--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was gradually coming to have a…" description: "\"“I was gradually coming to have a mysterious and shuddery reverence for this girl; nowadays whenever she pulled out from the station and got her train ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/602/mark-twain-22_fitness_i-was-gradually-coming-to-have-a-mysteri_2549665.png" --- # I was gradually coming to have a mysterious and shuddery… ![“I was gradually coming to have a mysterious and shuddery reverence for this girl; nowadays whenever she pulled out from the station and got her train fairly started on one of those horizonless transcontinental sentences of hers, it was borne in upon me that I was standing in the awful presence of…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/602/mark-twain-22_fitness_i-was-gradually-coming-to-have-a-mysteri_2549665.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/602/mark-twain-22_fitness_i-was-gradually-coming-to-have-a-mysteri_2549665.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/602/mark-twain-22_fitness_i-was-gradually-coming-to-have-a-mysteri_2549665.png) > ““I was gradually coming to have a mysterious and shuddery reverence for this girl; nowadays whenever she pulled out from the station and got her train fairly started on one of those horizonless transcontinental sentences of hers, it was borne in upon me that I was standing in the awful presence of the Mother of the German Language. I was so impressed with this, that sometimes when she began to empty one of these sentences on me I unconsciously took the very attitude of reverence, and stood uncovered; and if words had been water, I had been drowned, sure. She had exactly the German way; whatever was in her mind to be delivered, whether a mere remark, or a sermon, or a cyclopedia, or the history of a war, she would get it into a single sentence or die. Whenever the literary German dives into a sentence, that is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side of his Atlantic with his verb in his mouth.”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## 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 awe toward a German woman whose speech is powerful and all‑encompassing, likening her to the embodiment of the German language itself. **In simple terms:** She speaks with overwhelming depth and authority. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of concise, powerful language. Themes language culture reverence communication literature Mood awe respect introspective Type literary observational cultural When to use this quote - academic lectures - foreign language study - public speaking - literary analysis Key Concepts Germanic linguistic intensity authoritative speech cultural immersion Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape our perception of others? - What responsibilities come with powerful speech? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize stereotypes and overlook individual nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [German language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/german-language/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mother German](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-german-1509848/) [Reverence Stood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverence-stood-1509852/) [Sentences Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences-borne-1509849/) [Sentences Unconsciously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences-unconsciously-1509851/) [Shuddery Reverence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuddery-reverence-1509850/) [Single sentence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-sentence/) ## Related quotes > [“it was borne in upon me that I was standing in the awful presence of the Mother of the German Language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-was-borne-in-upon-me-that-i-was-standing-in-the-awful-presence-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My mother was German, and I was brought up with 'Struwwelpeter' stories, which are invested with all sorts of horrors waiting for you if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-parker/my-mother-was-german-and-i-was-brought-up-with-struwwelpeter-stories/) [Cornelia Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-parker/) > [My mother is a German who was brought up in the U.K. So, there is so much cross-cultural exposure I had as a child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soni-razdan/my-mother-is-a-german-who-was-brought-up-in-the-u-k-so-there-is-so/) [Soni Razdan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soni-razdan/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“A dog is "der Hund"; a woman is "die Frau"; a horse is "das Pferd"; now you put that dog in the genitive case,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-dog-is-der-hund-a-woman-is-die-frau-a-horse-is-das-pferd-now-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [How charmed I am when I overhear a German word which I understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/how-charmed-i-am-when-i-overhear-a-german-word-which-i-understand/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I don't believe there is anything in the whole earth that you can't learn in Berlin except the German language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-don-t-believe-there-is-anything-in-the-whole-earth-that-you-can-t/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [In early times some sufferer had to sit up with a toothache, and he put in the time inventing the German language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-early-times-some-sufferer-had-to-sit-up-with-a-toothache-and-he/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My philological studies have satisfied me that a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/my-philological-studies-have-satisfied-me-that-a-gifted-person-ought/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in thirty hours, French in thirty days, and German in thirty years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-gifted-person-ought-to-learn-english-barring-spelling-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's awful undermining to the intellect, German is; you want to take it in small doses, or first you know your brains all run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-awful-undermining-to-the-intellect-german-is-you-want-to-take-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Germans are sentimental. 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I was so impressed with this, that sometimes when she began to empty one of these sentences on me I unconsciously took the very attitude of reverence, and stood uncovered; and if words had been water, I had been drowned, sure. She had exactly the German way; whatever was in her mind to be delivered, whether a mere remark, or a sermon, or a cyclopedia, or the history of a war, she would get it into a single sentence or die. 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