--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was delicately morbid in all her…" description: "\"“She was delicately morbid in all her gestures, sensitive, arrogant, vulnerable to flattery. She veered between extravagant outbursts of opinion and su..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/mary-gaitskill-7551_arrogant_she-was-delicately-morbid-in-all-her-ges_3178922.jpg" --- # She was delicately morbid in all her gestures, sensitive… ![“She was delicately morbid in all her gestures, sensitive, arrogant, vulnerable to flattery. She veered between extravagant outbursts of opinion and sudden, uncertain halts, during which she seemed to look to him for approval. She was in love with the idea of intelligence, and she overestimated her…” quote by Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/mary-gaitskill-7551_arrogant_she-was-delicately-morbid-in-all-her-ges_3178922.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/mary-gaitskill-7551_arrogant_she-was-delicately-morbid-in-all-her-ges_3178922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/mary-gaitskill-7551_arrogant_she-was-delicately-morbid-in-all-her-ges_3178922.jpg) > ““She was delicately morbid in all her gestures, sensitive, arrogant, vulnerable to flattery. She veered between extravagant outbursts of opinion and sudden, uncertain halts, during which she seemed to look to him for approval. She was in love with the idea of intelligence, and she overestimated her own. Her sense of the world, though she presented it aggressively, could be, he sensed, snatched out from under her with little or no trouble. She said, “I hope you are a savage.”” [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman presents a fragile, contradictory self, seeking validation while overestimating her intellect, making her vulnerable to being easily undermined. **In simple terms:** She shows a fragile self‑image masked by arrogance. Key Takeaway Recognize and balance confidence with humility. Themes identity vulnerability validation intellect relationships Mood reflective introspective Type character study psychological When to use this quote - dating - career advancement - personal growth - creative collaborations Key Concepts self‑perception overconfidence social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you gauge the line between confidence and overconfidence? - What signals indicate you’re seeking validation? A Different Perspective Her confidence may mask deeper insecurities that can destabilize relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Character-description](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-description/) ## Related quotes > [“...when you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face, you see it as the face of another . But when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/when-you-look-at-a-photo-or-realistic-drawing-of-a-face-you-see-it-as/) [Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/) > [Not our logical faculty, but our imaginative one is king over us. I might say, priest and prophet to lead us to heaven-ward, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/not-our-logical-faculty-but-our-imaginative-one-is-king-over-us-i/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [“It was a compound of self-reliance, hard knocks, heart hunger, unceasing work, and generosity. There was no form of suffering with which the girl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-stratton-porter-2/it-was-a-compound-of-self-reliance-hard-knocks-heart-hunger-unceasing/) Gene Stratton Porter > [“People don't tend to employ me. I'm the wrong personality type. Or rather, people do tend to employ me for a short time and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/people-don-t-tend-to-employ-me-i-m-the-wrong-personality-type-or/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“They were handy to have around, Nate's little gang. They were that wonderful combination of talented and noble. The former was useful, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-r-a-decandido/they-were-handy-to-have-around-nate-s-little-gang-they-were-that/) [Keith R.A. DeCandido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-r-a-decandido/) > [“He was a compact, clearcut man, with precise features, a lot of very soft black hair, and thoughtful dark brown eyes. He had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt/he-was-a-compact-clearcut-man-with-precise-features-a-lot-of-very/) [A.S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt/) > [“I liked it when things went together like that. Not just timing things like the chop/ flick/ knock-stopping, but space things, too. Like all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-levin/i-liked-it-when-things-went-together-like-that-not-just-timing-things/) [Adam Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-levin/) > [“I need you to get inside Wayne's head. I need someone who thinks a bit left field and in your own unpleasant way, Helen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-need-you-to-get-inside-wayne-s-head-i-need-someone-who-thinks-a-bit/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“He was drinking Harriet's favourite, cold tea... not iced tea, but hot tea that had cooled. They liked him so much. They liked the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/he-was-drinking-harriet-s-favourite-cold-tea-not-iced-tea-but-hot-tea/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [“Once Addie let someone in, she was impossible to forget. There was something about her that crawled inside a person and built a nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasie-west/once-addie-let-someone-in-she-was-impossible-to-forget-there-was/) [Kasie West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasie-west/) > [“A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/a-hound-it-was-an-enormous-coal-black-hound-but-not-such-a-hound-as-2/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“Phyllida's hair was where her power resided. It was expensively set into a smooth dome, like a band shell for the presentation of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/phyllida-s-hair-was-where-her-power-resided-it-was-expensively-set/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“If you're not who you want to be, at least act like who you want it be. - Bud”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/if-you-re-not-who-you-want-to-be-at-least-act-like-who-you-want-it-be/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“Standing on the deck of a San Francisco ferryboat, in a gray suit so precisely the same colour as the fog that he seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/standing-on-the-deck-of-a-san-francisco-ferryboat-in-a-gray-suit-so/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [“Oliver daydreams