-space-the-space-you-don-t-like-or-the-space-that-is-not/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“Falkner sometimes thought her heart was a voodoo doll, full of pins. One each for Ben and the girls. 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'You could make me believe anything at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/could-i-make-you-believe-something-that-wasn-t-true-he-studied-her/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [She lifted her head. "It's easier," she said, slowly, "to be angry on someone else's behalf than on my own. And yet I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/she-lifted-her-head-it-s-easier-she-said-slowly-to-be-angry-on/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“I love you like my own sister. Which is why I won't hesitate to tell you that I don't believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/i-love-you-like-my-own-sister-which-is-why-i-won-t-hesitate-to-tell/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“You're good, did you know that?' Oh, yes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/you-re-good-did-you-know-that-oh-yes/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [They don't know how the world is shaped. And so they give it a shape, and try to make everything fit it. They separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/they-don-t-know-how-the-world-is-shaped-and-so-they-give-it-a-shape/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“Every motion she made was slow, as if she’d never before put her arms around a man, and didn’t know for certain where everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/every-motion-she-made-was-slow-as-if-she-d-never-before-put-her-arms/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [We're all immortal until we die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/we-re-all-immortal-until-we-die/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) > [“If you were anyone else, I'd tell you it's unbecoming to gloat." But you'd tell me..." That even gloating becomes you. It's a sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-bull/if-you-were-anyone-else-i-d-tell-you-it-s-unbecoming-to-gloat-but-you/) [Emma Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) [Explore all 37 Emma Bull quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-bull/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. 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Are you that old?' Older, older, older. I shall not tell you, so you may as well leave off, my primrose.' She snorted. 'I think that means I should give up. You've started sweet-talking.' I am torn,' the phouka said, grinning, 'between responding, 'Oh, absolutely!' and 'What do you mean, started?'' He grabbed her hand, dropped a kiss on the knuckles, and loped across the street. 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