---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What did I expect, that you would wrap my…"
description: "\"“What did I expect, that you would wrap my rib cage with those enormous hands in which horses must be measured, lifting me overhead with the stern repr..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/lionel-shriver-744_rib-cage_what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my_252459.jpg"
---

#  What did I expect, that you would wrap my rib cage with…

![“What did I expect, that you would wrap my rib cage with those enormous hands in which horses must be measured, lifting me overhead with the stern reproach that is every Western woman's sly delight, "You're too thin"?” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/lionel-shriver-744_rib-cage_what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my_252459.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/lionel-shriver-744_rib-cage_what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my_252459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/lionel-shriver-744_rib-cage_what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my_252459.jpg)

> ““What did I expect, that you would wrap my rib cage with those enormous hands in which horses must be measured, lifting me overhead with the stern reproach that is every Western woman's sly delight, "You're too thin"?””

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

## 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 judged by societal expectations of female thinness and the pressure to conform.

**In simple terms:** Societal pressure on women's bodies.

Key Takeaway

Challenge harmful beauty standards.

Themes

body image gender expectations societal pressure

Mood

critical defiant

Type

literary social commentary

When to use this quote

- fashion industry
- social media
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

feminism media influence self‑acceptance

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you resist external judgments?
- What standards define your own beauty?

A Different Perspective

Body standards are culturally constructed, not universal truths.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [It still amazes me that people actually watching me with a gun didn't just burst out laughing. I can't even play ping-pong, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-beckinsale/it-still-amazes-me-that-people-actually-watching-me-with-a-gun-didn-t/)

[Kate Beckinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-beckinsale/)

> [“Lee was conscious that Nizar watched her trying to adjust her abaya . She knew everyone could tell a Western woman by her awkwardness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/lee-was-conscious-that-nizar-watched-her-trying-to-adjust-her-abaya/)

[Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/)

> [A Western woman is not her brother's or her father's property. She's just herself. She can choose her own lifestyle. But in a Muslim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/a-western-woman-is-not-her-brother-s-or-her-father-s-property-she-s/)

[Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/)

> [The world will be saved by the western woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-will-be-saved-by-the-western-woman/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Once a boy has slammed his kneecap into your rib cage, I think any romantic feeling should naturally go the way of the ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/once-a-boy-has-slammed-his-kneecap-into-your-rib-cage-i-think-any/)

[Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/)

> [“Perhaps I am here because of last night’s dream, when I stood on the frozen lake before a kayak made of sealskin. I walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/perhaps-i-am-here-because-of-last-night-s-dream-when-i-stood-on-the/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“Someone asked me what home was, and all I could think of were the stars on the tip of your tongue, the flowers sprouting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-asked-me-what-home-was-and-all-i-could-think-of-were-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I crush her against me. I want to be part of her. Not just inside her but all around her. I want our rib…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-crush-her-against-me-i-want-to-be-part-of-her-not-just-inside-her/)

[Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/)

> [“Gary tried not to notice how pale Savannah was as she fixed him a pot of coffee.Her satin skin was almost translucent.He was groggy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gary-tried-not-to-notice-how-pale-savannah-was-as-she-fixed-him-a-pot/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [“ Tell me how you’re feeling? She hadn’t pulled away. If anything, her arms had tightened around his neck. He shared every single breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/tell-me-how-you-re-feeling-she-hadn-t-pulled-away-if-anything-her/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [“I know you are afraid, mon amour, " he whispered softly, his hands sliding up her rib cage to her breasts. "But I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/i-know-you-are-afraid-mon-amour-he-whispered-softly-his-hands-sliding/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [A strange, terrific force unlike anything I've ever experienced is sprouting in my heart, taking root there, growing. Shut up behind my rib cage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-strange-terrific-force-unlike-anything-i-ve-ever-experienced-is/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [I have been there, and I have seen these totally formed babies as early as ten weeks...with the leg missing, or with their head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-priya-henry/i-have-been-there-and-i-have-seen-these-totally-formed-babies-as/)

Deborah Priya Henry

> [“Such a nasty bruise,” he says, staring straight into my eyes. I am stunned he can see it. Delicate to the touch and tender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/such-a-nasty-bruise-he-says-staring-straight-into-my-eyes-i-am/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [“Savannah came to him instantly, her face lit up with some emotion he dared not name.She was in a man's silk shirt and nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/savannah-came-to-him-instantly-her-face-lit-up-with-some-emotion-he/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

