--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thirty, thirty-five, forty, all had come…" description: "\"Thirty, thirty-five, forty, all had come to visit her like admonitory relatives, and all had slipped away without a trace, without a sound, and now, on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13f/evan-s-connell-52564_40th-birthday_thirty-thirty-five-forty-all-had-come-to_2970372.png" --- # Thirty, thirty-five, forty, all had come to visit her like… ![“Thirty, thirty-five, forty, all had come to visit her like admonitory relatives, and all had slipped away without a trace, without a sound, and now, once again, she was waiting.” quote by Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13f/evan-s-connell-52564_40th-birthday_thirty-thirty-five-forty-all-had-come-to_2970372.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13f/evan-s-connell-52564_40th-birthday_thirty-thirty-five-forty-all-had-come-to_2970372.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13f/evan-s-connell-52564_40th-birthday_thirty-thirty-five-forty-all-had-come-to_2970372.png) > “Thirty, thirty-five, forty, all had come to visit her like admonitory relatives, and all had slipped away without a trace, without a sound, and now, once again, she was waiting.” [Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) ## 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 describes a series of unsettling visits that vanish without a trace, creating an atmosphere of lingering anticipation and mystery. **In simple terms:** Unseen visitors come and go, leaving a lingering sense of waiting. Key Takeaway Observe the subtle signs of change. Themes mystery anticipation absence loneliness time Mood eerie thoughtful Type literary symbolic When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - psychological analysis Key Concepts psychological tension narrative pacing symbolic encounters Questions to Reflect On - What does the waiting symbolize for the protagonist? - How does silence shape the narrative mood? A Different Perspective The abstract description may lack concrete context for readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [40th birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/40th-birthday/) [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Forty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forty/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Meaningful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaningful/) [Relatives Slipped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatives-slipped-4569620/) [Slipped Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slipped-away/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Thirty Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty-come-4569619/) [Thirty Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty-thirty-4569621/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Without a trace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-a-trace/) ## Related quotes > [Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. 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It is none of these things; rather it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-harrison/we-idealize-the-transformative-life-into-a-life-of-power-of/) [Steven Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-harrison/) > [In this modern world of ours many people seem to think that science has somehow made such religious ideas as immortality untimely or old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/in-this-modern-world-of-ours-many-people-seem-to-think-that-science/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) > [The non-artists among us are always terribly busy, but finally disappear without a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/the-non-artists-among-us-are-always-terribly-busy-but-finally/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [I was learning the importance of names - having them, making them - but at the same time I sensed the dangers. Recognition was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-baker/i-was-learning-the-importance-of-names-having-them-making-them-but-at/) [Josephine Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-baker/) > [But India did not pass me by without a trace: it left tracks which lead me from one infinity to another infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/but-india-did-not-pass-me-by-without-a-trace-it-left-tracks-which/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [My happiest hours are those in which I think nothing, want nothing, when I do not even dream, but lose myself in some spurious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/my-happiest-hours-are-those-in-which-i-think-nothing-want-nothing/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [i will show you fear in a handful of dust." t.s. eliot we don't actually fear death, we fear that no one will notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/i-will-show-you-fear-in-a-handful-of-dust-t-s-eliot-we-don-t-actually/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [To set one's name to a work gives no one a title to be remembered, for who knows how many of the best of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-set-one-s-name-to-a-work-gives-no-one-a-title-to-be-remembered-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They were not friends, Comdrade Pillai and Inspector Thomas Matthew, and they didn't trust each other. But they understood each other perfectly. They were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/they-were-not-friends-comdrade-pillai-and-inspector-thomas-matthew/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [If tone is granted to be subjected to control, why not line also, which has equal emotional significance? And if line, why not shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mortensen/if-tone-is-granted-to-be-subjected-to-control-why-not-line-also-which/) [William Mortensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mortensen/) > [For the salvation of his soul the Muslim digs a well. It would be a fine thing if each of us were to leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-the-salvation-of-his-soul-the-muslim-digs-a-well-it-would-be-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sands of time are quicksands ... so much can sink into them without a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-sands-of-time-are-quicksands-so-much-can-sink-into-them-without-a/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The person who did all of these things has gone away, vanished without a trace in the ecstasy of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-person-who-did-all-of-these-things-has-gone-away-vanished-without/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nature