--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother was dead for five years before…" description: "\"My mother was dead for five years before I knew that I had loved her very much.\" — Lillian Hellman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/lillian-hellman-4752_five_my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before_2640155.jpg" --- # My mother was dead for five years before I knew that I had… ![“My mother was dead for five years before I knew that I had loved her very much.” quote by Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/lillian-hellman-4752_five_my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before_2640155.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/lillian-hellman-4752_five_my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before_2640155.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/lillian-hellman-4752_five_my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before_2640155.jpg) > “My mother was dead for five years before I knew that I had loved her very much.” [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing love for a mother often comes after her death, revealing missed appreciation. **In simple terms:** Love for mother recognized too late. Key Takeaway Cherish loved ones now. Themes family loss regret Mood sad reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - end‑of‑life reflections - writing memoirs Key Concepts mortality emotional awareness Questions to Reflect On - How might you express love before it’s too late? - What prevents us from acknowledging feelings earlier? A Different Perspective Grief may cloud earlier appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dead Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-years-367008/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Knew Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-loved/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-dead-381366/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-knew-2052913/) ## Related quotes > [“My mother is dead, my mother is dead,” she kept saying it in her numbed state, because it had not sunk in. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/my-mother-is-dead-my-mother-is-dead-she-kept-saying-it-in-her-numbed/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Mother is the dead heart of the family spending father's earnings on consumer goods to enhance the environment in which he eats, sleeps, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germaine-greer/mother-is-the-dead-heart-of-the-family-spending-father-s-earnings-on/) [Germaine Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germaine-greer/) > [my mother always found me out. Always. She's been dead for thirty-five years, but I have this feeling that even now she's watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-babbitt/my-mother-always-found-me-out-always-she-s-been-dead-for-thirty-five/) [Natalie Babbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-babbitt/) > [I take every opportunity to tell people how happy my mother is to be dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sark/i-take-every-opportunity-to-tell-people-how-happy-my-mother-is-to-be/) [Sark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sark/) > [Fine! Your mother's died, your mother's dead, and your mother ain't living no more!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jefferson/fine-your-mother-s-died-your-mother-s-dead-and-your-mother-ain-t/) [George Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jefferson/) > [I’m talking to you more than I speak with my mahmen.” “I thought your mother was dead.” “She is.” “You have a very low…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/i-m-talking-to-you-more-than-i-speak-with-my-mahmen-i-thought-your/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“Rose waited for the night to bring her the same comfort. It didn't. Her mother was dead...she was now too exhausted to sleep --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/rose-waited-for-the-night-to-bring-her-the-same-comfort-it-didn-t-her/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“His mother is dead, yet she has never not been, in theory, at his shoulder. He wants her not to have known and suffered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/his-mother-is-dead-yet-she-has-never-not-been-in-theory-at-his/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [“They were certainly a pair. Cincinnati in a dead man’s suit, Mother in a dead man’s wallet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/they-were-certainly-a-pair-cincinnati-in-a-dead-man-s-suit-mother-in/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [Tell me, Connie, is your mother still dead?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-sullivan/tell-me-connie-is-your-mother-still-dead/) [Ed Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-sullivan/) > [“We met Dr. Hall in such very deep mourning that either his wife, his mother or himself must be dead”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/we-met-dr-hall-in-such-very-deep-mourning-that-either-his-wife-his/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“The mother dead these fourteen years did incubate in her own bosom the creature who would carry her off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-mother-dead-these-fourteen-years-did-incubate-in-her-own-bosom/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The man who told my mother that I am dead while alive is indirectly asking for her death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ugochukwu-o-aliche/the-man-who-told-my-mother-that-i-am-dead-while-alive-is-indirectly/) [Anthony Ugochukwu O. Aliche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ugochukwu-o-aliche/) > [“Rehvenge, I’m talking to you more than I speak with my mahmen.” “I thought your mother was dead.” “She is.” “You have a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/rehvenge-i-m-talking-to-you-more-than-i-speak-with-my-mahmen-i/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [A statesman is a politician who has been dead ten or fifteen years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman-2/a-statesman-is-a-politician-who-has-been-dead-ten-or-fifteen-years/) [Harry S Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman-2/) ## More by Lillian Hellman > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-dramatic-and-uglier-than-any-other/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [A man should be jailed for telling lies to