## More by Lionel Shriver

> [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

> [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/)

[Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

[Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/)

## More Rib cage quotes

> [“Savannah came to him instantly, her face lit up with some emotion he dared not name.She was in a man's silk shirt and nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/savannah-came-to-him-instantly-her-face-lit-up-with-some-emotion-he/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [“Such a nasty bruise,” he says, staring straight into my eyes. I am stunned he can see it. Delicate to the touch and tender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/such-a-nasty-bruise-he-says-staring-straight-into-my-eyes-i-am/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [I have been there, and I have seen these totally formed babies as early as ten weeks...with the leg missing, or with their head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-priya-henry/i-have-been-there-and-i-have-seen-these-totally-formed-babies-as/)

Deborah Priya Henry

> [A strange, terrific force unlike anything I've ever experienced is sprouting in my heart, taking root there, growing. Shut up behind my rib cage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/a-strange-terrific-force-unlike-anything-i-ve-ever-experienced-is/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [“I know you are afraid, mon amour, " he whispered softly, his hands sliding up her rib cage to her breasts. "But I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/i-know-you-are-afraid-mon-amour-he-whispered-softly-his-hands-sliding/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [“ Tell me how you’re feeling? She hadn’t pulled away. If anything, her arms had tightened around his neck. He shared every single breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/tell-me-how-you-re-feeling-she-hadn-t-pulled-away-if-anything-her/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [“Gary tried not to notice how pale Savannah was as she fixed him a pot of coffee.Her satin skin was almost translucent.He was groggy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gary-tried-not-to-notice-how-pale-savannah-was-as-she-fixed-him-a-pot/)

[Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/)

> [I crush her against me. I want to be part of her. Not just inside her but all around her. I want our rib…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/i-crush-her-against-me-i-want-to-be-part-of-her-not-just-inside-her/)

[Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/)

> [“Someone asked me what home was, and all I could think of were the stars on the tip of your tongue, the flowers sprouting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-asked-me-what-home-was-and-all-i-could-think-of-were-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Perhaps I am here because of last night’s dream, when I stood on the frozen lake before a kayak made of sealskin. I walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/perhaps-i-am-here-because-of-last-night-s-dream-when-i-stood-on-the/)

[Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/)

> [“Once a boy has slammed his kneecap into your rib cage, I think any romantic feeling should naturally go the way of the ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/once-a-boy-has-slammed-his-kneecap-into-your-rib-cage-i-think-any/)

[Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/)

> [“Maybe we should do some more homework. ” Homework had been their code word for making out before they’d realized that they hadn’t been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/maybe-we-should-do-some-more-homework-homework-had-been-their-code/)

[Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/)

> [I have a huge rib cage, which is why I can hold a note out until I'm blue in the face... because I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-simpson/i-have-a-huge-rib-cage-which-is-why-i-can-hold-a-note-out-until-i-m/)

[Jessica Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-simpson/)

> [“I am not sad, he would repeat to himself over and over, I am not sad. As if he might one day convince himself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-am-not-sad-he-would-repeat-to-himself-over-and-over-i-am-not-sad-as/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [“He skims his fingers across my neck to move aside my long braid, and I try not to remember the protective look on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-weber/he-skims-his-fingers-across-my-neck-to-move-aside-my-long-braid-and-i/)

[Mary Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-weber/)

Browse all 103 Rib cage quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“What did I expect, that you would wrap my rib cage with those enormous hands in which horses must be measured, lifting me overhead with the stern reproach that is every Western woman's sly delight, \"You're too thin\"?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lionel Shriver"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my-rib-cage-with-those-enormous/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Rib cage"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my-rib-cage-with-those-enormous/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/lionel-shriver-744_rib-cage_what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my_252459.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/lionel-shriver-744_rib-cage_what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my_252459.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/266/lionel-shriver-744_rib-cage_what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my_252459.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What did I expect, that you would wrap my rib cage with those enormous hands in which horses must be…” — Lionel Shriver",
                "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": "Lionel Shriver",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“What did I expect, that you...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my-rib-cage-with-those-enormous/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-did-i-expect-that-you-would-wrap-my-rib-cage-with-those-enormous/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```