--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She told herself that she longed greatly…" description: "\"“She told herself that she longed greatly to go back to those dear merry days when life was seen through a rosy mist of hope and illusion, and possesse..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/l-m-montgomery-567_anne-of-the-island_she-told-herself-that-she-longed-greatly_1149965.jpg" --- # She told herself that she longed greatly to go back to… ![“She told herself that she longed greatly to go back to those dear merry days when life was seen through a rosy mist of hope and illusion, and possessed an indefinable something that had passed away forever. Where was it now--the glory and the dream?” quote by L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/l-m-montgomery-567_anne-of-the-island_she-told-herself-that-she-longed-greatly_1149965.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/l-m-montgomery-567_anne-of-the-island_she-told-herself-that-she-longed-greatly_1149965.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a65/l-m-montgomery-567_anne-of-the-island_she-told-herself-that-she-longed-greatly_1149965.jpg) > ““She told herself that she longed greatly to go back to those dear merry days when life was seen through a rosy mist of hope and illusion, and possessed an indefinable something that had passed away forever. Where was it now--the glory and the dream?”” [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## 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 longs for a nostalgic, idealized past that feels lost, yearning for the hopeful innocence of earlier days. **In simple terms:** Missing the hopeful past. Key Takeaway Seek present moments of wonder. Themes nostalgia hope illusion memory longing Mood melancholic reflective dreamy Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - therapy - memory work Key Concepts romanticism psychology time idealism Questions to Reflect On - What does the “rosy mist” represent now? - How can you recreate that hopeful feeling today? A Different Perspective Clinging to nostalgia can hinder present growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anne-of-the-island](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anne-of-the-island-8972/) [Forever Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forever-glory-3244808/) [Glory Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory-dream-3244807/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-illusion-592284/) [Illusion Possessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion-possessed-3244810/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Seen Rosy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen-rosy-3244809/) ## Related quotes > [“You don't know love when you see it. You've tricked something out with your imagination that you think love, and you expect the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/you-don-t-know-love-when-you-see-it-you-ve-tricked-something-out-with/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I don’t want sunbursts and marble halls. I just want you... We’ll just be happy, waiting and working for each other—and dreaming. Oh, dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-want-sunbursts-and-marble-halls-i-just-want-you-we-ll-just-be/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [The likeness of the world? A shadow! And world's glory? A dream!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/the-likeness-of-the-world-a-shadow-and-world-s-glory-a-dream/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“Long after Pacifiique's gay whistle had faded into the phantom of music and then into silence far up under the maples of Lover's Lane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery-2/long-after-pacifiique-s-gay-whistle-had-faded-into-the-phantom-of/) [L. M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery-2/) > [“Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/whither-is-fled-the-visionary-gleam-where-is-it-now-the-glory-and-the/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Where is it now, the glory and the dream?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/where-is-it-now-the-glory-and-the-dream/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“It was an almost supernatural power, I sometimes came to think (though immediately I mocked the idea), making normally talkative people like the Bolognan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/it-was-an-almost-supernatural-power-i-sometimes-came-to-think-though/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I have hope. But it's all an illusion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-have-hope-but-it-s-all-an-illusion/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [Give up all hope, all illusion, all desire..I've tried. I've tried and still I desire, I still desire not to desire and hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-rhinehart/give-up-all-hope-all-illusion-all-desire-i-ve-tried-i-ve-tried-and/) [Luke Rhinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-rhinehart/) > [We seek to find peace of mind in the word, the formula, the ritual. The hope is illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-cardozo/we-seek-to-find-peace-of-mind-in-the-word-the-formula-the-ritual-the/) [Benjamin Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-cardozo/) > [Hope is not an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/hope-is-not-an-illusion/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I wondered if all a person could hope for was illusion and luck, for I was forced to conclude that the world was fundamentally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-rogan/i-wondered-if-all-a-person-could-hope-for-was-illusion-and-luck-for-i/) [Charlotte Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-rogan/) > [“Hope is an illusion a dangling carrot something to keep us going but going towards what”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/hope-is-an-illusion-a-dangling-carrot-something-to-keep-us-going-but/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) ## More by L.M. Montgomery > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“It's a very bad habit to put off disagreeable things...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/it-s-a-very-bad-habit-to-put-off-disagreeable-things/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Who was it said, ‘We forget because we must’? He was right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/who-was-it-said-we-forget-because-we-must-he-was-right/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I don't think it's any help that it's your habit. What would you think of a person who went about sticking pins and needles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-help-that-it-s-your-habit-what-would-you-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“What a splendid day! Isn't it good just to be alive on a day like this? I pity the people who aren't born yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/what-a-splendid-day-isn-t-it-good-just-to-be-alive-on-a-day-like-this/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I told you the Bible was more to be depended on than newspapers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-told-you-the-bible-was-more-to-be-depended-on-than-newspapers/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“On a day like this there's no such word as fail in my bright lexicon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/on-a-day-like-this-there-s-no-such-word-as-fail-in-my-bright-lexicon/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I took the brooch because I was too overcome with irresistible temptation. I was imagining I was Lady Cordelia Fitzgerald, and I just had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-took-the-brooch-because-i-was-too-overcome-with-irresistible/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“…she made a poem on it at once, the lines singing themselves through her consciousness without effort. With one side of her nature she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/she-made-a-poem-on-it-at-once-the-lines-singing-themselves-through/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I think there are two kinds of TRUE THINGS-- true things that ARE, and true things that ARE NOT, but MIGHT be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-think-there-are-two-kinds-of-true-things-true-things-that-are-and/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“when the darkness is close to us it is a friend. But when we sorter push it away from us—divorce ourselves from it, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/when-the-darkness-is-close-to-us-it-is-a-friend-but-when-we-sorter/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Yesterday she had been all her own. Now she was this man's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/yesterday-she-had-been-all-her-own-now-she-was-this-man-s/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“I suppose that's how it looks in prose. But it's very different if you look at it through poetry…and I think it's nicer…' Anne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-suppose-that-s-how-it-looks-in-prose-but-it-s-very-different-if-you/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Ilse and I hunted all over the old orchard today for a four-leaved clover and couldn't find one. Then I found one in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/ilse-and-i-hunted-all-over-the-old-orchard-today-for-a-four-leaved/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Nothing seems worthwhile. My very thoughts are old. I've thought them all before. What is the use of living after all, Anne?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/nothing-seems-worthwhile-my-very-thoughts-are-old-i-ve-thought-them/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) [Explore all 463 L.M. Montgomery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## More Anne-of-the-island quotes > [“Long after Pacifiique's gay whistle had faded into the phantom of music and then into silence far up under the maples of Lover's Lane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery-2/long-after-pacifiique-s-gay-whistle-had-faded-into-the-phantom-of/) [L. M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery-2/) > [“I don’t want sunbursts and marble halls. I just want you... We’ll just be happy, waiting and working for each other—and dreaming. Oh, dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-want-sunbursts-and-marble-halls-i-just-want-you-we-ll-just-be/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“You don't know love when you see it. You've tricked something out with your imagination that you think love, and you expect the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/you-don-t-know-love-when-you-see-it-you-ve-tricked-something-out-with/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) [Browse all 4 Anne-of-the-island quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anne-of-the-island-8972/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She told herself that she longed greatly to go back to those dear merry days when life was seen through a rosy mist of hope and illusion, and possessed an indefinable something that had passed away forever. Where was it now--the glory and the dream?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "L.M. 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