the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/a-man-should-be-jailed-for-telling-lies-to-the-young/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I don't think many writers like their best-known piece of work, particularly when it was written a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-don-t-think-many-writers-like-their-best-known-piece-of-work/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I live in a room and I go to work and I play a game called getting through the day while you wait for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-live-in-a-room-and-i-go-to-work-and-i-play-a-game-called-getting/) [LILLIAN HELLMAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it like in the Bible with the locusts. And other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/there-are-people-who-eat-the-earth-and-eat-all-the-people-on-it-like/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/nothing-you-write-if-you-hope-to-be-good-will-ever-come-out-as-you/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Haven't you lived in the South long enough to know that nothing is ever anybody's fault?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/haven-t-you-lived-in-the-south-long-enough-to-know-that-nothing-is/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [We will not think noble because we are not noble. We will not live in beautiful harmony because there is no such thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/we-will-not-think-noble-because-we-are-not-noble-we-will-not-live-in/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [It was an unspoken pleasure, that having come together so many years, ruined so much and repaired a little, we had endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-was-an-unspoken-pleasure-that-having-come-together-so-many-years/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Intellectuals can tell themselves anything, sell themselves any bill of goods, which is why they were so often patsies for the ruling classes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/intellectuals-can-tell-themselves-anything-sell-themselves-any-bill/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/courtesy-is-breeding-breeding-is-an-excellent-thing-always-remember/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [You lose your manners when you're poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/you-lose-your-manners-when-you-re-poor/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Fashions in sin change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/fashions-in-sin-change/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) [Explore all 106 Lillian Hellman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## More Five quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [If you look at the charts every year, there may be five or ten memorable songs from each year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-jackson/if-you-look-at-the-charts-every-year-there-may-be-five-or-ten/) [Randy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-jackson/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [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 remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/i-remember-my-friend-johnny-von-neumann-used-to-say-with-four/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [That is the real problem of depression - a condition which will affect an estimated one in five of the population at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/that-is-the-real-problem-of-depression-a-condition-which-will-affect/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [I don't think we need a featuring though , because five of us are enough .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyun-joong/i-don-t-think-we-need-a-featuring-though-because-five-of-us-are-enough/) [Kim Hyun-joong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyun-joong/) > [People who are complaining about the Fed are people who've been predicting runaway inflation for five and six years, and it hasn't happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/people-who-are-complaining-about-the-fed-are-people-who-ve-been/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [I am naturally a thin person and I am 5'1" and putting on five or 10 pounds, that looks like a lot on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/i-am-naturally-a-thin-person-and-i-am-5-1-and-putting-on-five-or-10/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Man, you'd be surprised how much I'm learning - not only about myself, but about the musicians who came before me. You don't realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-hubbard/man-you-d-be-surprised-how-much-i-m-learning-not-only-about-myself/) [Freddie Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-hubbard/) > [A lot of times, when people send me books to read - new writers mostly - I find that the book is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/a-lot-of-times-when-people-send-me-books-to-read-new-writers-mostly-i/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) [Browse all 6,265 Five quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My mother was dead for five years before I knew that I had loved her very much.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lillian Hellman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before-i-knew-that-i-had-loved-her/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Five" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before-i-knew-that-i-had-loved-her/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/lillian-hellman-4752_five_my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before_2640155.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/lillian-hellman-4752_five_my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before_2640155.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66f/lillian-hellman-4752_five_my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before_2640155.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My mother was dead for five years before I knew that I had loved her very much.” — Lillian Hellman", "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": "Lillian Hellman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My mother was dead for five...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before-i-knew-that-i-had-loved-her/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/my-mother-was-dead-for-five-years-before-i-knew-that-i-had-loved-her/#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 } } ] } ```