--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was painfully shy, but physically she…" description: "\"“She was painfully shy, but physically she was brave to a surprising degree. She loved few persons, but those few with a passion of self-sacrificing te..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/eva-hope-185061_religion_she-was-painfully-shy-but-physically-she_1303839.jpg" --- # She was painfully shy, but physically she was brave to a… ![“She was painfully shy, but physically she was brave to a surprising degree. She loved few persons, but those few with a passion of self-sacrificing tenderness and devotion. To other people's failings she was understanding and forgiving, but over herself she kept a continual and most austere watch…” quote by Eva Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/eva-hope-185061_religion_she-was-painfully-shy-but-physically-she_1303839.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/eva-hope-185061_religion_she-was-painfully-shy-but-physically-she_1303839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/eva-hope-185061_religion_she-was-painfully-shy-but-physically-she_1303839.jpg) > ““She was painfully shy, but physically she was brave to a surprising degree. She loved few persons, but those few with a passion of self-sacrificing tenderness and devotion. To other people's failings she was understanding and forgiving, but over herself she kept a continual and most austere watch, never allowing herself to deviate for one instant from what she considered her duty. (On Emily Bronte)”” Eva Hope ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A shy yet brave individual balances deep compassion with strict self-discipline, embodying selfless love and personal duty. **In simple terms:** Shy but brave, caring yet strict. Key Takeaway Embrace compassionate discipline. Themes character courage compassion self-discipline Mood thoughtful introspective Type analysis character study When to use this quote - personal relationships - self-improvement - literary study Key Concepts selfless love inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance compassion and self-discipline? - What duties define you? A Different Perspective May romanticize struggle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronte/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > ['Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte has been my all-time favorite book since I was in middle school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-serle/wuthering-heights-by-emily-bronte-has-been-my-all-time-favorite-book/) [Rebecca Serle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-serle/) > [“Yet genius of a sort must have existed among women as it must have existed among the working classes. Now and again an Emily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/yet-genius-of-a-sort-must-have-existed-among-women-as-it-must-have/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [To read Helen Macdonald's memoir, H Is for Hawk, is to feel as though Emily Bronte just turned up at your door, trailing all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-corrigan/to-read-helen-macdonald-s-memoir-h-is-for-hawk-is-to-feel-as-though/) [Maureen Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-corrigan/) > [Don't you know how much I hero-worshiped you when I was a kid? You were Marie Curie crossed with Emily Bronte crossed with Joan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamila-shamsie/don-t-you-know-how-much-i-hero-worshiped-you-when-i-was-a-kid-you/) [Kamila Shamsie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamila-shamsie/) > [“Some people are very unfulfilled. In consequence they write passionately good romance because they believe that they could still find happiness. Emily Bronte was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bingham/some-people-are-very-unfulfilled-in-consequence-they-write/) [Charlotte Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bingham/) > [“I know more about Emily Bronte than anyone I know. I know enough about her family to have been a part. I’ve walked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chila-woychik/i-know-more-about-emily-bronte-than-anyone-i-know-i-know-enough-about/) [Chila Woychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chila-woychik/) > [“What do you think is my favourite book? Just now, I mean; I change every three days. "Wuthering Heights." Emily Bronte was quite young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/what-do-you-think-is-my-favourite-book-just-now-i-mean-i-change-every/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [“I've always been shy physically. This in part tended to keep me from rushing into things, including relationships, headlong. Not rushing headlong, though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-ve-always-been-shy-physically-this-in-part-tended-to-keep-me-from/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“There were two sides of Julian, she thought, and she remembered a line from something she'd read --Emily Brontë, maybe. Different as a moonbeam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-smith/there-were-two-sides-of-julian-she-thought-and-she-remembered-a-line/) [L.J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) > [Then I found another one, grandpa's poem. It turned out it had been written by Emily Brontë and it wasn't my grandfather's poem at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hirsch/then-i-found-another-one-grandpa-s-poem-it-turned-out-it-had-been/) [Edward Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hirsch/) > [“Sensuality does not wear a watch but she always gets to the essential places on time. She is adventurous and not particularly quiet. