--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared…" description: "\"Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_brake_her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straig_3115395.jpg" --- # Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she… ![“Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires, and I knew that first I had to get myself definitely out of that tangle…” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_brake_her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straig_3115395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_brake_her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straig_3115395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_brake_her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straig_3115395.jpg) > “Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires, and I knew that first I had to get myself definitely out of that tangle back home.” [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal introspection reveals inner conflicts that hinder authentic connections. **In simple terms:** Self‑rules block true love and clarity. Key Takeaway Identify and release internal barriers to intimacy. Themes psychology relationships self‑awareness Mood introspective thoughtful Type literary psychological When to use this quote - therapy - personal growth - relationship counseling Key Concepts Internal conflict emotional restraint Questions to Reflect On - Which internal rules hold you back? - How can you gently challenge them? A Different Perspective Self‑imposed limits may be hard to recognize without external feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brake/) [Deliberately Shifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberately-shifted-3489430/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Stared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-stared-319540/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grey/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Shifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shifted/) [Slow Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-thinking-964079/) [Stared Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stared-straight-354246/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straight-ahead-but-she-had-2/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [...I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-am-slow-thinking-and-full-of-interior-rules-that-act-as-brakes-on/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Those blue eyes stared straight through her. They demanded she think and feel and remember. She hesitated. “Yes.” He shook his head and looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-a-linde/those-blue-eyes-stared-straight-through-her-they-demanded-she-think/) [K.A. Linde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-a-linde/) > [“...and he suddenly opened his eyes and stared straight ahead into an empty space till slowly we returned into view. I can make small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-healy/and-he-suddenly-opened-his-eyes-and-stared-straight-ahead-into-an/) [Dermot Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-healy/) > [My prodding me didn't elicit a reaction. His unseeing eyes stared straight through me. Which was odd. He'd seemed so sane huddled in Cookie's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/my-prodding-me-didn-t-elicit-a-reaction-his-unseeing-eyes-stared/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [“...and for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/and-for-a-moment-i-thought-i-loved-her-but-i-am-slow-thinking-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Amory wondered how people could fail to notice that he was a boy marked for glory, and when faces of the throng turned toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/amory-wondered-how-people-could-fail-to-notice-that-he-was-a-boy/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straight-ahead-but-she-had/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-hadn-t-once-ceased-looking-at-daisy-and-i-think-he-revalued/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“most effortful forms of slow thinking are those that require you to think fast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/most-effortful-forms-of-slow-thinking-are-those-that-require-you-to/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Slow down your thinking so you can note the criteria you are using to make your decision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/slow-down-your-thinking-so-you-can-note-the-criteria-you-are-using-to-2/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [Slow thinking has the feeling of something you do. It's deliberate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/slow-thinking-has-the-feeling-of-something-you-do-it-s-deliberate/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“Temporal landmarks slow our thinking, allowing us to deliberate at a higher level and make better decisions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/temporal-landmarks-slow-our-thinking-allowing-us-to-deliberate-at-a/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [“...that if I let myself go, did not always slow me down by thinking so much beforehand I could achieve many things I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/that-if-i-let-myself-go-did-not-always-slow-me-down-by-thinking-so/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“Of course, not all slow thinking requires that form of intense concentration and effortful computation—I did the best thinking of my life on leisurely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/of-course-not-all-slow-thinking-requires-that-form-of-intense/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) ## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More Brake quotes > [It is amazing how may drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/it-is-amazing-how-may-drivers-even-at-the-formula-one-level-think/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [How do you, on the one hand, not object to Hillary Clinton being elected, and then, on the other hand, tell people, "Elect me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/how-do-you-on-the-one-hand-not-object-to-hillary-clinton-being/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [It's all happening too fast. I've got to put the brakes on or I'll smack into something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/it-s-all-happening-too-fast-i-ve-got-to-put-the-brakes-on-or-i-ll/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [You brake to fuckin easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delphine-hogue/you-brake-to-fuckin-easy/) [Delphine Hogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delphine-hogue/) > [The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-shoup/the-galleries-are-full-of-critics-they-play-no-ball-they-fight-no/) [David M. Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-shoup/) > [Newman's first law: It is useless to put on your brakes when you're upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/newman-s-first-law-it-is-useless-to-put-on-your-brakes-when-you-re/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [Lethal like venomous snake bites the marijuana makes my eyes bright red like brake lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/canibus/lethal-like-venomous-snake-bites-the-marijuana-makes-my-eyes-bright/) [Canibus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/canibus/) > [You only hear the music when your heart begins to brake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seether/you-only-hear-the-music-when-your-heart-begins-to-brake/) [Seether](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seether/) > [It is sometimes of God's mercy that men in the eager pursuit of worldly aggrandizement are baffled; for they are very like a train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/it-is-sometimes-of-god-s-mercy-that-men-in-the-eager-pursuit-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [You say that I should be your teacher! See to it that I am your pinion and not your brake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/you-say-that-i-should-be-your-teacher-see-to-it-that-i-am-your-pinion/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The daughters of God don't brake for jerks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-daughters-of-god-don-t-brake-for-jerks/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [France is ready for a European revolution and it is Germany that is pulling the brakes. For a long time, it was the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/france-is-ready-for-a-european-revolution-and-it-is-germany-that-is/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Some chains will never be broken, until you brake them through prayer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/some-chains-will-never-be-broken-until-you-brake-them-through-prayer/) [Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/) > [One of the reasons we do history, in fact, is because it acts as a brake, a control, on our otherwise unbridled enthusiasm for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/one-of-the-reasons-we-do-history-in-fact-is-because-it-acts-as-a/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) [Browse all 186 Brake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brake/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires, and I knew that first I had to get myself definitely out of that tangle back home.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "F. Scott Fitzgerald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straight-ahead-but-she-had-3/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brake" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straight-ahead-but-she-had-3/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_brake_her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straig_3115395.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_brake_her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straig_3115395.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fe/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_brake_her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straig_3115395.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight ahead, but she had deliberately shifted our relations, and for a…” — F. Scott Fitzgerald", "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": "F. Scott Fitzgerald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Her grey, sun-strained eyes stared straight...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straight-ahead-but-she-had-3/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/her-grey-sun-strained-eyes-stared-straight-ahead-but-she-had-3/#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 } } ] } ```