--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was overwhelmed, she would do…" description: "\"“She was overwhelmed, she would do anything. I could have it any way I wanted it, and she tried to pull me to her, but no, let's wait a while. I tell y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg" --- # She was overwhelmed, she would do anything. I could have… ![“She was overwhelmed, she would do anything. I could have it any way I wanted it, and she tried to pull me to her, but no, let's wait a while. I tell you I want to talk to you, I tell you money is no object, here's three more, that makes eight dollars, but it doesn't matter. You just keep that…” quote by John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg) > ““She was overwhelmed, she would do anything. I could have it any way I wanted it, and she tried to pull me to her, but no, let's wait a while. I tell you I want to talk to you, I tell you money is no object, here's three more, that makes eight dollars, but it doesn't matter. You just keep that eight bucks and buy yourself something nice. And then I snapped my fingers like a man remembering something, something important, an engagement. 'Say!' I said. 'That reminds me. What time is it?' Her chin was at my neck, stroking it. 'Don't you worry about the time, honey. You can stay all night.' A man of importance, ah yes, now I remembered, my publisher, he was getting in tonight by plane. Out at Burbank, away out in Burbank. Have to grab a cab and taxi out there, have to hurry. Goodbye, goodbye, you keep that eight bucks, you buy yourself something nice, goodbye, goodbye, running down the stairs, running away, the welcome fog in the doorway below, you keep that eight bucks, oh sweet fog I see you and I'm coming, you clean air, you wonderful world, I'm coming to you, goodbye, yelling up the stairs, I'll see you again, you keep that eight dollars and buy yourself something nice. Eight dollars pouring out of my eyes. Oh Jesus kill me dead and ship my body home, kill me dead and make me die like a pagan fool with no priest to absolve me, no extreme unction, eight dollars, eight dollars ..”” [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A desperate narrator offers money to a woman, then abandons her, reflecting on guilt, poverty, and fleeting connections. **In simple terms:** Man gives money, then leaves, feeling guilt and longing. Key Takeaway Recognize how desperation can cloud compassion. Themes guilt poverty desperation relationships mortality Mood desperate confessional poetic Type literary confessional existential When to use this quote - street encounter - selling a favor - flight - spiritual crisis - final goodbye Key Concepts existentialism human frailty materialism Questions to Reflect On - What does the eight dollars symbolize for both characters? - Can money ever truly compensate for emotional emptiness? A Different Perspective The narrator’s self‑justification ignores the woman’s agency and the moral cost of using money to buy affection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clean air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-air/) [Engagement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engagement/) [Running away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-away/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wonderful world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful-world/) ## Related quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Have you noticed that people who tell you money can not buy happiness are those who do not have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/have-you-noticed-that-people-who-tell-you-money-can-not-buy-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I tell you, money can't build your spire for you. 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I've heard tell that if you give them money, they let you leave with a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-morrill/they-do-have-these-things-called-bookstores-there-i-ve-heard-tell/) [Lauren Morrill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-morrill/) > [People often come up and tell me how much money I make in a year, which is funny because I don't think it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-isner/people-often-come-up-and-tell-me-how-much-money-i-make-in-a-year/) [John Isner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-isner/) > [“Just tell me how much money I have to give you to never leave this couch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-halpern/just-tell-me-how-much-money-i-have-to-give-you-to-never-leave-this/) [Justin Halpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-halpern/) > [“Ask them about their sex lives or their drinking habits or the times they beat up on Granny and they may dodge around a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gunn/ask-them-about-their-sex-lives-or-their-drinking-habits-or-the-times/) Elizabeth Gunn > [“If we did have a child, and he came to you with something like this, would you tell him to take the money, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/if-we-did-have-a-child-and-he-came-to-you-with-something-like-this/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [Unfortunately I have no rags-to-riches story to tell. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-a-hunchback-with-a-sweet-smile-she-smiled-sweetly-at-anything/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [I tossed my shoulders and swaggered away, whistling with pleasure. In the gutter I saw a long cigaret butt. I picked it up without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-tossed-my-shoulders-and-swaggered-away-whistling-with-pleasure-in/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Careful, Arturo Bandini: don't strain your eyesight, remember what happened to Tarkington, remember what happened to James Joyce.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/careful-arturo-bandini-don-t-strain-your-eyesight-remember-what/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“Nor did he give a damn for the world either, or the universe, or heaven or hell. But he liked women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/nor-did-he-give-a-damn-for-the-world-either-or-the-universe-or-heaven/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [The bible is a source of great inspiration to me. It is a textbook of metaphysics. Within the bible are keys to personal growth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/the-bible-is-a-source-of-great-inspiration-to-me-it-is-a-textbook-of/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [One night I was sitting on the bed in my hotel room on Buker Hill, down in the middle of Los Angeles. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/one-night-i-was-sitting-on-the-bed-in-my-hotel-room-on-buker-hill/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“All that was good in me thrilled in my heart at that moment, all that I hoped for in the profound, obscure meaning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/all-that-was-good-in-me-thrilled-in-my-heart-at-that-moment-all-that/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [(...) I let go, crying and unable to stop because God was such a dirty crook, contemptible skunk, that's what he was for doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-let-go-crying-and-unable-to-stop-because-god-was-such-a-dirty-crook/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) [Explore all 80 John Fante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) ## More Clean air quotes > [“We must have clean air and water, and beautiful natural foods for everyone, everywhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/we-must-have-clean-air-and-water-and-beautiful-natural-foods-for/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [There is no domestic issue more important to America in the long run than the conservation and proper use of our natural resources, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-nelson/there-is-no-domestic-issue-more-important-to-america-in-the-long-run/) [Gaylord Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-nelson/) > [“We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need? -Lee Iacocca, former chairman, Ford Motor Company”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-d-price/we-ve-got-to-pause-and-ask-ourselves-how-much-clean-air-do-we-need/) [Steven D. 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I tell you I want to talk to you, I tell you money is no object, here's three more, that makes eight dollars, but it doesn't matter. You just keep that eight bucks and buy yourself something nice. And then I snapped my fingers like a man remembering something, something important, an engagement. 'Say!' I said. 'That reminds me. What time is it?' Her chin was at my neck, stroking it. 'Don't you worry about the time, honey. You can stay all night.' A man of importance, ah yes, now I remembered, my publisher, he was getting in tonight by plane. Out at Burbank, away out in Burbank. Have to grab a cab and taxi out there, have to hurry. Goodbye, goodbye, you keep that eight bucks, you buy yourself something nice, goodbye, goodbye, running down the stairs, running away, the welcome fog in the doorway below, you keep that eight bucks, oh sweet fog I see you and I'm coming, you clean air, you wonderful world, I'm coming to you, goodbye, yelling up the stairs, I'll see you again, you keep that eight dollars and buy yourself something nice. Eight dollars pouring out of my eyes. Oh Jesus kill me dead and ship my body home, kill me dead and make me die like a pagan fool with no priest to absolve me, no extreme unction, eight dollars, eight dollars ..”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Fante" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anything-i-could-have-it-any-way-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clean air" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anything-i-could-have-it-any-way-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34d/john-fante-6848_clean-air_she-was-overwhelmed-she-would-do-anythin_759629.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She was overwhelmed, she would do anything. 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