--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sarah wondered what it could be like, to…" description: "\"“Sarah wondered what it could be like, to live like this - life as a country dance, where everything is lovely, and graceful, and ordered, and every si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jo-baker-22747_dance_sarah-wondered-what-it-could-be-like-to_3174256.jpg" --- # Sarah wondered what it could be like, to live like this… ![“Sarah wondered what it could be like, to live like this - life as a country dance, where everything is lovely, and graceful, and ordered, and every single turn is preordained, and not a foot may be set outside the measure. Not like Sarah's own out-in-all-weathers haul and trudge, the wind howling…” quote by Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jo-baker-22747_dance_sarah-wondered-what-it-could-be-like-to_3174256.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jo-baker-22747_dance_sarah-wondered-what-it-could-be-like-to_3174256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/jo-baker-22747_dance_sarah-wondered-what-it-could-be-like-to_3174256.jpg) > ““Sarah wondered what it could be like, to live like this - life as a country dance, where everything is lovely, and graceful, and ordered, and every single turn is preordained, and not a foot may be set outside the measure. Not like Sarah's own out-in-all-weathers haul and trudge, the wind howling and blustery, the creeping flowers in the hedgerows, the sudden sunshine.”” [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage contrasts a graceful, predetermined life with the unpredictable, rugged reality of the narrator, using dance metaphors to explore freedom versus constraint. **In simple terms:** Ordered life vs. wild journey; Key Takeaway Seek balance between structure and spontaneity. Themes order freedom nature Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - travel - personal growth - artistic expression Key Concepts metaphor choice identity Questions to Reflect On - Do you crave more structure or more chaos? - What does “preordained” mean to you? A Different Perspective Idealized order can feel restrictive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-dance-4049933/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-life/) [Like Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-sarah-1146196/) [Live Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-like/) [Sarah Wondered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarah-wondered-1970727/) ## Related quotes > [I consider a country-dance as an emblem of marriage. Fidelity and complaisance are the principle duties of both; and those men who do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-consider-a-country-dance-as-an-emblem-of-marriage-fidelity-and/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“I was sent to a teacher called Alf Adamson, who had a country dance band that toured the Borders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-davies/i-was-sent-to-a-teacher-called-alf-adamson-who-had-a-country-dance/) [Hunter Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-davies/) > [“Sarah wondered what they—the ‘they’ who had taken her child; the ‘they’ or the ‘him’ or the ‘her’—were feeding him.Sometimes a fear dug at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/sarah-wondered-what-they-the-they-who-had-taken-her-child-the-they-or/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [“Carlos,” her mother said, her voice soothing, and Sarah wondered how her mom managed to sound so calm. “I know you wanted to smoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-banks/carlos-her-mother-said-her-voice-soothing-and-sarah-wondered-how-her/) [L.A. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-banks/) > [I like that Sarah Palin. She looks like the flight attendant who won't give you a second can of Pepsi ... She looks like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-like-that-sarah-palin-she-looks-like-the-flight-attendant-who-won-t/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [You have people like Sarah Jessica Parker - and it's also because of her mother and where she came from and all that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/you-have-people-like-sarah-jessica-parker-and-it-s-also-because-of/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [It would be amazing if we got someone like Sarah Silverman on the show, not having a script and just being herself. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-horne/it-would-be-amazing-if-we-got-someone-like-sarah-silverman-on-the/) [Alex Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-horne/) > [When I was in high school in America, I didn't see anyone who looked like me - hardly ever. I just thought that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/when-i-was-in-high-school-in-america-i-didn-t-see-anyone-who-looked/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [I like Sarah Palin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-carlson/i-like-sarah-palin/) [Tucker Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-carlson/) > [Live like it's your last day, love like your life depends on it, and dream like you'll live forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/live-like-it-s-your-last-day-love-like-your-life-depends-on-it-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We must live not as we like, but as we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/we-must-live-not-as-we-like-but-as-we-can/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [People come up to me and say 'I wouldn't want to live if I was like you.' And I say 'Actually, my life's pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanni-grey-thompson/people-come-up-to-me-and-say-i-wouldn-t-want-to-live-if-i-was-like/) [Tanni Grey-Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanni-grey-thompson/) > [“Wed don't need to live like the elites of California, New York, or Washington, D.C. We don't need to work a hundred hours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/wed-don-t-need-to-live-like-the-elites-of-california-new-york-or/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Live is like a box of chocolates, we are all just waiting for a hungry hand to come down and grab us and eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/live-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates-we-are-all-just-waiting-for-a-hungry/) [sunshine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) ## More by Jo Baker > [“Wherever you are in this world, the sky is still above you. Wherever you are, God still watches over you; He sees into your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/wherever-you-are-in-this-world-the-sky-is-still-above-you-wherever/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“I would ask if you miss me like I miss you, so that there is not another spot in all the world that seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/i-would-ask-if-you-miss-me-like-i-miss-you-so-that-there-is-not/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“You have no idea at all yet what you can bear!