--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Her bosom was as a bird's, soft and…" description: "\"“Her bosom was as a bird's, soft and slight, slight and soft as the breast of some dark-plumaged dove. But her long fair hair was girlish: and girlish,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/james-joyce-281_quote_her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-sligh_1861628.jpg" --- # Her bosom was as a bird's, soft and slight, slight and… ![“Her bosom was as a bird's, soft and slight, slight and soft as the breast of some dark-plumaged dove. But her long fair hair was girlish: and girlish, and touched with the wonder of mortal beauty, her face.” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/james-joyce-281_quote_her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-sligh_1861628.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/james-joyce-281_quote_her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-sligh_1861628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/james-joyce-281_quote_her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-sligh_1861628.jpg) > ““Her bosom was as a bird's, soft and slight, slight and soft as the breast of some dark-plumaged dove. But her long fair hair was girlish: and girlish, and touched with the wonder of mortal beauty, her face.”” [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman's delicate beauty is compared to a soft, gentle bird and a dark dove, emphasizing fragility and wonder. **In simple terms:** She is described as fragile and beautiful. Key Takeaway Appreciate subtle beauty. Themes beauty fragility artistic description Mood introspective thoughtful Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - poetry reading - art critique - personal reflection Key Concepts literary metaphor sensory imagery gender perception Questions to Reflect On - What does this description reveal about the narrator? - How does metaphor shape perception? A Different Perspective The metaphor may idealize and objectify women. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Bosom Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosom-bird-2510440/) [Fair Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-hair-1308220/) [Girlish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girlish-903074/) [Hair Girlish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair-girlish-2510441/) ## Related quotes > [“A girl stood before him in midstream, alone and still, gazing out to sea. She seemed like one whom magic had changed into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/a-girl-stood-before-him-in-midstream-alone-and-still-gazing-out-to/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [When you see fair hair Be pitiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/when-you-see-fair-hair-be-pitiful/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Falseness often lurks beneath fair hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danish-proverb/falseness-often-lurks-beneath-fair-hair/) [Danish Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danish-proverb/) > [“In the midst of so many brown heads her fairness alone was arresting. It was an autumn evening, misty and cold, and the room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kavan/in-the-midst-of-so-many-brown-heads-her-fairness-alone-was-arresting/) [Anna Kavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kavan/) > [“and fair hair combed off her face and arranged in a large bun at the back of her neck; a style which at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/and-fair-hair-combed-off-her-face-and-arranged-in-a-large-bun-at-the/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“And her slender white neck was bowed over her book, the fair hair falling on either side of it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-smith/and-her-slender-white-neck-was-bowed-over-her-book-the-fair-hair/) [L.J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) > [Beware of her fair hair, for she excels All women in the magic of her locks; And when she winds them round a young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/beware-of-her-fair-hair-for-she-excels-all-women-in-the-magic-of-her/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I'm tempting you with fine gifts until your girlish ideals are quite worn away and you are at my mercy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-m-tempting-you-with-fine-gifts-until-your-girlish-ideals-are-quite/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“She seemed the incarnation of girlish scorn and wilful”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doma-publishing-house/she-seemed-the-incarnation-of-girlish-scorn-and-wilful/) [Doma Publishing House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doma-publishing-house/) > [I like to keep my girlish figure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/i-like-to-keep-my-girlish-figure/) [Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/) > [Honestly, I like everything, boyish girls, girlish boys, the heavy and the skinny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/honestly-i-like-everything-boyish-girls-girlish-boys-the-heavy-and/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [I like everything. Boyish girls, girlish boys, the heavy and the skinny. Which is a problem when I'm walking down the street.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/i-like-everything-boyish-girls-girlish-boys-the-heavy-and-the-skinny/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [“I called Nora “Nora” because she was thirty-four, more like a girl, though now that I’m thirty-six, I don’t feel at all girlish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-harman/i-called-nora-nora-because-she-was-thirty-four-more-like-a-girl/) [Patricia Harman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-harman/) > [“I'm not myself,' she offered, guilty. She softened around Tik Tok, and when she did she was, for those rare moments, girlish. He smiled.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/i-m-not-myself-she-offered-guilty-she-softened-around-tik-tok-and/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [“We have more patience for girls who act like boys than boys who act like girls. A tomboy is considered cute. One day she’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/we-have-more-patience-for-girls-who-act-like-boys-than-boys-who-act/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) ## More by James Joyce > [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Ah, poor dogsbody! Here lies poor dogsbody's body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/ah-poor-dogsbody-here-lies-poor-dogsbody-s-body/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [The studious silence of the library ... Thought is the thought of thought. Tranquil brightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-studious-silence-of-the-library-thought-is-the-thought-of-thought/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“two cronies drank to the memory of their past. An abyss of fortune or of temperament sundered him from them. His mind seemed older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/two-cronies-drank-to-the-memory-of-their-past-an-abyss-of-fortune-or/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [He passes, struck by the stare of truculent Wellington but in the convex mirror grin unstruck the bonham eyes and fatchuck cheekchops of Jollypoldy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-passes-struck-by-the-stare-of-truculent-wellington-but-in-the/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“-Qui vous a mis dans cette fichue position?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/qui-vous-a-mis-dans-cette-fichue-position/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I hear the ruin of all space, shattered glass and toppled masonry, and time one livid final flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/i-hear-the-ruin-of-all-space-shattered-glass-and-toppled-masonry-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [In woman's womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/in-woman-s-womb-word-is-made-flesh-but-in-the-spirit-of-the-maker-all/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Though people may read more into Ulysses than I ever intended, who is to say that they are wrong: do any of us know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/though-people-may-read-more-into-ulysses-than-i-ever-intended-who-is/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-stephen-said-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“It flows purling, widely flowing, floating foampool, flower unfurling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/it-flows-purling-widely-flowing-floating-foampool-flower-unfurling/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Explore all 707 James Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [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/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Her bosom was as a bird's, soft and slight, slight and soft as the breast of some dark-plumaged dove. But her long fair hair was girlish: and girlish, and touched with the wonder of mortal beauty, her face.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Joyce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-slight-slight-and-soft-as-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-slight-slight-and-soft-as-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/james-joyce-281_quote_her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-sligh_1861628.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/james-joyce-281_quote_her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-sligh_1861628.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c7/james-joyce-281_quote_her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-sligh_1861628.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Her bosom was as a bird's, soft and slight, slight and soft as the breast of some dark-plumaged dove. But…” — James Joyce", "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 Joyce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Her bosom was as a bird's,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-slight-slight-and-soft-as-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/her-bosom-was-as-a-bird-s-soft-and-slight-slight-and-soft-as-the/#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 } } ] } ```