--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wished for eternal and intriguing…" description: "\"I wished for eternal and intriguing muteness. I would be the Mysterious Dumb Girl, the Enigmatic Elf. The human voice no longer interested me.\" — Lorri..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/lorrie-moore-870_dumb_i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-mute_2251579.png" --- # I wished for eternal and intriguing muteness. I would be… ![“I wished for eternal and intriguing muteness. I would be the Mysterious Dumb Girl, the Enigmatic Elf. The human voice no longer interested me.” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/lorrie-moore-870_dumb_i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-mute_2251579.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/lorrie-moore-870_dumb_i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-mute_2251579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/lorrie-moore-870_dumb_i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-mute_2251579.png) > “I wished for eternal and intriguing muteness. I would be the Mysterious Dumb Girl, the Enigmatic Elf. The human voice no longer interested me.” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She wishes to escape the burdens of speech, seeking mystery and simplicity in silence. **In simple terms:** Desires silence for mystery. Key Takeaway Consider the value of speaking versus listening. Themes silence identity escape creativity mystery Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Writing retreats - meditation - social media detox - acting roles Key Concepts Existentialism self‑expression literary imagination Questions to Reflect On - What does silence reveal about yourself? - When might speaking be essential? A Different Perspective Silence can hinder connection and agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb/) [Enigmatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enigmatic/) [Enigmatic Elf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enigmatic-elf-5144867/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Human voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-voice/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Intriguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intriguing/) [Intriguing Muteness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intriguing-muteness-5144864/) [Muteness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muteness/) [Muteness Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/muteness-mysterious-5144865/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Wished Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wished-eternal-5144866/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [“I don’t know why we don’t speak. I can’t explain the suffocating silence that hangs over our world, cutting us off from each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issac-marion/i-don-t-know-why-we-don-t-speak-i-can-t-explain-the-suffocating/) [Issac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issac-marion/) > [“all was eclipsed in sinister muteness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/all-was-eclipsed-in-sinister-muteness/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Two people in love, alone, isolated from the world, that's very beautiful. But what would they nourish their intimate talk with? However contemptible the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/two-people-in-love-alone-isolated-from-the-world-that-s-very/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [No love can survive muteness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/no-love-can-survive-muteness/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I sing the song of my heartstrings, alone in the eternal muteness, in the face of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yone-noguchi/i-sing-the-song-of-my-heartstrings-alone-in-the-eternal-muteness-in/) [Yone Noguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yone-noguchi/) > [“Oh no, I do not gloat over my own person, I do not get all hot wrestling with my soul in a darkened room;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/oh-no-i-do-not-gloat-over-my-own-person-i-do-not-get-all-hot/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Summer turns and marches away, fed up with being handled like a child. Like she’s a glass doll that might break at any minute.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kreitzer/summer-turns-and-marches-away-fed-up-with-being-handled-like-a-child/) [Laura Kreitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kreitzer/) > [Is this muteness a real physical handicap? One of the many symptoms of being Dead?Or do we just have nothing left to say?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/is-this-muteness-a-real-physical-handicap-one-of-the-many-symptoms-of/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [I have no desires, save the desire to express myself in defiance of all the world’s muteness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-have-no-desires-save-the-desire-to-express-myself-in-defiance-of/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“There's a frightful muteness that dwells at the center of all unspeakable things, and I had found my way into it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-a-frightful-muteness-that-dwells-at-the-center-of-all/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's easier for the mute person to envy in silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/it-s-easier-for-the-mute-person-to-envy-in-silence/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [“What other knowledge will my solitude and muteness bring? What other worlds?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/what-other-knowledge-will-my-solitude-and-muteness-bring-what-other/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [His face was in my neck and he was breathing hard. Was he grieving me? Already? Would he miss me? Had I, in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/his-face-was-in-my-neck-and-he-was-breathing-hard-was-he-grieving-me/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Kate Bernheimer's fiction offers a unique and delicate gift, the tempting mirage of a grace that constantly escapes. The Complete Tales of Merry Gold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-millet/kate-bernheimer-s-fiction-offers-a-unique-and-delicate-gift-the/) [Lydia Millet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-millet/) > [ Content to me is very important, but I like it when \[the photograph\] is also enigmatic. If you don't know what it is you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gutmann/content-to-me-is-very-important-but-i-like-it-when-the-photograph-is/) [John Gutmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gutmann/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I'm very interested in what people will do for money. Money: it's timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-m-very-interested-in-what-people-will-do-for-money-money-it-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“One of the problems with people in Chicago, she remembered, was that they were never lonely at the same time. Their sadness occurred