--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had never met a woman from the waking…" description: "\"“She had never met a woman from the waking world. Once she asked Carter about it. \"Women don't dream large dreams,\" he had said, dismissively. \"It is a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/kij-johnson-19953_dreams_she-had-never-met-a-woman-from-the-wakin_2392986.jpg" --- # She had never met a woman from the waking world. Once she… ![“She had never met a woman from the waking world. Once she asked Carter about it. "Women don't dream large dreams," he had said, dismissively. "It is all babies and housework. Tiny dreams." Men said stupid things all the time, and it was perhaps no surprise that men of the waking world might do so…” quote by Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/kij-johnson-19953_dreams_she-had-never-met-a-woman-from-the-wakin_2392986.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/kij-johnson-19953_dreams_she-had-never-met-a-woman-from-the-wakin_2392986.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/kij-johnson-19953_dreams_she-had-never-met-a-woman-from-the-wakin_2392986.jpg) > ““She had never met a woman from the waking world. Once she asked Carter about it. "Women don't dream large dreams," he had said, dismissively. "It is all babies and housework. Tiny dreams." Men said stupid things all the time, and it was perhaps no surprise that men of the waking world might do so as well, yes she was disappointed in Carter.”” [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) ## 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 observes gendered expectations that limit women's aspirations, highlighting dismissive attitudes toward women's dreams. **In simple terms:** Women are told their dreams are small and domestic. Key Takeaway Challenge limiting stereotypes about women's ambitions. Themes gender roles aspirations stereotypes Mood frustrated reflective Type narrative critical When to use this quote - parenting - career planning - creative projects - advocacy for women Key Concepts feminism social conditioning dreams Questions to Reflect On - How do societal expectations shape personal ambitions? - What can be done to encourage women’s big dreams? A Different Perspective The quote reflects a personal anecdote, not a universal truth about all men. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Sexism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexism/) [Stupid things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid-things/) ## Related quotes > [“He said, Carter women do not date the help,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiree-m-granger/he-said-carter-women-do-not-date-the-help/) [Desiree M. Granger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiree-m-granger/) > [I have loved this life. I smile because I have tiny dreams that play hopscotch at the corners of my mouth. And every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-koyczan/i-have-loved-this-life-i-smile-because-i-have-tiny-dreams-that-play/) [Shane Koyczan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-koyczan/) > [“I smile because there are tiny dreams that play hopscotch at the corners of my mouth, and every time I breathe they float and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-koyczan/i-smile-because-there-are-tiny-dreams-that-play-hopscotch-at-the/) [Shane Koyczan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-koyczan/) > [“Never take tiny dreams for granted. They contain giant success stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/never-take-tiny-dreams-for-granted-they-contain-giant-success-stories/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“If it weren't for dreams," he said. "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/if-it-weren-t-for-dreams-he-said-i-wouldn-t-know-half-the-things-i/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Two devils came in to my dreams. they said we want to disturb some nice persons. I suggest them your name. they said we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/two-devils-came-in-to-my-dreams-they-said-we-want-to-disturb-some/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I can never remember my dreams," said the shadow of the Marquess quietly. "You must have had rich, tasty ones then. When you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-can-never-remember-my-dreams-said-the-shadow-of-the-marquess/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“In my dreams," said Ender, "I'm never sure whether I'm really me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/in-my-dreams-said-ender-i-m-never-sure-whether-i-m-really-me/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I got a call from my manager. He said, 'Dude, dude, you're nominated!' Then I fell back asleep. I was out cold. LeBron James…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-got-a-call-from-my-manager-he-said-dude-dude-you-re-nominated-then/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [“So today’s talk was about achieving childhood dreams,” I said. “But did you figure out the head fake?” I paused. The room was quiet.