--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima…" description: "\"“Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same curiosity of from strangers, the same combination of pity and r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_foreigner_like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima_1474740.png" --- # Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is… ![“Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same curiosity of from strangers, the same combination of pity and respect.” quote by Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_foreigner_like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima_1474740.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_foreigner_like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima_1474740.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_foreigner_like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima_1474740.png) > ““Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same curiosity of from strangers, the same combination of pity and respect.”” [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being a foreigner draws curiosity, pity, and respect from strangers, similar to pregnancy. **In simple terms:** Foreigners evoke mixed reactions from others. Key Takeaway Understand the nuanced social responses to outsiders. Themes identity migration curiosity empathy Mood thoughtful empathetic Type literary social When to use this quote - immigration experiences - community integration - cross‑cultural interactions Key Concepts cultural anthropology social perception otherness Questions to Reflect On - How does curiosity differ from pity? - What fosters respectful curiosity? A Different Perspective Stereotypes can oversimplify complex identities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashima Believes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashima-believes-3599791/) [Foreigner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigner/) [Foreigner Ashima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigner-ashima-3599788/) [Like Pregnancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-pregnancy-299523/) [Native](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native/) [Pregnancy Foreigner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pregnancy-foreigner-3599787/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) ## Related quotes > [“Though no longer pregnant, she continues, at times, to mix Rice Krispies and peanuts and onions in a bowl. For being a foreigner Ashima…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/though-no-longer-pregnant-she-continues-at-times-to-mix-rice-krispies/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [Character is like a pregnancy, you cannot hide it no matter what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kontihene/character-is-like-a-pregnancy-you-cannot-hide-it-no-matter-what-you-do/) [Kontihene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kontihene/) > [Life is like a pregnancy. You gotta push through all the struggle and fight to get the reward you've been waiting for in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-a-pregnancy-you-gotta-push-through-all-the-struggle-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Character is like a pregnancy, you can never hide it no matter what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/latest/character-is-like-a-pregnancy-you-can-never-hide-it-no-matter-what/) [Latest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/latest/) > [I felt like my pregnancy was a sacred moment for me. 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When the victim of a disaster - preferably natural but sometimes political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/a-foreigner-is-an-individual-who-is-considered-either-comic-or/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) ## More by Jhumpa Lahiri > [“Assured by his grades and his apparent indifference to girls, his parents don't suspect Gogol of being, in his own fumbling way, an American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/assured-by-his-grades-and-his-apparent-indifference-to-girls-his/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/that-in-spite-of-living-in-a-mansion-an-american-is-not-above-wearing/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [He owned an expensive camera that required thought before you pressed the shutter, and I quickly became his favorite subject, round-faced, missing teeth, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/he-owned-an-expensive-camera-that-required-thought-before-you-pressed/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [If I stop to think about fans, or best-selling, or not best-selling, or good reviews, or not-good reviews, it just becomes too much. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/if-i-stop-to-think-about-fans-or-best-selling-or-not-best-selling-or/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“This tradition doesn't exist for Bengalis, naming a son after father or grandfather, a daughter after mother or grandmother. This sign of respect in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/this-tradition-doesn-t-exist-for-bengalis-naming-a-son-after-father/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [I wanted to pull away from the things that marked my parents as being different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/i-wanted-to-pull-away-from-the-things-that-marked-my-parents-as-being/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“Ashoke suspects that Mrs. Jones (the secretary at his new job as a professor) ...is about his own mother's age. Mrs. Jones leads a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/ashoke-suspects-that-mrs-jones-the-secretary-at-his-new-job-as-a/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [But she has gathered that Americans, in spite of their public declarations of affection, in spite of their miniskirts and bikinis, in spite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/but-she-has-gathered-that-americans-in-spite-of-their-public/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [The sky was different, without color, taut and unforgiving. But the water was the most unforgiving thing, nearly black at times, cold enough, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/the-sky-was-different-without-color-taut-and-unforgiving-but-the/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“In those six weeks I regarded her arrival as I would the arrival of a coming month, or season - something inevitable, but meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/in-those-six-weeks-i-regarded-her-arrival-as-i-would-the-arrival-of-a/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [There were times Ruma felt closer to her mother in death than she had in life, an intimacy born simply of thinking of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/there-were-times-ruma-felt-closer-to-her-mother-in-death-than-she-had/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“Writing down call numbers with short pencils, searching up and down aisles that would turn dark when the timers on the lights expired. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/writing-down-call-numbers-with-short-pencils-searching-up-and-down/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [Winning the Pulitzer is wonderful and it's an honor and I feel so humbled and so grateful, but I think that I'll think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/winning-the-pulitzer-is-wonderful-and-it-s-an-honor-and-i-feel-so/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [He tries to peel the image from the sticky yellow backing, to show her the next time he sees her, but it clings stubbornly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/he-tries-to-peel-the-image-from-the-sticky-yellow-backing-to-show-her/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“If I stop to think about fans, or bestselling, or not bestselling, or good reviews, or not-good reviews, it just becomes too much. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/if-i-stop-to-think-about-fans-or-bestselling-or-not-bestselling-or/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) [Explore all 215 Jhumpa Lahiri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) ## More Foreigner quotes > [A foreigner is an individual who is considered either comic or sinister. When the victim of a disaster - preferably natural but sometimes political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/a-foreigner-is-an-individual-who-is-considered-either-comic-or/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [“It was a poor thing she felt for anyone to be born a foreigner.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-was-a-poor-thing-she-felt-for-anyone-to-be-born-a-foreigner/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Although I've lived in England for more than twenty years, I still have a foreigner's passion for all the details of English history and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-rosoff/although-i-ve-lived-in-england-for-more-than-twenty-years-i-still/) [Meg Rosoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-rosoff/) > [When you have been stuck in that heel, bad-guy role as the foreigner who never talks, you want to get out of there, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusev/when-you-have-been-stuck-in-that-heel-bad-guy-role-as-the-foreigner/) [Rusev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusev/) > [“I’m a foreigner in the world and I don’t understand the language. It’s a miserable feeling. I’ve had it all my life. At the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster-daddy-long-legs/i-m-a-foreigner-in-the-world-and-i-don-t-understand-the-language-it-s/) [Jean Webster, Daddy Long Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster-daddy-long-legs/) > [I loved this idea of always being a foreigner. There's this thing where people bring cultures, bring the music together. I love it when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-zimmer/i-loved-this-idea-of-always-being-a-foreigner-there-s-this-thing/) [Hans Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-zimmer/) > [To be a foreigner may be an advantage but disadvantage as well. It was advantage for me for sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusev/to-be-a-foreigner-may-be-an-advantage-but-disadvantage-as-well-it-was/) [Rusev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusev/) > [A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/a-foreigner-and-an-hired-servant-shall-not-eat-thereof/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Moving to India was challenging being a foreigner. I don't have any family here. I didn't have anyone to guide me. But I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-fernandez/moving-to-india-was-challenging-being-a-foreigner-i-don-t-have-any/) [Jacqueline Fernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-fernandez/) > [India is a place where one of the great pleasures for a foreigner is that you're constantly surprised. Everywhere you look is something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-anderson/india-is-a-place-where-one-of-the-great-pleasures-for-a-foreigner-is/) [Wes Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-anderson/) > [A poor man is like a foreigner in his own country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-ibn-abi-talib/a-poor-man-is-like-a-foreigner-in-his-own-country/) [Ali ibn Abi Talib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-ibn-abi-talib/) > [I am an Indian. In fact, I feel like a foreigner when I go abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-gandhi/i-am-an-indian-in-fact-i-feel-like-a-foreigner-when-i-go-abroad/) [Sonia Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-gandhi/) > [But I don't think of myself as a foreigner or a Frenchman! I just think of myself as a director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-hazanavicius/but-i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-foreigner-or-a-frenchman-i-just/) [Michel Hazanavicius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-hazanavicius/) > [The moment there's a foreigner in a film it gives a novelty to the script. We make regional films and we need to hype…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arin-paul/the-moment-there-s-a-foreigner-in-a-film-it-gives-a-novelty-to-the/) [Arin Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arin-paul/) > [“That I am a foreigner is not my fault. I would rather have been born here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/that-i-am-a-foreigner-is-not-my-fault-i-would-rather-have-been-born/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Browse all 115 Foreigner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreigner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same curiosity of from strangers, the same combination of pity and respect.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jhumpa Lahiri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima-believes-is-something-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Foreigner" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima-believes-is-something-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_foreigner_like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima_1474740.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_foreigner_like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima_1474740.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0de/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_foreigner_like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima_1474740.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima believes, is something that elicits the same curiosity of from…” — Jhumpa Lahiri", "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": "Jhumpa Lahiri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Like pregnancy, being a foreigner, Ashima...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima-believes-is-something-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/like-pregnancy-being-a-foreigner-ashima-believes-is-something-that/#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 } } ] } ```