does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation. ... Everything science has taught me-and continues to teach me-strengthens my belief in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wernher-von-braun/nature-does-not-know-extinction-all-it-knows-is-transformation/) [Wernher von Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wernher-von-braun/) ## More by Evan S. Connell > [“Just across from Bismarck stood Fort Lincoln where friends and relatives of Custer’s dead cavalrymen still lived, and these emigrating Sioux could perceive such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-s-connell/just-across-from-bismarck-stood-fort-lincoln-where-friends-and/) [Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) > [“You’re not as cold as you pretend to be,’ she said. ‘I think your doors open in different places, that’s all. Most people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-s-connell/you-re-not-as-cold-as-you-pretend-to-be-she-said-i-think-your-doors/) [Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) > [“Captain Jack, that volatile Modoc, seems to have been handled still more causally. After being hanged and buried, Jack was exhumed, embalmed, and exhibited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-s-connell/captain-jack-that-volatile-modoc-seems-to-have-been-handled-still/) [Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) > [“ She was not certain what she wanted from life, or what to expect from it, for she had seen so little of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-s-connell/she-was-not-certain-what-she-wanted-from-life-or-what-to-expect-from/) [Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) > [“Her first name was India-she was never able to get used to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-s-connell/her-first-name-was-india-she-was-never-able-to-get-used-to-it/) [Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) > [“He remembered enthusiasm, hope, and a kind of jubilation or exultation. Cheerfulness, yes, and joviality, and the brief gratification of sex. Gladness, too, fullness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-s-connell/he-remembered-enthusiasm-hope-and-a-kind-of-jubilation-or-exultation/) [Evan S. Connell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) [Explore all 7 Evan S. Connell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-s-connell/) ## More 40th birthday quotes > [Be wise with speed; a fool at forty is a fool indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-young/be-wise-with-speed-a-fool-at-forty-is-a-fool-indeed/) [Edward Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-young/) > [A man of sixty has spent twenty years in bed and over three years in eating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/a-man-of-sixty-has-spent-twenty-years-in-bed-and-over-three-years-in/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [Pleas'd look forward, pleas'd to look behind,And count each birthday with a grateful mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/pleas-d-look-forward-pleas-d-to-look-behind-and-count-each-birthday/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I spent my 40th birthday on the stage of the Palladium in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ball/i-spent-my-40th-birthday-on-the-stage-of-the-palladium-in-chitty/) [Michael Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ball/) > [In Hollywood, there is another name for a woman's 40th birthday party, it's a retirement party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-lange/in-hollywood-there-is-another-name-for-a-woman-s-40th-birthday-party/) [Artie Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-lange/) > [To me, old age is always 15 years older than I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-me-old-age-is-always-15-years-older-than-i-am/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just because you're 40, you don't have to decide whether God exists...when you're already worrying that the National Security Agency is reading your emails,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/just-because-you-re-40-you-don-t-have-to-decide-whether-god-exists/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [Just short of my 40th birthday, I told my wife, Beth, I was going to build us a little weekend place in...well, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-symmes/just-short-of-my-40th-birthday-i-told-my-wife-beth-i-was-going-to/) [Patrick Symmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-symmes/) > [So OK, it's your special big Four-O birthday But don't expect me to be obsequious and fawning You, being you, can't possibly be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walter-bratton/so-ok-it-s-your-special-big-four-o-birthday-but-don-t-expect-me-to-be/) [John Walter Bratton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walter-bratton/) > [This wine is forty years old. It certainly doesnt show its age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-wine-is-forty-years-old-it-certainly-doesnt-show-its-age/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Youre not 40, youre eighteen with 22 years experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/youre-not-40-youre-eighteen-with-22-years-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are an actress in L.A., on your 40th birthday they should just hand you the keys to the lunatic asylum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romola-garai/if-you-are-an-actress-in-l-a-on-your-40th-birthday-they-should-just/) [Romola Garai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romola-garai/) > [John Candy knew he was going to die. He told me on his 40th birthday. He said, well, Maureen, I'm on borrowed time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/john-candy-knew-he-was-going-to-die-he-told-me-on-his-40th-birthday/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) > [The I just woke up face of your 30s is the all day long face of your 40s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-i-just-woke-up-face-of-your-30s-is-the-all-day-long-face-of-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By your 40s, you don't want to be with the cool people; you want to be with your people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/by-your-40s-you-don-t-want-to-be-with-the-cool-people-you-want-to-be/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) [Browse all 44 40th birthday quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/40th-birthday/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thirty, thirty-five, forty, all had come to visit her like admonitory relatives, and all had slipped away without a trace, without a sound, and now, once again, she was waiting.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Evan S. 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