--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She…" description: "\"“Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She wasn’t beautiful like these Bayhead Harbor girls, but it was surprising how men sometimes looked at her. Mor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/joyce-carol-oates-344_a-fair-maiden_since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she_2689723.jpg" --- # Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She wasn’t beautiful… ![“Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She wasn’t beautiful like these Bayhead Harbor girls, but it was surprising how men sometimes looked at her. More it was older men rather than guys her age, for some reason. […] There were guys - older guys - she’d yearned for so frankly you could see it in…” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/joyce-carol-oates-344_a-fair-maiden_since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she_2689723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/joyce-carol-oates-344_a-fair-maiden_since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she_2689723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/joyce-carol-oates-344_a-fair-maiden_since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she_2689723.jpg) > ““Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She wasn’t beautiful like these Bayhead Harbor girls, but it was surprising how men sometimes looked at her. More it was older men rather than guys her age, for some reason. \[…\] There were guys - older guys - she’d yearned for so frankly you could see it in her face.”” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A young woman, feeling unnoticed, longs for older men, revealing her yearning for validation and maturity. **In simple terms:** She seeks attention from older men. Key Takeaway Understand the need for validation in relationships. Themes identity loneliness age dynamics Mood reflective melancholic Type psychological literary When to use this quote - dating advice - therapeutic counseling - character analysis - literary critique Key Concepts psychology social hierarchy emotional development Questions to Reflect On - Why do we sometimes seek validation from “unavailable” sources? - How does age affect attraction? A Different Perspective Older partners may not fulfill emotional needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age difference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age-difference/) ## Related quotes > [“She could feel these hands tremble, and she could feel Mr. Kidder’s excitement. How eager she was to be gone from this room. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/she-could-feel-these-hands-tremble-and-she-could-feel-mr-kidder-s/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Time is the enemy of lovers. Worse even than the frank light of day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/time-is-the-enemy-of-lovers-worse-even-than-the-frank-light-of-day/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“If this was a flirtation — and it felt like a flirtation — it was like no other flirtation in Katya’s experience: with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/if-this-was-a-flirtation-and-it-felt-like-a-flirtation-it-was-like-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“NO KISS FORGOTTEN; it resides in the memory as in the flesh, and so Katya many times felt the press of Marcus Kidder’s warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/no-kiss-forgotten-it-resides-in-the-memory-as-in-the-flesh-and-so/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Only where there is life can there be home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/only-where-there-is-life-can-there-be-home/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You people who have survived childhood don't remeber any longer what it was like. You think children are whole, uncomplicated creatures, and if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-people-who-have-survived-childhood-don-t-remeber-any-longer-what/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More A-fair-maiden quotes > [“She could feel these hands tremble, and she could feel Mr. Kidder’s excitement. How eager she was to be gone from this room. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/she-could-feel-these-hands-tremble-and-she-could-feel-mr-kidder-s/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Time is the enemy of lovers. Worse even than the frank light of day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/time-is-the-enemy-of-lovers-worse-even-than-the-frank-light-of-day/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“If this was a flirtation — and it felt like a flirtation — it was like no other flirtation in Katya’s experience: with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/if-this-was-a-flirtation-and-it-felt-like-a-flirtation-it-was-like-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“NO KISS FORGOTTEN; it resides in the memory as in the flesh, and so Katya many times felt the press of Marcus Kidder’s warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/no-kiss-forgotten-it-resides-in-the-memory-as-in-the-flesh-and-so/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) Browse all 5 A-fair-maiden quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She wasn’t beautiful like these Bayhead Harbor girls, but it was surprising how men sometimes looked at her. More it was older men rather than guys her age, for some reason. […] There were guys - older guys - she’d yearned for so frankly you could see it in her face.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she-wasn-t-beautiful-like-these/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "A-fair-maiden" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she-wasn-t-beautiful-like-these/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/joyce-carol-oates-344_a-fair-maiden_since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she_2689723.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/joyce-carol-oates-344_a-fair-maiden_since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she_2689723.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/joyce-carol-oates-344_a-fair-maiden_since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she_2689723.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She wasn’t beautiful like these Bayhead Harbor girls, but it was…” — Joyce Carol Oates", "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": "Joyce Carol Oates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Since thirteen, she’d been preparing. She...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she-wasn-t-beautiful-like-these/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/since-thirteen-she-d-been-preparing-she-wasn-t-beautiful-like-these/#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 } } ] } ```