about Ionian columns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/oliver-daydreams-about-ionian-columns/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) ## More by Mary Gaitskill > [“I carry love wrapped in pain. That is my treasure and soon it will be yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-carry-love-wrapped-in-pain-that-is-my-treasure-and-soon-it-will-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“God famously doesn't afflict Job because of anything Job has done, but because he wants to prove a point to Satan. Twenty years later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/god-famously-doesn-t-afflict-job-because-of-anything-job-has-done-but/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When you're writing a story, you're creating something of an artificial ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-you-re-writing-a-story-you-re-creating-something-of-an/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Partly, I'm worried that no one is saying anything because they are afraid of being seen as politically correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/partly-i-m-worried-that-no-one-is-saying-anything-because-they-are/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “...loading your brain with subliminal messages… How loathsome to turn a sadistic murder into entertainment \[in the newspaper\] -- and yet how hard not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/loading-your-brain-with-subliminal-messages-how-loathsome-to-turn-a/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [ “The place Joanne is building inside \[herself\] has rooms for all of this. Not just rooms. Beautiful ones. For Karl and Jerry and Karen… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-place-joanne-is-building-inside-herself-has-rooms-for-all-of-this/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“Valiantly, he tried to bring his soul to life in the small thing through which it had to live, and it was crushed, again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/valiantly-he-tried-to-bring-his-soul-to-life-in-the-small-thing/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [The best definition I've heard is that guilt is about what you've done, shame is about who you are. If something's out of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/the-best-definition-i-ve-heard-is-that-guilt-is-about-what-you-ve/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When my first book came out, it was very disorienting. My health went south. I didn't know how to relate to people. I thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-my-first-book-came-out-it-was-very-disorienting-my-health-went/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [When he held her that way, she felt so happy that it disturbed her. After he left, it would take her hours to fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-he-held-her-that-way-she-felt-so-happy-that-it-disturbed-her/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“But life can give a lot. If you can’t see inside the heart no matter how you look, then why not look? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/but-life-can-give-a-lot-if-you-can-t-see-inside-the-heart-no-matter/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [Sexuality is a place where people are very vulnerable and can be experiencing and embodying very raw forces that they don't really understand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/sexuality-is-a-place-where-people-are-very-vulnerable-and-can-be/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-focus-more-on-the-spiritual-or-psychic-gains/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [“When boys get angry with each other, they just fight it out and it's all over. But girls are dirty. They pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/when-boys-get-angry-with-each-other-they-just-fight-it-out-and-it-s/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) > [I think, life is miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaitskill/i-think-life-is-miserable/) [Mary Gaitskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) [Explore all 87 Mary Gaitskill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaitskill/) ## More Arrogant quotes > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I absolutely hate arrogant people, irks me to no end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-absolutely-hate-arrogant-people-irks-me-to-no-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Mourinho is a bit arrogant, but you've got to like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nicol/mourinho-is-a-bit-arrogant-but-you-ve-got-to-like-him/) [Steve Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nicol/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [I was spoiled and I was arrogant. I was very demanding, had an overblown image of who I was and got a reputation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judge-reinhold/i-was-spoiled-and-i-was-arrogant-i-was-very-demanding-had-an/) [Judge Reinhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judge-reinhold/) > [We are not being arrogant or complacent when we are said that our country, as a united nation, has never in its entire history,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-are-not-being-arrogant-or-complacent-when-we-are-said-that-our/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“So you intend to go through life never loving anyone? Just … things?” “No. I’m looking for something more.” “More than love?” “Yes.” “Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-ahdieh/so-you-intend-to-go-through-life-never-loving-anyone-just-things-no-i/) [Renee Ahdieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-ahdieh/) > [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“He was a man. Handsome as sin, arrogant as fuck, and in need of at least one woman to prove he wasn’t God’s gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-blue/he-was-a-man-handsome-as-sin-arrogant-as-fuck-and-in-need-of-at-least/) [Melissa Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-blue/) > [Being nice to people gets you nowhere. Being arrogant gets you nowhere. Blackmail, now that's a thing that will get you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-to-people-gets-you-nowhere-being-arrogant-gets-you-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,146 Arrogant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was delicately morbid in all her gestures, sensitive, arrogant, vulnerable to flattery. She veered between extravagant outbursts of opinion and sudden, uncertain halts, during which she seemed to look to him for approval. She was in love with the idea of intelligence, and she overestimated her own. 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