--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was in a terrible state, for she…" description: "\"“She was in a terrible state, for she found that she could neither take her eyes off him nor look at him.”\" — James Baldwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/james-baldwin-995_eyes_she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-foun_2571222.jpg" --- # She was in a terrible state, for she found that she could… ![“She was in a terrible state, for she found that she could neither take her eyes off him nor look at him.” quote by James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/james-baldwin-995_eyes_she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-foun_2571222.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/james-baldwin-995_eyes_she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-foun_2571222.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/james-baldwin-995_eyes_she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-foun_2571222.jpg) > ““She was in a terrible state, for she found that she could neither take her eyes off him nor look at him.”” [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character is overwhelmed by love, unable to look away or focus elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Love can dominate thoughts and perception. Key Takeaway Recognize when love becomes obsessive. Themes love obsession vulnerability perception Mood intense reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - relationships - personal crisis - self‑awareness - literary analysis Key Concepts emotional intensity psychology Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries help keep love healthy? - How does obsession affect decision‑making? A Different Perspective Obsessive love can impair judgment and self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) [Eyes Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-look/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [State Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/state-eyes-1692215/) [Terrible State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-state-1692214/) ## Related quotes > [Look with all your eyes, look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/look-with-all-your-eyes-look/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [He was in a terrible state- that of consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/he-was-in-a-terrible-state-that-of-consciousness/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Now, the country is in a terrible state, and you've blamed it on a number of things: Unemployment rate, the value of the pound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/now-the-country-is-in-a-terrible-state-and-you-ve-blamed-it-on-a/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [Fashion is in a terrible state. An overdose of too much flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-beene/fashion-is-in-a-terrible-state-an-overdose-of-too-much-flesh/) [Geoffrey Beene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-beene/) > [Found everybody in a terrible state of excitement on account of the enemy's advance upon this place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-buford/found-everybody-in-a-terrible-state-of-excitement-on-account-of-the/) [John Buford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-buford/) > [“ Latro, California: "Terrible diarrhea, Doctor, and I feel so weak!" "Take these pills and come back in three days if you're not better."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/latro-california-terrible-diarrhea-doctor-and-i-feel-so-weak-take/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“Fear Only Constraints Undeveloped Strength where your eyes look to within, is what your heart will believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/fear-only-constraints-undeveloped-strength-where-your-eyes-look-to/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [There's a great feeling when you look in someone's eyes and they have that 'look of defeat,' and that's what I'm looking for, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/there-s-a-great-feeling-when-you-look-in-someone-s-eyes-and-they-have/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I ne'er could any luster see in eyes that would not look on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/i-ne-er-could-any-luster-see-in-eyes-that-would-not-look-on-me/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [“Open your eyes.  Look at me.  I need you to see what you do to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-carnal/open-your-eyes-look-at-me-i-need-you-to-see-what-you-do-to-me/) [M.J. Carnal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-carnal/) > [They say when you look into a man's eyes you look into his soul but if his soul shows no reflection then where is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-when-you-look-into-a-man-s-eyes-you-look-into-his-soul-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s where we found the other person, and find them still.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/but-it-s-still-the-eyes-we-look-at-isn-t-it-that-s-where-we-found-the/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Look into my eyes what do you see... Look into my face what did you realize...can't you see a true love burning and expressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hmangte/look-into-my-eyes-what-do-you-see-look-into-my-face-what-did-you/) [Steven Hmangte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hmangte/) > [I hate when I get my photo taken and my eyes look red in the photo. Last time I checked I was not Satan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-i-get-my-photo-taken-and-my-eyes-look-red-in-the-photo/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many oriental cultures make a distinction between two ways of looking - 'hard eyes' and 'soft eyes'. When we look with hard eyes, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-caponigro/many-oriental-cultures-make-a-distinction-between-two-ways-of-looking/) [John Paul Caponigro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-caponigro/) ## More by James Baldwin > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The South is very beautiful but its beauty makes one sad because the lives that people live, and have lived here, are so ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-south-is-very-beautiful-but-its-beauty-makes-one-sad-because-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“All cultures have, furthermore, an economic, social, and political base, and no culture can continue to live if its political destiny is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/all-cultures-have-furthermore-an-economic-social-and-political-base/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I remembered that life in that room seemed to be occuring beneath the sea, time flowed past indiffrently above us, hours and days had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-remembered-that-life-in-that-room-seemed-to-be-occuring-beneath-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“No. It would help if I were able to feel guilty.But the end of innocence is also the end of guilt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/no-it-would-help-if-i-were-able-to-feel-guilty-but-the-end-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Perhaps now, though, he had hit bottom. One thing about the bottom, he told himself, you can't fall any further. He tried to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/perhaps-now-though-he-had-hit-bottom-one-thing-about-the-bottom-he/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“What