--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The woman in whose body I had grown, in…" description: "\"“The woman in whose body I had grown, in whose house I’d been raised was, in some vital ways, a stranger to me. I’d gone thirty years without ascribing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/kate-morton-805_stranger_the-woman-in-whose-body-i-had-grown-in-w_277962.png" --- # The woman in whose body I had grown, in whose house I’d… ![“The woman in whose body I had grown, in whose house I’d been raised was, in some vital ways, a stranger to me. I’d gone thirty years without ascribing her any more dimension than the paper dollies I’d played with as a girl with the pasted on smiles and the folding tab dresses.” quote by Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/kate-morton-805_stranger_the-woman-in-whose-body-i-had-grown-in-w_277962.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/kate-morton-805_stranger_the-woman-in-whose-body-i-had-grown-in-w_277962.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/kate-morton-805_stranger_the-woman-in-whose-body-i-had-grown-in-w_277962.png) > ““The woman in whose body I had grown, in whose house I’d been raised was, in some vital ways, a stranger to me. I’d gone thirty years without ascribing her any more dimension than the paper dollies I’d played with as a girl with the pasted on smiles and the folding tab dresses.”” [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels detached from her mother, seeing her as an unfamiliar figure despite lifelong proximity. **In simple terms:** She feels estranged from her mother. Key Takeaway Recognize and bridge emotional distance. Themes family identity detachment Mood reflective melancholic Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - family gatherings - therapy sessions - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology generational gaps Questions to Reflect On - How might you reconnect with a distant family member? - What assumptions shape your view of close ones? A Different Perspective The perception may change with deeper communication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body Grown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-grown-2703239/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Thirty years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty-years/) [Ways Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-stranger-2703240/) [Woman Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-body/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [You know how they say a man's house is his castle? I think for a woman, it's her body. I feel so strongly about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/you-know-how-they-say-a-man-s-house-is-his-castle-i-think-for-a-woman/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [A male can be a boy, a man, a love/husband, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, but they don't have any knowledge what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunachalam-muruganantham/a-male-can-be-a-boy-a-man-a-love-husband-a-father-a-grandfather-a/) [Arunachalam Muruganantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunachalam-muruganantham/) > [“Women get consumed. Not surprising, considering the sheer amount of traffic a woman’s body experiences. Tampons and speculums. Cocks, fingers, vibrators and more, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/women-get-consumed-not-surprising-considering-the-sheer-amount-of/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [A woman’s beauty lies, not in any exaggeration of the specialized zones, nor in any general harmony that could be worked out by means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/a-woman-s-beauty-lies-not-in-any-exaggeration-of-the-specialized/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In my opinion, a woman's body is not her only asset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/momina-mustehsan/in-my-opinion-a-woman-s-body-is-not-her-only-asset/) [Momina Mustehsan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/momina-mustehsan/) > [The more aware a man is of a woman's body, the better. He needs to know he has to tend to a woman. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-bilson/the-more-aware-a-man-is-of-a-woman-s-body-the-better-he-needs-to-know/) [Rachel Bilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-bilson/) > [Each individual woman's body demands to be accepted on its own terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/each-individual-woman-s-body-demands-to-be-accepted-on-its-own-terms/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“a beautiful, intelligent woman with a body like Salome and a mouth like a saltwater crocodile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-johnson/a-beautiful-intelligent-woman-with-a-body-like-salome-and-a-mouth/) [Craig Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-johnson/) > [“Sometimes I think I’m still a child trapped in a woman’s body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-vine/sometimes-i-think-i-m-still-a-child-trapped-in-a-woman-s-body/) [Cindy Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-vine/) > [I hate the idea of telling a woman what to do with her body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ojeda/i-hate-the-idea-of-telling-a-woman-what-to-do-with-her-body/) [Richard Ojeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ojeda/) > [“The woman had a body wet dreams were made of, and he couldn't remember being this goddamn hard in his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-ashe/the-woman-had-a-body-wet-dreams-were-made-of-and-he-couldn-t-remember/) [Eden Ashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-ashe/) > [My philosophy is this: Do not tamper with the anatomy of a woman's body; do not