--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had listened to him, partly…" description: "\"She had listened to him, partly sympathetic, partly horrified. For it was one thing for her to reject her background, to be critical of her family's he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_backgrounds_she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathet_1122178.png" --- # She had listened to him, partly sympathetic, partly… ![“She had listened to him, partly sympathetic, partly horrified. For it was one thing for her to reject her background, to be critical of her family's heritage, another to hear it from him.” quote by Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_backgrounds_she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathet_1122178.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_backgrounds_she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathet_1122178.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_backgrounds_she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathet_1122178.png) > “She had listened to him, partly sympathetic, partly horrified. For it was one thing for her to reject her background, to be critical of her family's heritage, another to hear it from him.” [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. She reacts with mixed feelings to criticism of heritage, torn between empathy and horror. **In simple terms:** She feels both sympathy and shock when her background is critiqued. Key Takeaway Balance empathy with critical reflection on cultural identity. Themes identity heritage critique Mood thoughtful empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family discussions - public debates - personal reflection - academic analysis Key Concepts cultural conflict self‑examination Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when your heritage is challenged? - What role does empathy play in cultural critique? A Different Perspective Criticism can reinforce stereotypes if not handled carefully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Heritage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heritage/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted readers to be genuinely unsure as to whether she's telling the truth or lying. It meant making her partly sympathetic, and partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/i-wanted-readers-to-be-genuinely-unsure-as-to-whether-she-s-telling/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I don't try to kind of go for the overly sympathetic. I don't really like sympathy; I don't like it for myself. Sometimes sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/i-don-t-try-to-kind-of-go-for-the-overly-sympathetic-i-don-t-really/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [Who would have guessed that the shots heard 'round the world 225 years ago would fall on deaf ears in a nation now more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/who-would-have-guessed-that-the-shots-heard-round-the-world-225-years/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [I would hesitate to tell people to stop being kind or sympathetic to sociopath. But just like loyalty, some things that can be taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-stout/i-would-hesitate-to-tell-people-to-stop-being-kind-or-sympathetic-to/) [Martha Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-stout/) > [I had a hard time treating my field as if it's horse racing, putting actors in competition against each other. I see how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-had-a-hard-time-treating-my-field-as-if-it-s-horse-racing-putting/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Strange how love coexists with hate, how they render eachother mute, how the swilling of them together makes a new and softer, sympathetic thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-hartnett/strange-how-love-coexists-with-hate-how-they-render-eachother-mute/) [Sonya Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-hartnett/) > [The science of the future will be based on sympathetic vibrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-science-of-the-future-will-be-based-on-sympathetic-vibrations/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [You can't dictate if a character's going to come off as sympathetic to an audience. I just tried to play it as honest as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/you-can-t-dictate-if-a-character-s-going-to-come-off-as-sympathetic/) [Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/) > [No place could be less sympathetic to my politics than America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/no-place-could-be-less-sympathetic-to-my-politics-than-america/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [Demographically, I'm a hippie from San Francisco and I'm not culturally inclined to be sympathetic to states' rights. My cultural heritage is FDR and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/demographically-i-m-a-hippie-from-san-francisco-and-i-m-not/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [...I have to tell you that I'm not all that comfortable with the idea of spending the rest of my life sleeping next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/i-have-to-tell-you-that-i-m-not-all-that-comfortable-with-the-idea-of/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [The easiest way for readers to connect with characters and feel sympathy is to make the character entertaining, sympathetic and likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/the-easiest-way-for-readers-to-connect-with-characters-and-feel/) [Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) ## 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 Backgrounds quotes > [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/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [Eventually the consumer will come to appreciate the editorial point of view of every different brand. User-generated content without editorial oversight will simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/eventually-the-consumer-will-come-to-appreciate-the-editorial-point/) [Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/) > [I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-bring-my-classical-training-some-of-it-but-not-all-of-it-and-also/) [Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I think it is a sin to look at another person as inferior to yourself because of race or because of ethnic background and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-it-is-a-sin-to-look-at-another-person-as-inferior-to-yourself/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The thing that is making jazz healthy today is that people are coming out of other backgrounds - from rock, folk, from ethnic music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-taylor/the-thing-that-is-making-jazz-healthy-today-is-that-people-are-coming/) Billy Taylor > [We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-do-not-have-to-be-ashamed-of-what-we-are-as-sentient-beings-we/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to compete with children from privileged homes like Shirley Williams and Anthony Wedgwood Benn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/people-from-my-sort-of-background-needed-grammar-schools-to-compete/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Persons who have cleansed themselves of any transgression and who have shown their ability to deal with homosexual inclinations and put them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/persons-who-have-cleansed-themselves-of-any-transgression-and-who/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [I come from a theater background, so I always like to dissect the scene and try to get some hint about what the author…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adina-porter/i-come-from-a-theater-background-so-i-always-like-to-dissect-the/) [Adina Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adina-porter/) > [And, of course, some SF is set close enough to here and now that Anglo and European do apply. Since many of the writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-schmidt/and-of-course-some-sf-is-set-close-enough-to-here-and-now-that-anglo/) [Stanley Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-schmidt/) > [For me, I try to look at a person's swagger and a little background on them if I already haven't liked them as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bivins/for-me-i-try-to-look-at-a-person-s-swagger-and-a-little-background-on/) [Michael Bivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bivins/) Browse all 1,648 Backgrounds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "She had listened to him, partly sympathetic, partly horrified. For it was one thing for her to reject her background, to be critical of her family's heritage, another to hear it from him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jhumpa Lahiri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathetic-partly-horrified-for-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Backgrounds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathetic-partly-horrified-for-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_backgrounds_she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathet_1122178.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_backgrounds_she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathet_1122178.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/669/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_backgrounds_she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathet_1122178.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She had listened to him, partly sympathetic, partly horrified. For it was one thing for her to reject her…” — 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": "She had listened to him, partly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathetic-partly-horrified-for-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/she-had-listened-to-him-partly-sympathetic-partly-horrified-for-it/#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 } } ] } ```