kind of friendship have you had? Or for that matter...what kind of love affairs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/what-kind-of-friendship-have-you-had-or-for-that-matter-what-kind-of/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“For these are all our children, we will all profit by or pay for what they become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/for-these-are-all-our-children-we-will-all-profit-by-or-pay-for-what/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“Every society is really governed by hidden laws, by unspoken but profound assumptions on the part of the people, and ours is no exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/every-society-is-really-governed-by-hidden-laws-by-unspoken-but/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In those days my mother was given to the exasperating and mysterious habit of having babies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-those-days-my-mother-was-given-to-the-exasperating-and-mysterious/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“He was suggesting that all Negroes were held in a state of supreme tension between the difficult, dangerous relationship in which they stood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/he-was-suggesting-that-all-negroes-were-held-in-a-state-of-supreme/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“In the beginning—and neither can this be overstated—a Negro just cannot believe that white people are treating him as they do; he does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-the-beginning-and-neither-can-this-be-overstated-a-negro-just/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“If the world wasn't so full of dead folks maybe those of us that's trying to live wouldn't have to suffer so bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/if-the-world-wasn-t-so-full-of-dead-folks-maybe-those-of-us-that-s/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“I am very much concerned that American Negroes achieve their freedom here in the United States. But I am also concerned for their dignity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-am-very-much-concerned-that-american-negroes-achieve-their-freedom/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“The paradox—and a fearful paradox it is—is that the American Negro can have no future anywhere, on any continent, as long as he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/the-paradox-and-a-fearful-paradox-it-is-is-that-the-american-negro/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) [Explore all 312 James Baldwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) ## More Eyes quotes > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [When I was a teen, I would draw a really, really long line around my eyes with eyeliner, like Lola Flores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalia/when-i-was-a-teen-i-would-draw-a-really-really-long-line-around-my/) [Rosalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalia/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [Human beings should stick together. Honestly, if I see a red-haired person with blue eyes now, I say, 'Is your granny black?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/human-beings-should-stick-together-honestly-if-i-see-a-red-haired/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [It's similar to basketball: when you go to different gyms and win or lose, you learn something new. So when kids get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-iguodala/it-s-similar-to-basketball-when-you-go-to-different-gyms-and-win-or/) [Andre Iguodala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-iguodala/) > [When I see things through my eyes, I don't want to ever just be really negative towards someone's performance. There are many ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stone-cold-steve-austin/when-i-see-things-through-my-eyes-i-don-t-want-to-ever-just-be-really/) [Stone Cold Steve Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stone-cold-steve-austin/) > [My only trick to having wing liner sharp enough to cut is be careful and take your time! I have hooded eyes, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-charles/my-only-trick-to-having-wing-liner-sharp-enough-to-cut-is-be-careful/) [James Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-charles/) > [“I fell in love with your eyes first because I looked into their depths and saw the other half of my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-lilley/i-fell-in-love-with-your-eyes-first-because-i-looked-into-their/) [R.K. Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-lilley/) > [I think, reading about yourself through somebody else's eyes, you're always going to have your own story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/i-think-reading-about-yourself-through-somebody-else-s-eyes-you-re/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [For the Russian masses, the proletarians, knew for certain, and already saw during the war, and in part before their very eyes, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-gorter/for-the-russian-masses-the-proletarians-knew-for-certain-and-already/) [Herman Gorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-gorter/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [Evertime I close my eyes it doesnt matter where, I always see you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/evertime-i-close-my-eyes-it-doesnt-matter-where-i-always-see-you/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience/) > [Look with all your eyes, look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/look-with-all-your-eyes-look/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [It's not your mistake if you cant read the eyes which cheats you. But it's really your mistake if you cant read the eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-mbululo/it-s-not-your-mistake-if-you-cant-read-the-eyes-which-cheats-you-but/) [Ally Mbululo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-mbululo/) > [Kiss me with your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/kiss-me-with-your-eyes/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) [Browse all 3,942 Eyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was in a terrible state, for she found that she could neither take her eyes off him nor look at him.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Baldwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-found-that-she-could-neither-take/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eyes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-found-that-she-could-neither-take/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/james-baldwin-995_eyes_she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-foun_2571222.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/james-baldwin-995_eyes_she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-foun_2571222.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/261/james-baldwin-995_eyes_she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-foun_2571222.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She was in a terrible state, for she found that she could neither take her eyes off him nor look at him.” — James Baldwin", "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": "James Baldwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“She was in a terrible state,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-found-that-she-could-neither-take/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/she-was-in-a-terrible-state-for-she-found-that-she-could-neither-take/#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 } } ] } ```