camouflage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/my-philosophy-is-this-do-not-tamper-with-the-anatomy-of-a-woman-s/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [May I say, if you were suddenly put into a woman's body, wouldn't you be slightly interested in your breasts, and why people look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-johnston/may-i-say-if-you-were-suddenly-put-into-a-woman-s-body-wouldn-t-you/) [Kristen Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-johnston/) > [“When a man's bank balance becomes too small, his woman flees. For a man to do the same, his woman's body — or vagina…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/when-a-man-s-bank-balance-becomes-too-small-his-woman-flees-for-a-man/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Kate Morton > [“Laurel wondered whether perhaps a person reached an age when so much was kept from them, so many details of life discussed and decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/laurel-wondered-whether-perhaps-a-person-reached-an-age-when-so-much/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“It hardly needs to be said: sooner or later secrets have a way of making themselves known.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-hardly-needs-to-be-said-sooner-or-later-secrets-have-a-way-of/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“Give someone more time and they'll appear to have done more with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/give-someone-more-time-and-they-ll-appear-to-have-done-more-with-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“It suddenly seemed to Laurel that all the absences in her own life, every loss and sadness, every nightmare in the dark, every unexplained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-suddenly-seemed-to-laurel-that-all-the-absences-in-her-own-life/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Rejection is a cancer, Edie. It eats away at a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/rejection-is-a-cancer-edie-it-eats-away-at-a-person/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“home is a magnet that lures back even its most abstracted children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/home-is-a-magnet-that-lures-back-even-its-most-abstracted-children/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“tiempo tiene su peculiar manera de moldear a la gente de forma que ellos mismos ya no se reconocen,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/tiempo-tiene-su-peculiar-manera-de-moldear-a-la-gente-de-forma-que/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“I want to know how it feels to be altered by life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/i-want-to-know-how-it-feels-to-be-altered-by-life/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“She'd opened the front cover and fallen inside the wonderful, frightening, magical illustrations. She'd wondered what it must feel like to escape the rigid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/she-d-opened-the-front-cover-and-fallen-inside-the-wonderful/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [It's special, grandparents and grandchldren. So much simpler. Is it always so, I wonder? I think perhaps it is. While one's child takes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-s-special-grandparents-and-grandchldren-so-much-simpler-is-it/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“... and I thought -not for the first time- what a true and simple pleasure it was, to be inside and sated when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/and-i-thought-not-for-the-first-time-what-a-true-and-simple-pleasure/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“Nell was like a witch. Her long silvery hair rolled into a bun on the back of her head, the narrow wooden house on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/nell-was-like-a-witch-her-long-silvery-hair-rolled-into-a-bun-on-the/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [Thinking of nothing. Trying to think of nothing. Thinking of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/thinking-of-nothing-trying-to-think-of-nothing-thinking-of-everything/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [There's a market for mysteries for adults. That feeling of opening a book and delving inside and not coming out until you've closed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/there-s-a-market-for-mysteries-for-adults-that-feeling-of-opening-a/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [“I don’t have many friends, not the living, breathing sort at any rate. And I don’t mean that in a sad and lonely way;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/i-don-t-have-many-friends-not-the-living-breathing-sort-at-any-rate/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) [Explore all 334 Kate Morton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) ## More Stranger quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [It’s sad when friends become enemies. But what’s even worse is when they become strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/it-s-sad-when-friends-become-enemies-but-what-s-even-worse-is-when/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [It is part of God's plan for us that Christ shall come to us in everyone; it is in their particular role that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caryll-houselander/it-is-part-of-god-s-plan-for-us-that-christ-shall-come-to-us-in/) [Caryll Houselander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caryll-houselander/) > [Naked in front of strangers? I can barely be naked in front of my lovers; in front of myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara/naked-in-front-of-strangers-i-can-barely-be-naked-in-front-of-my/) [Clara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara/) > [Cameras are a lifesaver for very shy people who have nowhere else to hide. 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