--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She wondered at her previous blindness…" description: "\"“She wondered at her previous blindness; it was as if she had closed her eyelids, and then fancied it was night. No fear that she should return to dark..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/mary-shelley-1789_darkness_she-wondered-at-her-previous-blindness-i_3041793.jpg" --- # She wondered at her previous blindness; it was as if she… ![“She wondered at her previous blindness; it was as if she had closed her eyelids, and then fancied it was night. No fear that she should return to darkness; her heart felt so light, her spirit so clear and animated, that she could only wonder how it was she had missed happiness so long, when it…” quote by Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/mary-shelley-1789_darkness_she-wondered-at-her-previous-blindness-i_3041793.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/mary-shelley-1789_darkness_she-wondered-at-her-previous-blindness-i_3041793.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/488/mary-shelley-1789_darkness_she-wondered-at-her-previous-blindness-i_3041793.jpg) > ““She wondered at her previous blindness; it was as if she had closed her eyelids, and then fancied it was night. No fear that she should return to darkness; her heart felt so light, her spirit so clear and animated, that she could only wonder how it was she had missed happiness so long, when it needed only that she should stretch out her hand to take it.”” [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing past blindness to happiness shows that awareness can bring joy and a desire to seize it. **In simple terms:** Seeing happiness after blindness. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on newfound happiness. Themes self‑realization happiness awakening Mood hopeful contemplative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health recovery - spiritual awakening Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What blind spots have you missed? - How can you maintain newfound joy? A Different Perspective Happiness may be fleeting without sustained effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blindness Closed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blindness-closed-5017980/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Eyelids Fancied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyelids-fancied-5017981/) [Felt Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-light-1562534/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Heart felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-felt/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Missed Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missed-happiness-2804682/) [Previous Blindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/previous-blindness-5017982/) [Romanticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romanticism/) ## Related quotes > [I remember you yesterday...but that was so long ago, back when my heart felt light and the wind blew slow...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-p/i-remember-you-yesterday-but-that-was-so-long-ago-back-when-my-heart/) [Constance P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-p/) > [How readily we wish time spent revoked, that we might try the ground again where once--through inexperience, as we now perceive--we missed that happiness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/how-readily-we-wish-time-spent-revoked-that-we-might-try-the-ground/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [“I felt light and heavy at the same time. 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When When Johanna said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-paulsen/because-every-day-in-my-journal-i-write-down-the-best-thing-that-s/) [Gary Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-paulsen/) > [“I was barely breathing now, my head felt light. I stumbled to the nearest bench and I clasped my hands together, my fingers gripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-thiel/i-was-barely-breathing-now-my-head-felt-light-i-stumbled-to-the/) [Tamara Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-thiel/) > [“No one quite knew why, but they felt light-hearted. Maybe it was because of the beautiful weather. 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Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) ## More by Mary Shelley > [“but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/but-now-that-i-had-finished-the-beauty-of-the-dream-vanished-and/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-wished-as-it-were-to-procrastinate-all-that-related-to-my-feelings/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“A sense of security, a feeling that a truce was established between the present hour and the irresistible, disastrous future imparted to me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/a-sense-of-security-a-feeling-that-a-truce-was-established-between/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/who-was-i-what-was-i-whence-did-i-come/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent forever. I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/voyage-to-render-their-seeming-eccentricities-consistent-forever-i/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I agree with you," replied the stranger; "we are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, better, dearer than ourselves -- such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-agree-with-you-replied-the-stranger-we-are-unfashioned-creatures/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I write a few lines in haste to say that I am safe—and well advanced on my voyage. This letter will reach England by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-write-a-few-lines-in-haste-to-say-that-i-am-safe-and-well-advanced/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I enjoyed this scene; and yet my enjoyment was embittered both by the memory of the past, and the anticipation of the future. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-enjoyed-this-scene-and-yet-my-enjoyment-was-embittered-both-by-the/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I learned that the possessions most esteemed by your fellow-creatures were, high and unsullied descent united with riches. A man might be respected with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-learned-that-the-possessions-most-esteemed-by-your-fellow-creatures/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death and to induce me to commence this laborious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/these-are-my-enticements-and-they-are-sufficient-to-conquer-all-fear/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“I will tell my story, and my reader shall judge for me. I will tell my story, and so contrive to pass some few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-will-tell-my-story-and-my-reader-shall-judge-for-me-i-will-tell-my/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“A man would make but a very sorry chemist if he attended to that department of human knowledge alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/a-man-would-make-but-a-very-sorry-chemist-if-he-attended-to-that/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/learn-from-me-if-not-by-my-precepts-at-least-by-my-example-how/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured the living animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/who-shall-conceive-the-horrors-of-my-secret-toil-as-i-dabbled-among/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“For some days I haunted the spot where these scenes had taken place, sometimes wishing to see you, sometimes resolved to quit the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/for-some-days-i-haunted-the-spot-where-these-scenes-had-taken-place/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) [Explore all 199 Mary Shelley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She wondered at her previous blindness; it was as if she had closed her eyelids, and then fancied it was night. 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