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/so-today-s-talk-was-about-achieving-childhood-dreams-i-said-but-did/) [Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/) > [When ladies used to come to me in dreams, I said, 'Pretty mother, pretty mother.' But when at last she really came, I shot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-ladies-used-to-come-to-me-in-dreams-i-said-pretty-mother-pretty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Everyone encouraged me to "follow my dreams". No one said it would be hard... but then again, they never said it would be easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joscelyn-gleave/everyone-encouraged-me-to-follow-my-dreams-no-one-said-it-would-be/) [Joscelyn Gleave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joscelyn-gleave/) > [You came so that you could learn about your dreams," said the old woman. "And dreams are the language of God. When he speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-came-so-that-you-could-learn-about-your-dreams-said-the-old-woman/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“‎Never say you can't be a writer or a script writer, remember how well, characters in your dreams said their dialogues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dipesh-nepal/never-say-you-can-t-be-a-writer-or-a-script-writer-remember-how-well/) Dipesh Nepal > [“It’s bad when the dead talk in dreams,” said Odessa.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mcdowell/it-s-bad-when-the-dead-talk-in-dreams-said-odessa/) [Michael McDowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mcdowell/) ## More by Kij Johnson > [“Humans assign words to things and pretend the words are adequate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/humans-assign-words-to-things-and-pretend-the-words-are-adequate/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“The soul often hangs in a balance of some sort. Tonight do I lie down in the high fields with Dirk Tanner or not?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/the-soul-often-hangs-in-a-balance-of-some-sort-tonight-do-i-lie-down/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“in the end she had not wanted a life spent treading water in his story. She still did not—and yet she regarded herself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/in-the-end-she-had-not-wanted-a-life-spent-treading-water-in-his/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [Waiting required a future to wait for: a falsehood. I know now that there is only now. I remember things that happened months (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/waiting-required-a-future-to-wait-for-a-falsehood-i-know-now-that/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“There was for everything a possibility, an invisible pattern that could be made manifest given work and the right materials.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/there-was-for-everything-a-possibility-an-invisible-pattern-that/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [Happiness is the pleasantest of emotions; because of this, it is the most dangerous. Having once felt happiness, one will do anything to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/happiness-is-the-pleasantest-of-emotions-because-of-this-it-is-the/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“She would never have a day that she did not see something and hear a voice in her mind say, “Remember this and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/she-would-never-have-a-day-that-she-did-not-see-something-and-hear-a/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“There would be sadness and nightmares. And there would be lovemaking and the holding close of children and friends and dogs -- affirmations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/there-would-be-sadness-and-nightmares-and-there-would-be-lovemaking/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“As a young woman, when she had been beautiful and had worn her hair short and her clothes loose to conceal that fact, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/as-a-young-woman-when-she-had-been-beautiful-and-had-worn-her-hair/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“Love and memory and thought and dream ~ My favorite poems have never been written in words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/love-and-memory-and-thought-and-dream-my-favorite-poems-have-never/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“He loved who he was: Randolph Carter, master dreamer, adventurer. To him, she had been landscape, an articulate crag he could ascend, a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/he-loved-who-he-was-randolph-carter-master-dreamer-adventurer-to-him/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [Because if something does go wrong, you'll need what you're feeling to matter, to someone somewhere, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/because-if-something-does-go-wrong-you-ll-need-what-you-re-feeling-to/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“That night and for years afterward, she had envisioned another dream land, built from the imaginings of powerful women dreamers. Perhaps it would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/that-night-and-for-years-afterward-she-had-envisioned-another-dream/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“That's not a goal," Kit said. "Why? Because it's not yours? Which is better, Kit Meinem of Atyar? A single great victory, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/that-s-not-a-goal-kit-said-why-because-it-s-not-yours-which-is-better/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) > [“This is the gift of humanity: that it is claimed by the self. None of us...are human unless and until we claim it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kij-johnson/this-is-the-gift-of-humanity-that-it-is-claimed-by-the-self-none-of/) [Kij Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) [Explore all 30 Kij Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kij-johnson/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She had never met a woman from the waking world. Once she asked Carter about it. \"Women don't dream large dreams,\" he had said, dismissively. \"It is all babies and housework. 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