--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was seventeen years old, a married…" description: "\"I was seventeen years old, a married woman without real responsibilities, miserable about my mixed-up emotions, afraid there was something awfully wron..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/mary-martin-29004_emotion_i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woma_1902625.jpg" --- # I was seventeen years old, a married woman without real… ![“I was seventeen years old, a married woman without real responsibilities, miserable about my mixed-up emotions, afraid there was something awfully wrong with me because I didn't enjoy being a wife. Worst of all, I didn't have enough to do.” quote by Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/mary-martin-29004_emotion_i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woma_1902625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/mary-martin-29004_emotion_i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woma_1902625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/mary-martin-29004_emotion_i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woma_1902625.jpg) > “I was seventeen years old, a married woman without real responsibilities, miserable about my mixed-up emotions, afraid there was something awfully wrong with me because I didn't enjoy being a wife. Worst of all, I didn't have enough to do.” [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A young married woman feels trapped by expectations, unhappy with her role, and craves purpose beyond domestic duties. **In simple terms:** She feels trapped and bored in marriage. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond imposed roles. Themes identity marriage self‑esteem gender roles Mood conflicted lonely Type reflective critical When to use this quote - career exploration - education - creative hobbies - volunteering - therapy Key Concepts existential angst social expectation Questions to Reflect On - What activities could give her a sense of fulfillment? - How can she redefine her role on her terms? A Different Perspective She may be overlooking the value of personal growth within marriage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Married women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-women/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Mixed emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mixed-emotions/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Seventeen years old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventeen-years-old/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [ In the year of 1902, when I was about seventeen years old, I happened to invade one of the sections \[in New Orleans\] where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jelly-roll-morton/in-the-year-of-1902-when-i-was-about-seventeen-years-old-i-happened/) [Jelly Roll Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jelly-roll-morton/) > [When you're seventeen years old, green and inexperienced, you're grateful for any guidance and direction you can get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/when-you-re-seventeen-years-old-green-and-inexperienced-you-re/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [“It's ironic, in a way. I've spent a lifetime controlling the emotions of others. Now I'm so afraid, I can't even function.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/it-s-ironic-in-a-way-i-ve-spent-a-lifetime-controlling-the-emotions/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“INFJs weakness: have no sense of direction, often so clumsy, worst at expressing their emotions, too afraid to hurt someone, stubborn, have too high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-baker/infjs-weakness-have-no-sense-of-direction-often-so-clumsy-worst-at/) [Marissa Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-baker/) > [I remember as a seventeen-year-old kid saying, "If attitude made me captain of this team, I'm going to have a good attitude all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/i-remember-as-a-seventeen-year-old-kid-saying-if-attitude-made-me/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [In my head I am in one of those Buddhist caves where you see a thousand Buddha faces on the wall. In my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesco-clemente/in-my-head-i-am-in-one-of-those-buddhist-caves-where-you-see-a/) [Francesco Clemente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesco-clemente/) > [I shared a bed with my sister, Grace, until I was seventeen years old. She was afraid to sleep alone and would begin asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-shared-a-bed-with-my-sister-grace-until-i-was-seventeen-years-old/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Oh yeah In France a skinny man Died of a big disease with a little name By chance his girlfriend came across a needle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince/oh-yeah-in-france-a-skinny-man-died-of-a-big-disease-with-a-little/) [Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince/) > [My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something. A pseudonym. A nom de plume, for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-hodkin/my-name-is-not-mara-dyer-but-my-lawyer-told-me-i-had-to-choose/) [Michelle Hodkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-hodkin/) > [I liked seventeen-year-old me, I was happy when I was seventeen. I was this troubled goth kid that wore eyeliner and make-up to school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hoppus/i-liked-seventeen-year-old-me-i-was-happy-when-i-was-seventeen-i-was/) [Mark Hoppus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hoppus/) > [ Jack \[Kirby\] and Joe \[Simon\] wrote and drew the stories themselves in the beginning and I was just, like, the office boy. But after… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/jack-kirby-and-joe-simon-wrote-and-drew-the-stories-themselves-in-the/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [By the time I was seventeen, I was on my way to Hollywood and didn't look back. My family is supportive now, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/by-the-time-i-was-seventeen-i-was-on-my-way-to-hollywood-and-didn-t/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [This is following through on the market correction and a lot of mixed emotions, ... We had players who were with us in '03…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-beinfest/this-is-following-through-on-the-market-correction-and-a-lot-of-mixed/) Larry Beinfest > [Behind every deep eyes, there are loads of mixed emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drusila-t/behind-every-deep-eyes-there-are-loads-of-mixed-emotions/) [Drusila T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drusila-t/) > [I buried my dad the day I started Craig David's tour. Buried him, got on this tour bus in Stratford, and hit the road.