--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did not know whether I would ever speak…" description: "\"I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/james-joyce-281_adoration_i-did-not-know-whether-i-would-ever-spea_2931194.jpg" --- # I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not… ![“I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/james-joyce-281_adoration_i-did-not-know-whether-i-would-ever-spea_2931194.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/james-joyce-281_adoration_i-did-not-know-whether-i-would-ever-spea_2931194.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/james-joyce-281_adoration_i-did-not-know-whether-i-would-ever-spea_2931194.jpg) > “I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires.” [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. The narrator feels confused adoration, describing his body as a harp and her words as fingers on wires, illustrating intense emotional resonance. **In simple terms:** He feels confused love, likening his body to a harp. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and explore complex feelings. Themes love confusion sensory metaphor Mood poetic introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - creative writing - relationship counseling - self‑reflection journals Key Concepts emotional intensity artistic expression romantic longing Questions to Reflect On - How does metaphor shape your perception of love? - What steps can you take to clarify confusing emotions? A Different Perspective Romantic idealization may obscure reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adoration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adoration/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Confused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused/) [Confused Adoration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused-adoration-3235991/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Gestures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures/) [Gestures Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gestures-like-2453714/) [Harps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harps/) [Like Harp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-harp-786780/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Spokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokes/) [Tell Confused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-confused-811647/) [Wire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wire/) ## Related quotes > [Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/her-name-sprang-to-my-lips-at-moments-in-strange-prayers-and-praises/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [My body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/my-body-was-like-a-harp-and-her-words-and-gestures-were-like-fingers/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Life is like the harp string, if it is strung too tight it won't play, if it is too loose it hangs, the tension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/life-is-like-the-harp-string-if-it-is-strung-too-tight-it-won-t-play/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [What I'd like to do now - well, what I'd like to do now is grow my beard very long, weave it into my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bailey/what-i-d-like-to-do-now-well-what-i-d-like-to-do-now-is-grow-my-beard/) [Bill Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bailey/) > [Every hidden cell is throbbing with music and life, every fiber thrilling like harp strings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/every-hidden-cell-is-throbbing-with-music-and-life-every-fiber/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The willow tree plays the water like a harp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-n-g-mez-de-la-serna/the-willow-tree-plays-the-water-like-a-harp/) [Ramon Gomez de la Serna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-n-g-mez-de-la-serna/) > [“But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires. from “Araby”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/but-my-body-was-like-a-harp-and-her-words-and-gestures-were-like/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“In addition, if senior clients don’t follow your argument, they might not tell you they’re confused. Instead, they’ll nod their heads as if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-cheng/in-addition-if-senior-clients-don-t-follow-your-argument-they-might/) [Victor Cheng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-cheng/) > [If you wanna play,go play with someone who doesn't have feelings as strong as mine. Don't..play with my heart,my feelings like they're a harp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-wanna-play-go-play-with-someone-who-doesn-t-have-feelings-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Courtiers were supposed to sound musical when they spoke, their laughter like a harp chord and their sneezes like notes on a flute,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beth-durst/courtiers-were-supposed-to-sound-musical-when-they-spoke-their/) [Sarah Beth Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beth-durst/) > [“when the heartstrings, which contentment has silenced, like a harp laid by, yearn to be plucked and sounded again by some hand, however rough,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-the-heartstrings-which-contentment-has-silenced-like-a-harp-laid/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes/those-who-have-virtue-always-in-their-mouths-and-neglect-it-in/) [Diogenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes/) > [He liked to think that Heaven was what each person wanted it to be. He could see no future in lying around on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/he-liked-to-think-that-heaven-was-what-each-person-wanted-it-to-be-he/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [(As a boy) I was listening to Sonny Boy Williamson's (I) records and I would close my eyes and I could visualize myself playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-wells/as-a-boy-i-was-listening-to-sonny-boy-williamson-s-i-records-and-i/) [Junior Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junior-wells/) > [The trees change their voices in autumn as well as their shapes. No longer do they whisper to one another in muffled tones as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience-strong/the-trees-change-their-voices-in-autumn-as-well-as-their-shapes-no/) [Patience Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patience-strong/) ## 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 Adoration quotes > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Come to Him fresh today, with no agenda but to let Him hold you. Just sit in adoration of Him, casting all of yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-gimour/come-to-him-fresh-today-with-no-agenda-but-to-let-him-hold-you-just/) [Eric Gimour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-gimour/) > [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You are still despised and mocked, A man too weak and infirm to be God, A God too much man to call forth adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil/you-are-still-despised-and-mocked-a-man-too-weak-and-infirm-to-be-god/) [Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil/) > [“Adoration can be misleading. The same crowd who spread palm branches for Jesus to ride upon, was the same crowd who crucified Him three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-h-fowler/adoration-can-be-misleading-the-same-crowd-who-spread-palm-branches/) [H.H. Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-h-fowler/) > [I just want the money and the fame and the adoration, and I don't want any of the other stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-broderick/i-just-want-the-money-and-the-fame-and-the-adoration-and-i-don-t-want/) [Matthew Broderick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-broderick/) > [There and then, sitting beside her and within the strength of my adoration, I felt invincible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hisham-matar/there-and-then-sitting-beside-her-and-within-the-strength-of-my/) [Hisham Matar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hisham-matar/) > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [My aim is to institute perpetual adoration," spoke St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, Franciscan priest and founder of the Knights of the Immaculata. For he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilian-kolbe/my-aim-is-to-institute-perpetual-adoration-spoke-st-maximilian-maria/) [Maximilian Kolbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilian-kolbe/) > [Phony gurus make themselves objects of adoration and worship. Real spiritual teachers aren't interested in adoration and worship. They like respect only because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/phony-gurus-make-themselves-objects-of-adoration-and-worship-real/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Christ sits in the body at the right hand of God the Father, but we do not hold that the right hand of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-damascus/christ-sits-in-the-body-at-the-right-hand-of-god-the-father-but-we-do/) [John of Damascus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-damascus/) > [Blind adoration, in the age of action, is perfectly valueless, is often embarrassing and, equally, often painful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/blind-adoration-in-the-age-of-action-is-perfectly-valueless-is-often/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I do not think I should care to go on worshipping a Madonna even if she did wink. One cannot make much out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-do-not-think-i-should-care-to-go-on-worshipping-a-madonna-even-if/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Let's just give her a ride into town," Suzanne said. She spoke briskly, like I was a mess that needed to be cleaned up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/let-s-just-give-her-a-ride-into-town-suzanne-said-she-spoke-briskly/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [I adore the way he looks at me sometimes, as if love is a quantity he cannot measure scientifically, because it multiplies too quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-adore-the-way-he-looks-at-me-sometimes-as-if-love-is-a-quantity-he/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Browse all 340 Adoration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adoration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. 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