--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wives in their husbands' absences grow…" description: "\"Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, And daughters sometimes run off with the butler.\" — Lord Byron" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/lord-byron-356_butler_wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-su_3228891.jpg" --- # Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, And… ![“Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, And daughters sometimes run off with the butler.” quote by Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/lord-byron-356_butler_wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-su_3228891.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/lord-byron-356_butler_wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-su_3228891.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/lord-byron-356_butler_wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-su_3228891.jpg) > “Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, And daughters sometimes run off with the butler.” [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He suggests that in a husband's absence, wives become more subtle, and daughters may be drawn to servants, hinting at shifting dynamics and hidden desires. **In simple terms:** Wives become subtle; daughters may seek servants. Key Takeaway Notice changing relationships when a partner is absent. Themes family power desire Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic observational When to use this quote - marriage - family gatherings - long separations - social events Key Concepts social hierarchy emotional neglect Questions to Reflect On - How does absence reshape family roles? - What hidden tensions arise in long separations? A Different Perspective Not all families experience this; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughters/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wives/) ## Related quotes > [If they lost the incredible conviction that they can change their wives or husbands, marriage would collapse at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-that-they-can-change-their/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [“Believe me, if all wives whose husbands had affairs left them, we would only have divorced women in this country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/believe-me-if-all-wives-whose-husbands-had-affairs-left-them-we-would/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Parents and children cannot be to each other, as husbands with wives and wives with husbands. Nature has separated them by an almost impassable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-coleridge/parents-and-children-cannot-be-to-each-other-as-husbands-with-wives/) [Sara Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-coleridge/) > [“Anyone who wishes to learn to enjoy life must find friends of the same type of temperament, and take as much trouble to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/anyone-who-wishes-to-learn-to-enjoy-life-must-find-friends-of-the/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Everything's really divided now. TV shows are made for wives and husbands or kids. They're not really made for families to sit and enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-bargatze/everything-s-really-divided-now-tv-shows-are-made-for-wives-and/) [Nate Bargatze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-bargatze/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [What makes Butler truly unique is the people that we have been so blessed to work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stevens/what-makes-butler-truly-unique-is-the-people-that-we-have-been-so/) [Brad Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stevens/) > [“What it means to be a ‘better person’, then, must be concrete and practical — that is to say, concerned with people’s political situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-it-means-to-be-a-better-person-then-must-be-concrete-and/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Is this the part where you tell me he’ll come around?” “Hell, no.” At least Phil Butler was an honest man. Five”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-jakes/is-this-the-part-where-you-tell-me-he-ll-come-around-hell-no-at-least/) [S.E. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-jakes/) > [I used to do impersonations: Harry Butler in the wild, or I'd do Gough Whitlam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-used-to-do-impersonations-harry-butler-in-the-wild-or-i-d-do-gough/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [“There were only two men on the planet better educated in the various martial arts than Butler, and he was related to one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/there-were-only-two-men-on-the-planet-better-educated-in-the-various/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I am much closer to the Butler side of the family, which is on mother's side, from where I get my middle name. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-butler-harner/i-am-much-closer-to-the-butler-side-of-the-family-which-is-on-mother/) [Jason Butler Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-butler-harner/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/) [Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/) > [“No one had ever left me so simultaneously relaxed and knotted up all at once (except maybe Rhett Butler, which doesn't count since he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-white/no-one-had-ever-left-me-so-simultaneously-relaxed-and-knotted-up-all/) [Cecily White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-white/) ## More by Lord Byron > [A thousand years may scare form a state. An hour may lay it in ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/a-thousand-years-may-scare-form-a-state-an-hour-may-lay-it-in-ruins/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/to-chase-the-glowing-hours-with-flying-feet/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Age shakes Athena's tower, but spares gray Marathon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/age-shakes-athena-s-tower-but-spares-gray-marathon/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/she-walks-in-beauty-like-the-night-of-cloudless-climes-and-starry/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“We of the craft are all crazy. Some are affected by gaiety, others by melancholy, but all are more or less touched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/we-of-the-craft-are-all-crazy-some-are-affected-by-gaiety-others-by/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Men love in haste, but they detest at leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/men-love-in-haste-but-they-detest-at-leisure/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [And the commencement of atonement is the sense of its necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/and-the-commencement-of-atonement-is-the-sense-of-its-necessity/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Self-love for ever creeps out, like a snake, to sting anything which happens to stumble upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/self-love-for-ever-creeps-out-like-a-snake-to-sting-anything-which/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Lord of himself; that heritage of woe!