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-ruth-gendler/sensuality-does-not-wear-a-watch-but-she-always-gets-to-the-essential/) [J. Ruth Gendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-ruth-gendler/) > [I grew up in Des Moines. My dad had a house full of books, things like P.G. Wodehouse books and 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-grew-up-in-des-moines-my-dad-had-a-house-full-of-books-things-like/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Wuthering Heights, however it may appear in retrospect, demands a reading of the utmost intensity, the feeling present in the writing seems to seek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gregor/wuthering-heights-however-it-may-appear-in-retrospect-demands-a/) [Ian Gregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gregor/) > [Now that my kids are out of the house, I'm finally able to get to the classics I never read: Emily Bronte, Dylan Thomas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wright/now-that-my-kids-are-out-of-the-house-i-m-finally-able-to-get-to-the/) [Robin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wright/) > [“Oliver was Oliver,' I said, as if that summed things up. 'Parce que c'était lui, parce que c'était moi,' my father added, quoting Montaigne's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-was-oliver-i-said-as-if-that-summed-things-up-parce-que-c-tait/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Bronte quotes > ['Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte has been my all-time favorite book since I was in middle school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-serle/wuthering-heights-by-emily-bronte-has-been-my-all-time-favorite-book/) [Rebecca Serle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-serle/) > [Of course, Jack Kilborn is better than both of us combined and mixed with a side helping of the Bronte sisters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-konrath/of-course-jack-kilborn-is-better-than-both-of-us-combined-and-mixed/) [J.A. Konrath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-konrath/) > [But you know, where did the Brontes go to college? Where did George Eliot go to college? Where did Thomas Paine or Thomas Jefferson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/but-you-know-where-did-the-brontes-go-to-college-where-did-george/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“For a century and a half, people have wondered what factors - genetic and environmental - were especially significant in the evolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-thorm-hlen/for-a-century-and-a-half-people-have-wondered-what-factors-genetic/) [Marianne Thormählen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-thorm-hlen/) > [I'm glad nobody has asked me to adapt 'Wuthering Heights' because I think I would make a mess of it. Everybody makes a mess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/i-m-glad-nobody-has-asked-me-to-adapt-wuthering-heights-because-i/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [I loved Charlotte Bronte when I was little, and I wanted to be Charlotte Bronte the way people want to be a princess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-loved-charlotte-bronte-when-i-was-little-and-i-wanted-to-be/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I think I learned discipline on 'Jane Eyre.' Charlotte Bronte's dialogue, the intellectual duel between Rochester and Jane Eyre's character, is so compelling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fukunaga/i-think-i-learned-discipline-on-jane-eyre-charlotte-bronte-s-dialogue/) [Cary Fukunaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fukunaga/) > [I actually didn't like Jane Austen. I was more into the Brontes. They were so wild and passionate. I thought there was something a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-o-connor/i-actually-didn-t-like-jane-austen-i-was-more-into-the-brontes-they/) [Frances O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-o-connor/) > [My role models were childless: Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, George Eliot, the Brontes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/my-role-models-were-childless-virginia-woolf-jane-austen-george-eliot/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“What do you think is my favourite book? Just now, I mean; I change every three days. "Wuthering Heights." Emily Bronte was quite young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/what-do-you-think-is-my-favourite-book-just-now-i-mean-i-change-every/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [“She pops her head into a bare-looking kitchen and has a little wander round it. Here, she reads, Emily would sometimes make bread with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-jackson/she-pops-her-head-into-a-bare-looking-kitchen-and-has-a-little-wander/) Mick Jackson > [“I turn to our father, searching for an ally. "So Dad, is it legal for Bronte to date out of her species?" Dad looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/i-turn-to-our-father-searching-for-an-ally-so-dad-is-it-legal-for/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“I know more about Emily Bronte than anyone I know. I know enough about her family to have been a part. I’ve walked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chila-woychik/i-know-more-about-emily-bronte-than-anyone-i-know-i-know-enough-about/) [Chila Woychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chila-woychik/) > [“Some people are very unfulfilled. In consequence they write passionately good romance because they believe that they could still find happiness. Emily Bronte was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bingham/some-people-are-very-unfulfilled-in-consequence-they-write/) [Charlotte Bingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bingham/) > [Reading was such a formative part of my childhood (along with 'Loony Tunes'), that it is difficult to pin point the most influential book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-marie-macdonald/reading-was-such-a-formative-part-of-my-childhood-along-with-loony/) [Ann-Marie MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-marie-macdonald/) [Browse all 46 Bronte quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bronte/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was painfully shy, but physically she was brave to a surprising degree. She loved few persons, but those few with a passion of self-sacrificing tenderness and devotion. 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