--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She didn’t know what to do with the…" description: "\"“She didn’t know what to do with the severed leg. She had cut it off, but she didn’t want to touch it or even look at it.”\" — Larry McMurtry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/larry-mcmurtry-2540_quote_she-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-the-seve_1631299.jpg" --- # She didn’t know what to do with the severed leg. She had… ![“She didn’t know what to do with the severed leg. She had cut it off, but she didn’t want to touch it or even look at it.” quote by Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/larry-mcmurtry-2540_quote_she-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-the-seve_1631299.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/larry-mcmurtry-2540_quote_she-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-the-seve_1631299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37c/larry-mcmurtry-2540_quote_she-didn-t-know-what-to-do-with-the-seve_1631299.jpg) > ““She didn’t know what to do with the severed leg. She had cut it off, but she didn’t want to touch it or even look at it.”” [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing trauma, the narrator is paralyzed by revulsion toward a severed limb, illustrating shock and denial. **In simple terms:** Trauma can make us avoid confronting painful reality. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain to begin healing. Themes trauma denial body horror Mood disturbed reflective Type narrative psychological When to use this quote - battlefield injury - medical emergency - personal loss - post‑traumatic stress Key Concepts psychological shock grief processing Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to confront a painful reality? - How does avoidance affect recovery? A Different Perspective Avoiding the wound can prolong suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Severed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/severed/) ## Related quotes > [“How many color patterns can your severed arm produce in one second?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-williams/how-many-color-patterns-can-your-severed-arm-produce-in-one-second/) [Wendy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-williams/) > [We must confront this Zionist entity. 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I trust in Jesus whenever I'm going through a hard time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-hamilton/it-was-jesus-who-gave-me-peace-when-the-shark-severed-my-arm-i-trust/) [Bethany Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-hamilton/) > [“And David and Goliath I have done before, but this time there is a difference. David holds the head at arm's length and looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-peachment/and-david-and-goliath-i-have-done-before-but-this-time-there-is-a/) Christopher Peachment > [Poetry, the genre of purest beauty, was born of a truncated woman: her head severed from her body with a sword, a symbolic penis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-dworkin/poetry-the-genre-of-purest-beauty-was-born-of-a-truncated-woman-her/) [Andrea Dworkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-dworkin/) > [“You know, I don't believe they noticed I had murdered them. I really don't. 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Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-l-howard/) > [Whatever we think out, whatever we take in hand to do, should be perfectly and finally finished, that the world, if it must alter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/whatever-we-think-out-whatever-we-take-in-hand-to-do-should-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The Czech Republic, severed from its old Slovak half, sits in apparent landlocked contentment, inside the European Union but outside the troubled Euro Zone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mallon/the-czech-republic-severed-from-its-old-slovak-half-sits-in-apparent/) [Thomas Mallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mallon/) > [“Alex watched the severed head fall and the body slump over. 'I'm not reattaching that. 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History may not quite be bunk, as Henry Ford suggested, but there's no denying that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/americans-lack-of-passion-for-history-is-well-known-history-may-not/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [I never met a soul in this world as normal as me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-mcmurtry/i-never-met-a-soul-in-this-world-as-normal-as-me/) [Larry McMurtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-mcmurtry/) > [“I figured out something, Lorie,” he said. “I figured out why you and me get along so well. 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I trust in Jesus whenever I'm going through a hard time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-hamilton/it-was-jesus-who-gave-me-peace-when-the-shark-severed-my-arm-i-trust/) [Bethany Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-hamilton/) > [“...you just never knew when a totally normal vampire errand would end in a bloodbath with severed-limb soap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/you-just-never-knew-when-a-totally-normal-vampire-errand-would-end-in/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [What Clinton severed with his welfare reform was the obligation of the federal government to step in when the states failed and to monitor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/what-clinton-severed-with-his-welfare-reform-was-the-obligation-of/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [Ah, love. A dreadful bond! And yet, so easily severed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davy-jones/ah-love-a-dreadful-bond-and-yet-so-easily-severed/) [Davy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davy-jones/) > [Your generation and mine have had very little real experience; we've been severed from the direct experience of war by some very good things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/your-generation-and-mine-have-had-very-little-real-experience-we-ve/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“Someone severed the link between my brain and my fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-jeffery/someone-severed-the-link-between-my-brain-and-my-fingers/) Jason Jeffery > [We must confront this Zionist entity. 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