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/lord-of-himself-that-heritage-of-woe/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Here's a sigh to those who love me,And a smile to those who hate;And, whatever sky's above me,Here's a heart for every fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/here-s-a-sigh-to-those-who-love-me-and-a-smile-to-those-who-hate-and/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [For most men (till by losing rendered sager), Will back their own opinions by a wager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/for-most-men-till-by-losing-rendered-sager-will-back-their-own/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I should like to know who has been carried off, except poor dear me - I have been more ravished myself than anybody since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-should-like-to-know-who-has-been-carried-off-except-poor-dear-me-i/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [O thou beautiful And unimaginable ether! and Ye multiplying masses of increased And still increasing lights! what are ye? what Is this blue wilderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/o-thou-beautiful-and-unimaginable-ether-and-ye-multiplying-masses-of/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) [Explore all 647 Lord Byron quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) ## More Butler quotes > [“No one had ever left me so simultaneously relaxed and knotted up all at once (except maybe Rhett Butler, which doesn't count since he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-white/no-one-had-ever-left-me-so-simultaneously-relaxed-and-knotted-up-all/) [Cecily White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-white/) > [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/) [Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I am much closer to the Butler side of the family, which is on mother's side, from where I get my middle name. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-butler-harner/i-am-much-closer-to-the-butler-side-of-the-family-which-is-on-mother/) [Jason Butler Harner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-butler-harner/) > [“There were only two men on the planet better educated in the various martial arts than Butler, and he was related to one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/there-were-only-two-men-on-the-planet-better-educated-in-the-various/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I used to do impersonations: Harry Butler in the wild, or I'd do Gough Whitlam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-used-to-do-impersonations-harry-butler-in-the-wild-or-i-d-do-gough/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [“Is this the part where you tell me he’ll come around?” “Hell, no.” At least Phil Butler was an honest man. Five”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-jakes/is-this-the-part-where-you-tell-me-he-ll-come-around-hell-no-at-least/) [S.E. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-jakes/) > [“What it means to be a ‘better person’, then, must be concrete and practical — that is to say, concerned with people’s political situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/what-it-means-to-be-a-better-person-then-must-be-concrete-and/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [What makes Butler truly unique is the people that we have been so blessed to work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-stevens/what-makes-butler-truly-unique-is-the-people-that-we-have-been-so/) [Brad Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-stevens/) > [“There is no life without the conditions of life that variably sustain life, and those conditions are pervasively social, establishing not the discrete ontology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/there-is-no-life-without-the-conditions-of-life-that-variably-sustain/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [As far as I'm concerned, 'whom' is a word that was invented to make everyone sound like a butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-trillin/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-whom-is-a-word-that-was-invented-to-make/) [Calvin Trillin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-trillin/) > [Scarlett O'Hara is going to be a thankless and difficult role. The part I'd like to play is Rhett Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-shearer/scarlett-o-hara-is-going-to-be-a-thankless-and-difficult-role-the/) [Norma Shearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-shearer/) > [“He stood out like Gerard Butler in a gay bar, or any bar for that matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-ragan/he-stood-out-like-gerard-butler-in-a-gay-bar-or-any-bar-for-that/) [T.R. Ragan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-ragan/) > [Butler was seeing the world as it was, complete with L.E.P retrival team](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/butler-was-seeing-the-world-as-it-was-complete-with-l-e-p-retrival/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) > [I wouldn't want to be reincarnated as a butler. I couldn't for the life of me do the job in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carter/i-wouldn-t-want-to-be-reincarnated-as-a-butler-i-couldn-t-for-the/) [Jim Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carter/) Browse all 112 Butler quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, And daughters sometimes run off with the butler.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lord Byron" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-subtler-and-daughters-sometimes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Butler" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-subtler-and-daughters-sometimes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/lord-byron-356_butler_wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-su_3228891.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/lord-byron-356_butler_wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-su_3228891.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/lord-byron-356_butler_wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-su_3228891.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, And daughters sometimes run off with the butler.” — Lord Byron", "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": "Lord Byron", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Wives in their husbands' absences grow...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-subtler-and-daughters-sometimes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-subtler-and-daughters-sometimes/#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 } } ] } ```