in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/one-of-the-problems-with-people-in-chicago-she-remembered-was-that/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Once love had seemed like magic. Now it seemed like tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/once-love-had-seemed-like-magic-now-it-seemed-like-tricks/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Observing others go through them, he used to admire midlife crises, the courage and shamelessness and existential daring of them, but after he'd watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/observing-others-go-through-them-he-used-to-admire-midlife-crises-the/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Start dating someone who is funny, someone who has what in high school you called a "really great sense of humor" and what now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/start-dating-someone-who-is-funny-someone-who-has-what-in-high-school/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [You are unhappy because you believe in such a thing as happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-are-unhappy-because-you-believe-in-such-a-thing-as-happy/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Amber was not shy. If she had been shy, not one of us would be at Perkins right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-not-shy-if-she-had-been-shy-not-one-of-us-would-be-at/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [People will do anything, anything, for a really nice laugh,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/people-will-do-anything-anything-for-a-really-nice-laugh/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Farmers aren't rich. They have land but no money." Actually, my father didn't even have that much land. He had once stood on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/farmers-aren-t-rich-they-have-land-but-no-money-actually-my-father/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“My grandmother, who, when I visited, stared at me with the staggering, arrogant stare of the dying, the wise vapidity of the already gone;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/my-grandmother-who-when-i-visited-stared-at-me-with-the-staggering/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I count too heavily on birthdays, though I know I shouldn't. Inevitably I begin to assess my life by them, figure out how I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-count-too-heavily-on-birthdays-though-i-know-i-shouldn-t-inevitably/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Life is sad. Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Dumb quotes > [I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-the-best-but-you-re-not-going-to-get-me-to-say-that/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“War is not nice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bush/war-is-not-nice/) [Barbara Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bush/) > [I love comedy. I love the absurdity of it. I love the kind of intelligence that's required to be dumb in comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-mazin/i-love-comedy-i-love-the-absurdity-of-it-i-love-the-kind-of/) [Craig Mazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-mazin/) > [Marilyn was a great actress, not a dumb blond bombshell. She was very smart, very astute and a good businesswoman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-schiller/marilyn-was-a-great-actress-not-a-dumb-blond-bombshell-she-was-very/) [Lawrence Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-schiller/) > [I'm a meathead. I can't help it, man. You've got smart people and you've got dumb people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/i-m-a-meathead-i-can-t-help-it-man-you-ve-got-smart-people-and-you-ve/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [I always wanted to make big action movies as a kid, and that was my dream. In a way, 'Swingers' was the thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/i-always-wanted-to-make-big-action-movies-as-a-kid-and-that-was-my/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [Me seeing how thick my callous is on my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-country/me-seeing-how-thick-my-callous-is-on-my-hand/) [Michael Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-country/) > [It is unfortunate to consider all lawyers as natural Satanists many are just dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/it-is-unfortunate-to-consider-all-lawyers-as-natural-satanists-many/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [I hate it when people come up to me on trains and ask 'Are you Soulja Boy?' If people want pictures or autographs, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soulja-boy/i-hate-it-when-people-come-up-to-me-on-trains-and-ask-are-you-soulja/) [Soulja Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soulja-boy/) > [I just don't like that you can either be ugly and smart or pretty and dumb, or ugly and nice or pretty and mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-don-t-like-that-you-can-either-be-ugly-and-smart-or-pretty-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I turned back to the mirror, seeing that there were no lines on it. It was empty. "What happened to my mirror?" I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/i-turned-back-to-the-mirror-seeing-that-there-were-no-lines-on-it-it/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [I'm pretty cautious and not very athletic, so I've only had really dumb injuries, like sprained ankles and allergic reactions. I did have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/i-m-pretty-cautious-and-not-very-athletic-so-i-ve-only-had-really/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-british-government-has-learned-that-saddam-hussein-recently/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) [Browse all 2,053 Dumb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumb/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wished for eternal and intriguing muteness. I would be the Mysterious Dumb Girl, the Enigmatic Elf. The human voice no longer interested me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorrie Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-muteness-i-would-be-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dumb" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-muteness-i-would-be-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/lorrie-moore-870_dumb_i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-mute_2251579.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/lorrie-moore-870_dumb_i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-mute_2251579.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/lorrie-moore-870_dumb_i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-mute_2251579.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wished for eternal and intriguing muteness. I would be the Mysterious Dumb Girl, the Enigmatic Elf. The…” — Lorrie Moore", "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": "Lorrie Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wished for eternal and intriguing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-muteness-i-would-be-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-wished-for-eternal-and-intriguing-muteness-i-would-be-the/#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 } } ] } ```