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/you-have-no-idea-at-all-yet-what-you-can-bear/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“of resentment, as he clambered into the carriage, that it was Liberty Hall for the remaining servantry until then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/of-resentment-as-he-clambered-into-the-carriage-that-it-was-liberty/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“The ladies, who had condoled so thoroughly with her during her time of grief, found it rather more difficult to participate in her happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/the-ladies-who-had-condoled-so-thoroughly-with-her-during-her-time-of/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“...too much time spent with books had not fitted her to be easy with herself, and other people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/too-much-time-spent-with-books-had-not-fitted-her-to-be-easy-with/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“She wished the journey was over, but she did not want to arrive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/she-wished-the-journey-was-over-but-she-did-not-want-to-arrive/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“And when he surfaces to a cramped hand, a crick in the neck, the sunlight shifted across the floor, a sore blink, he knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/and-when-he-surfaces-to-a-cramped-hand-a-crick-in-the-neck-the/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Mrs. Hill had changed Lyddie’s nappies, wiped her snotty nose, had nursed her through colic”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/mrs-hill-had-changed-lyddie-s-nappies-wiped-her-snotty-nose-had/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Other, dryer customers came and went, having just stepped out of their conveyances or popped down the street from their houses in the town.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/other-dryer-customers-came-and-went-having-just-stepped-out-of-their/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Sarah was soon lugging pasteboard boxes, paper packages and rolled samples of wallpaper. She had seen all of this before: she had daydreamed it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/sarah-was-soon-lugging-pasteboard-boxes-paper-packages-and-rolled/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [Threads that drift alone will sometimes simply twine themselves together, without need for spindle or distaff: brought into each other’s ambit, they bind themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/threads-that-drift-alone-will-sometimes-simply-twine-themselves/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [It was a thought, that. Not to attach yourself to a man, but to confront instead the open world, the wide fields of France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/it-was-a-thought-that-not-to-attach-yourself-to-a-man-but-to-confront/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [Words had become overnight just little coins, insignificant and unfreighted, to be exchanged for ribbons, buttons, for an apple or an egg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/words-had-become-overnight-just-little-coins-insignificant-and/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) > [“Because he wanted nothing from her; this was a generous, expansive feeling, unattached to the possibility of gratification; it was the simple happiness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-baker/because-he-wanted-nothing-from-her-this-was-a-generous-expansive/) [Jo Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) [Explore all 27 Jo Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-baker/) ## More Dance quotes > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I make dance music because I love to dance. But I want to think at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-make-dance-music-because-i-love-to-dance-but-i-want-to-think-at-the/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [I studied all kinds of dance, all types of music. I got good grades. I started hitting the recording studio around 13.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-derulo/i-studied-all-kinds-of-dance-all-types-of-music-i-got-good-grades-i/) [Jason Derulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-derulo/) > [I like Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. I love pop music, but I also like Sam Smith's slow songs. That would be more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-ziegler/i-like-sam-smith-and-taylor-swift-i-love-pop-music-but-i-also-like/) [Maddie Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maddie-ziegler/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“dances with mine as if we’ve been doing this our whole”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-michaels/dances-with-mine-as-if-we-ve-been-doing-this-our-whole/) [Corinne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-michaels/) > [My body was so instrumental to how I took pictures: it was practically a dance. I used to use my legs a lot; now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-leibovitz/my-body-was-so-instrumental-to-how-i-took-pictures-it-was-practically/) [Annie Leibovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-leibovitz/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [If you dance, you dance because you have to. Every dancer hurts, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunham/if-you-dance-you-dance-because-you-have-to-every-dancer-hurts-you-know/) [Katherine Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunham/) > [I'm not a dancer. Never took a dance class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrishell-stause/i-m-not-a-dancer-never-took-a-dance-class/) [Chrishell Stause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrishell-stause/) > [Being fit is the easiest part of being a dance professional. I used to just throw on a backpack full of rocks and run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-du-beke/being-fit-is-the-easiest-part-of-being-a-dance-professional-i-used-to/) [Anton du Beke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-du-beke/) > [I'm a horrible dancer, but I wanted to record songs that made me want to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lane/i-m-a-horrible-dancer-but-i-wanted-to-record-songs-that-made-me-want/) [Chris Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lane/) [Browse all 9,682 Dance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sarah wondered what it could be like, to live like this - life as a country dance, where everything is lovely, and graceful, and ordered, and every single turn is preordained, and not a foot may be set outside the measure. 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