---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stain my eyes as I may, on all sides all…"
description: "\"Stain my eyes as I may, on all sides all is black.\" — Helen Hunt Jackson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/helen-hunt-jackson-13421_black_stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all_2283177.jpg"
---

#  Stain my eyes as I may, on all sides all is black.

![“Stain my eyes as I may, on all sides all is black.” quote by Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/helen-hunt-jackson-13421_black_stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all_2283177.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/helen-hunt-jackson-13421_black_stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all_2283177.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/helen-hunt-jackson-13421_black_stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all_2283177.jpg)

> “Stain my eyes as I may, on all sides all is black.”

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Despair blinds the speaker, making all surroundings seem dark and overwhelming.

**In simple terms:** Despair makes everything seem black.

Key Takeaway

Find light within darkness.

Themes

despair vision overcoming

Mood

somber introspective

Type

poetic reflective

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- creative writing
- mindfulness practice

Key Concepts

psychology perception hope

Questions to Reflect On

- What small light can you notice now?
- How does darkness affect your thoughts?

A Different Perspective

Hope can be fleeting in deep sorrow.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [We have two eyes to see two sides of things, but there must be a third eye which will see everything at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/we-have-two-eyes-to-see-two-sides-of-things-but-there-must-be-a-third/)

[D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/)

> [You worthless sonofabitch. You should never have been anything more than a cum stain! (Stryker)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/you-worthless-sonofabitch-you-should-never-have-been-anything-more/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [He was worried she would not let him love her with the stain. He had already decided long ago, twenty or thirty minutes ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/he-was-worried-she-would-not-let-him-love-her-with-the-stain-he-had/)

[Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/)

> [Once you place that crown of liar on your head, you can take it off again, but it leaves a stain for all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-you-place-that-crown-of-liar-on-your-head-you-can-take-it-off/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The stain of prejudice is often indelible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-spence/the-stain-of-prejudice-is-often-indelible/)

[Gerry Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-spence/)

> [We leave a stain, we leave a trail, we leave our imprint. Impurity, cruelty, abuse, error, excrement, semen - there’s no other way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/we-leave-a-stain-we-leave-a-trail-we-leave-our-imprint-impurity/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [What happens in a certain place can stain your feelings for that location, just as ink can stain a white sheet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-happens-in-a-certain-place-can-stain-your-feelings-for-that-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Not a mark on it. (Joe) Yeah. Wanna check the backseat, where Steele is sitting? I’ll bet there’s a big stain there. (Tee)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/not-a-mark-on-it-joe-yeah-wanna-check-the-backseat-where-steele-is/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [I was born with a stain. A mark. Like the mark of Cain. But is the mark of my father, my family. The mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-borgia/i-was-born-with-a-stain-a-mark-like-the-mark-of-cain-but-is-the-mark/)

[Cesare Borgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-borgia/)

> [A mental stain can neither be blotted out by the passage of time nor washed away by any waters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-mental-stain-can-neither-be-blotted-out-by-the-passage-of-time-nor/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [Sin is not a stain that I must wash out. What I need to do is ask forgiveness and reconcile myself, not go to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/sin-is-not-a-stain-that-i-must-wash-out-what-i-need-to-do-is-ask/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [If your child is born with a port-wine stain, they should be seen immediately by a pediatric dermatologist. Your pediatrician does not understand these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-storm/if-your-child-is-born-with-a-port-wine-stain-they-should-be-seen/)

[Hannah Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-storm/)

> [Some people are going to leave a mark on this world, while others will leave a stain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/some-people-are-going-to-leave-a-mark-on-this-world-while-others-will/)

[Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/)

> [What is working stain, does not soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-working-stain-does-not-soil/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Confidence is the stain they can't wipe off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/confidence-is-the-stain-they-can-t-wipe-off/)

[Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/)

## More by Helen Hunt Jackson

> [As soon as I began, it seemed impossible to write fast enough - I wrote faster than I would write a letter - two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/as-soon-as-i-began-it-seemed-impossible-to-write-fast-enough-i-wrote/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [Ah, March! we know thou art Kind-hearted, spite of ugly looks and threats, And, out of sight, art nursing April's violets!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/ah-march-we-know-thou-art-kind-hearted-spite-of-ugly-looks-and/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [Next time!' In what calendar are kept the records of those next times which never come?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/next-time-in-what-calendar-are-kept-the-records-of-those-next-times/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [Motherhood is priced Of God, at price no man may dare To lessen or misunderstand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/motherhood-is-priced-of-god-at-price-no-man-may-dare-to-lessen-or/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [If I could write a story that would do for the Indian one-hundredth part what 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did for the Negro, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/if-i-could-write-a-story-that-would-do-for-the-indian-one-hundredth/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [When love is at its best, one loves So much that he cannot forget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/when-love-is-at-its-best-one-loves-so-much-that-he-cannot-forget/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [That indescribable expression peculiar to people who hope they have not been asleep, but know they have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/that-indescribable-expression-peculiar-to-people-who-hope-they-have/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [The new is older than the old; And newest friend is oldest friend in this: That, waiting him, we longest grieved to miss One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/the-new-is-older-than-the-old-and-newest-friend-is-oldest-friend-in/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [Most men call fretting a minor fault, a foible, and not a vice. There is no vice except drunkenness which can so utterly destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/most-men-call-fretting-a-minor-fault-a-foible-and-not-a-vice-there-is/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [For April sobs while these are so glad April weeps while these are so gay,- Weeps like a tired child who had, Playing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/for-april-sobs-while-these-are-so-glad-april-weeps-while-these-are-so/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [On the king's gate the moss grew gray; The king came not. They call'd him dead; And made his eldest son, one day, Slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/on-the-king-s-gate-the-moss-grew-gray-the-king-came-not-they-call-d/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [O bees, sweet bees!" I said; "that nearest field Is shining white with fragrant immortelles Fly swiftly there and drain those honey wells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/o-bees-sweet-bees-i-said-that-nearest-field-is-shining-white-with/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [The wild mustard in Southern California is like that spoken of in the New Testament. . . . Its gold is as distinct a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/the-wild-mustard-in-southern-california-is-like-that-spoken-of-in-the/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [“But pride carries its banner to the last; and fast as it is driven from one field unfurls it in another, never admitting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/but-pride-carries-its-banner-to-the-last-and-fast-as-it-is-driven/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

> [There is nothing so skillful in its own defense as imperious pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/there-is-nothing-so-skillful-in-its-own-defense-as-imperious-pride/)

[Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

[Explore all 50 Helen Hunt Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/)

## More Black quotes

> [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/)

[Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/)

> [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/)

[Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/)

> [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/)

[Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/)

> [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/)

[Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/)

> [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/)

Frank B. Wilderson III

> [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/)

[Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/)

> [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/)

[R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/)

> [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/)

[John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/)

> [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/)

[Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/)

> [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/)

[Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/)

Browse all 11,655 Black quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Stain my eyes as I may, on all sides all is black.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Helen Hunt Jackson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all-is-black/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Black"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all-is-black/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/helen-hunt-jackson-13421_black_stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all_2283177.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/helen-hunt-jackson-13421_black_stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all_2283177.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/helen-hunt-jackson-13421_black_stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all_2283177.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Stain my eyes as I may, on all sides all is black.” — Helen Hunt Jackson",
                "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": "Helen Hunt Jackson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Stain my eyes as I may,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all-is-black/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/stain-my-eyes-as-i-may-on-all-sides-all-is-black/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
