--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She had lived her early years as though…" description: "\"She had lived her early years as though she were waiting for something she might, but never did, become.\" — Marguerite Duras" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/marguerite-duras-2040_heart_she-had-lived-her-early-years-as-though_3076474.jpg" --- # She had lived her early years as though she were waiting… ![“She had lived her early years as though she were waiting for something she might, but never did, become.” quote by Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/marguerite-duras-2040_heart_she-had-lived-her-early-years-as-though_3076474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/marguerite-duras-2040_heart_she-had-lived-her-early-years-as-though_3076474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b82/marguerite-duras-2040_heart_she-had-lived-her-early-years-as-though_3076474.jpg) > “She had lived her early years as though she were waiting for something she might, but never did, become.” [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She spent her youth waiting for an undefined future that never materialized, highlighting a life lived in anticipation rather than action. **In simple terms:** She waited for something that never came. Key Takeaway Stop waiting; start acting. Themes anticipation unfulfilled potential passivity Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal growth - relationship expectations Key Concepts existentialism self‑realization Questions to Reflect On - What are you waiting for? - How does anticipation affect your decisions? A Different Perspective Waiting can become a self‑fulfilling prophecy that stalls progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Early Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-years-245404/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Lived Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-early-5229101/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Waiting Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting-did-694315/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-waiting-526956/) ## Related quotes > [“So rather than waiting...he did the imaginable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-santat/so-rather-than-waiting-he-did-the-imaginable/) [Dan Santat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-santat/) > [now that she realized she had been waiting for him—she did not like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/now-that-she-realized-she-had-been-waiting-for-him-she-did-not-like/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Because we knew you were waiting, we did our best so that we'd return.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clamp/because-we-knew-you-were-waiting-we-did-our-best-so-that-we-d-return/) [Clamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clamp/) > [I've spent a lot of years waiting for the right thing to come in - and now, after 'Thrones,' there's a possibility that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-cunningham/i-ve-spent-a-lot-of-years-waiting-for-the-right-thing-to-come-in-and/) [Liam Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-cunningham/) > [There's fighters that sit down and wait two years, waiting for the call. I can't do that. Time's ticking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillian-whyte/there-s-fighters-that-sit-down-and-wait-two-years-waiting-for-the/) [Dillian Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillian-whyte/) > [“I've watched you beat yourself up about it for years. I was waiting for the day you's realize that there's nothing to beat yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-zimmer/i-ve-watched-you-beat-yourself-up-about-it-for-years-i-was-waiting/) [Kristen Zimmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-zimmer/) > [Years go by Will I still be waiting For somebody else to understand Years go by If I'm stripped of my beauty And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/years-go-by-will-i-still-be-waiting-for-somebody-else-to-understand/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I'm the only one who can stop me.. I'm the one who's been sitting at the stoplight all these years, waiting for the light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-m-the-only-one-who-can-stop-me-i-m-the-one-who-s-been-sitting-at/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [“What I didn't understand, all those years when I was waiting for my life to start, was that it had already started. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-smith/what-i-didn-t-understand-all-those-years-when-i-was-waiting-for-my/) [Lee Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-smith/) > [“You know its more than that. I know now that it was right that I didn't find my queen all these years. Waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/you-know-its-more-than-that-i-know-now-that-it-was-right-that-i-didn/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [You can do a lot things in the ensuing four years waiting to vote. You can drum up support or opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/you-can-do-a-lot-things-in-the-ensuing-four-years-waiting-to-vote-you/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“I’ve spent five hundred years waiting to feel toward anyone the way I feel toward you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hunter/i-ve-spent-five-hundred-years-waiting-to-feel-toward-anyone-the-way-i/) [Elizabeth Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hunter/) > [While unions did not play a part in my family life when I was being brought up, my early years were most certainly spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ratcliffe/while-unions-did-not-play-a-part-in-my-family-life-when-i-was-being/) [Jim Ratcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ratcliffe/) > [In my early years, I wanted to be like Paul Gascoigne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-crouch/in-my-early-years-i-wanted-to-be-like-paul-gascoigne/) [Peter Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-crouch/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. They don't fulfil the promise of their early years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/parents-are-sometimes-a-bit-of-a-disappointment-to-their-children/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More by Marguerite Duras > [Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/alcohol-doesn-t-console-it-doesn-t-fill-up-anyone-s-psychological/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [I know it's not clothes that make women beautiful or otherwise, nor beauty care, nor expensive creams, nor the distinction of costliness of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/i-know-it-s-not-clothes-that-make-women-beautiful-or-otherwise-nor/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“And modern houses don't have passages, either, for children to play and run about in, and for dogs, umbrellas, coats and satchels. And don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/and-modern-houses-don-t-have-passages-either-for-children-to-play-and/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [When a woman drinks it's as if an animal were drinking, or a child. Alcoholism is scandalous in a woman, and a female alcoholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/when-a-woman-drinks-it-s-as-if-an-animal-were-drinking-or-a-child/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [Some people are like that - closed - they can't learn from anyone. Us, for example, we can't learn anything, neither I from you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/some-people-are-like-that-closed-they-can-t-learn-from-anyone-us-for/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [I often think of the image only I can see now, and of which I’ve never spoken. It’s always there, in the same silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/i-often-think-of-the-image-only-i-can-see-now-and-of-which-i-ve-never/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [In love there are no vacations. No such thing. Love has to be lived fully with its boredom and all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/in-love-there-are-no-vacations-no-such-thing-love-has-to-be-lived/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“Très vite dans ma vie il a été trop tard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/tr-s-vite-dans-ma-vie-il-a-t-trop-tard/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“she can remember everyone admiring a rare kind of evening they spoke of as something they ought to save from oblivion to describe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/she-can-remember-everyone-admiring-a-rare-kind-of-evening-they-spoke/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [All that remains of that minute is time in all its purity, bone-white time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/all-that-remains-of-that-minute-is-time-in-all-its-purity-bone-white/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“Paradoxically, the freedom of Paris is associated with a persistent belief that nothing ever changes. Paris, they say, is the city that changes least.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/paradoxically-the-freedom-of-paris-is-associated-with-a-persistent/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“─ No le conozco a usted. Nadie puede conocerle, ponerse en su lugar, usted no tiene lugar, no sabe dónde encontrar un lugar. Por…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/no-le-conozco-a-usted-nadie-puede-conocerle-ponerse-en-su-lugar-usted/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [She represents the un-vowed aspiration of the male human being, his potential infidelity - and infidelity of a very special kind, which would lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/she-represents-the-un-vowed-aspiration-of-the-male-human-being-his/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“I think it was during this journey that the image became detached, removed from all the rest. It might have existed, a photograph might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/i-think-it-was-during-this-journey-that-the-image-became-detached/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [“Among all the other nights upon nights, the girl had spent that one on the boat….when it happened, the burst of Chopin…. There wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/among-all-the-other-nights-upon-nights-the-girl-had-spent-that-one-on/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) [Explore all 129 Marguerite Duras quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) ## More Heart quotes > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“He held her like a new woman and what she felt felt almost as good as love had, and each of them called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dunn/he-held-her-like-a-new-woman-and-what-she-felt-felt-almost-as-good-as/) [Stephen Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dunn/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [My heart jumps out of its cage to see what the fuss is about. Damn thing. Always so hopeful, but my voice hides it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wylie/my-heart-jumps-out-of-its-cage-to-see-what-the-fuss-is-about-damn/) [Sarah Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wylie/) > [I love because there is not enough room in my heart to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rena-kornreich-gelissen/i-love-because-there-is-not-enough-room-in-my-heart-to-hate/) [Rena Kornreich Gelissen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rena-kornreich-gelissen/) > [“He didn't break my heart. No one can break your heart except you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/he-didn-t-break-my-heart-no-one-can-break-your-heart-except-you/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Love is like that, fragile and light. No wonder it rests upon our hearts in intangible moments, bids us follow fleeting thoughts and ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-like-that-fragile-and-light-no-wonder-it-rests-upon-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When we are capable of living in the moment free from the tyranny of "shoulds," free from the nagging sensation that this moment isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/when-we-are-capable-of-living-in-the-moment-free-from-the-tyranny-of/) [Joan Z. 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Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-smith/) > [Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/always-have-the-fear-of-god-in-your-heart-and-remember-that-god-is/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [Set NOT your hearts on the flowers of this world. They shall fade and die. 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