---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Now she could look back down the long…"
description: "\"“Now she could look back down the long years and see herself in green flowered dimity, standing in the sunshine at Tara, thrilled by the young horseman..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/margaret-mitchell-692_quote_now-she-could-look-back-down-the-long-ye_704828.jpg"
---

#  Now she could look back down the long years and see…

![“Now she could look back down the long years and see herself in green flowered dimity, standing in the sunshine at Tara, thrilled by the young horseman with his blond hair shining like a silver helmet. She could see so clearly now that he was only a childish fancy, no more important really than her…” quote by Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/margaret-mitchell-692_quote_now-she-could-look-back-down-the-long-ye_704828.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/margaret-mitchell-692_quote_now-she-could-look-back-down-the-long-ye_704828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/margaret-mitchell-692_quote_now-she-could-look-back-down-the-long-ye_704828.jpg)

> ““Now she could look back down the long years and see herself in green flowered dimity, standing in the sunshine at Tara, thrilled by the young horseman with his blond hair shining like a silver helmet. She could see so clearly now that he was only a childish fancy, no more important really than her spoiled desire for the aquamarine earbobs she had coaxed out of Gerald. For, once she owned the earbobs, they had lost their value, as everything except money lost its value once it was hers. And so he, too, would have become cheap if, in those first far-away days, she had ever had the satisfaction of refusing to marry him. If she had ever had him at her mercy, seen him grown passionate, importunate, jealous, sulky, pleading, like the other boys, the wild infatuation which had possessed her would have passed, blowing away as lightly as mist before sunshine and light wind when she met a new man.””

[Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Material possessions lose value once owned; true desire shifts, and the allure of power fades when control is lost.

**In simple terms:** Owning something makes it less special; desire changes over time.

Key Takeaway

Value experiences over possessions.

Themes

desire materialism illusion control growth

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

literary psychological

When to use this quote

- shopping
- relationship dynamics
- personal growth
- reflecting on past choices

Key Concepts

consumerism psychology attachment theory

Questions to Reflect On

- What truly satisfies you beyond ownership?
- How does control affect love?

A Different Perspective

May ignore the emotional impact of loss and the complexity of desire.

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## More by Margaret Mitchell

> [I won't think of it now. I can't stand it now. I'll think of it later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-won-t-think-of-it-now-i-can-t-stand-it-now-i-ll-think-of-it-later/)

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> [The way to get a man interested and to hold his interest was to talk about himself, and then gradually lead the conversation around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/the-way-to-get-a-man-interested-and-to-hold-his-interest-was-to-talk/)

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> [She was as forthright and simple as the winds that blew over Tara and the yellow river that wound around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/she-was-as-forthright-and-simple-as-the-winds-that-blew-over-tara-and/)

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> [“The very mystery of him excited her curiosity like a door that had neither lock nor key.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/the-very-mystery-of-him-excited-her-curiosity-like-a-door-that-had/)

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> [All you have done is to be different from other women and you have made a little success of it. This is unforgivable sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/all-you-have-done-is-to-be-different-from-other-women-and-you-have/)

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> [“She felt puzzled and ashamed, as always when people attributed to her emotions and motives they possessed and thought she shared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/she-felt-puzzled-and-ashamed-as-always-when-people-attributed-to-her/)

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## More Wild Infatuation quotes

> [“When you moved, I felt squeezed with a wild infatuation and protectiveness. We are one. Nothing, not even death, can change that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-finnamore/when-you-moved-i-felt-squeezed-with-a-wild-infatuation-and/)

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