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-narstie/i-buried-my-dad-the-day-i-started-craig-david-s-tour-buried-him-got/) [Big Narstie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-narstie/) ## More by Mary Martin > [Neverland is the way I would like real life to be ... timeless, free, mischievous, filled with gaiety, tenderness, and magic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/neverland-is-the-way-i-would-like-real-life-to-be-timeless-free/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Things can get very lovey and feasty with a bunch of stimulated hams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/things-can-get-very-lovey-and-feasty-with-a-bunch-of-stimulated-hams/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Anything was better than playing cards, and I was doing something I wanted to do creating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/anything-was-better-than-playing-cards-and-i-was-doing-something-i/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Even as a baby I quickly learned to crawl out of my crib. ... They'd put up barriers but I learned how to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/even-as-a-baby-i-quickly-learned-to-crawl-out-of-my-crib-they-d-put/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [There is a world of communication which is not dependent on words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/there-is-a-world-of-communication-which-is-not-dependent-on-words/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Wishes are thoughts vibrant with life and eager for action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/wishes-are-thoughts-vibrant-with-life-and-eager-for-action/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Peter Pan is perhaps the most important thing, to me, that I have ever done in theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/peter-pan-is-perhaps-the-most-important-thing-to-me-that-i-have-ever/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [My experience of emptiness is that it is alive with the possibility of everything waiting to be born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/my-experience-of-emptiness-is-that-it-is-alive-with-the-possibility/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [There is a world of communication which is not dependent on words. This is the world in which the artist operates and for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/there-is-a-world-of-communication-which-is-not-dependent-on-words-2/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Sometimes I think that I cheated my own family and my closest friends by giving to audiences so much of the love I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/sometimes-i-think-that-i-cheated-my-own-family-and-my-closest-friends/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [After 60, it's just patch, patch, patch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/after-60-it-s-just-patch-patch-patch/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Mother was the disciplinarian, but it was Daddy who could turn me into an angel with just one look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/mother-was-the-disciplinarian-but-it-was-daddy-who-could-turn-me-into/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [When you love others you aren't nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/when-you-love-others-you-aren-t-nervous/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [We should try to hold on to the Christmas spirit, not just one day a year, but all 365.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/we-should-try-to-hold-on-to-the-christmas-spirit-not-just-one-day-a/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [After 60, its just patch, patch, patch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/after-60-its-just-patch-patch-patch/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) [Explore all 18 Mary Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) ## More Emotion quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) Marlin > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [“Emotion as well as reason belongs to the very stuff of history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-smalley/emotion-as-well-as-reason-belongs-to-the-very-stuff-of-history/) Beryl Smalley > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [There cannot be any communication except through form. If there is no form, you cannot create emotion in the spectator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-resnais/there-cannot-be-any-communication-except-through-form-if-there-is-no/) [Alain Resnais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-resnais/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [“What if each time you experienced an emotion, you acknowledged it, accepted it, and became curious about its message for you (instead of trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/what-if-each-time-you-experienced-an-emotion-you-acknowledged-it/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) [Browse all 7,204 Emotion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was seventeen years old, a married woman without real responsibilities, miserable about my mixed-up emotions, afraid there was something awfully wrong with me because I didn't enjoy being a wife. Worst of all, I didn't have enough to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Martin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woman-without-real/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emotion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woman-without-real/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/mary-martin-29004_emotion_i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woma_1902625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/mary-martin-29004_emotion_i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woma_1902625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/mary-martin-29004_emotion_i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woma_1902625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was seventeen years old, a married woman without real responsibilities, miserable about my mixed-up…” — Mary Martin", "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": "Mary Martin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was seventeen years old, a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woman-without-real/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/i-was-seventeen-years-old-a-married-woman-without-real/#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 } } ] } ```