--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was white, wore perfume and smiled…" description: "\"“She was white, wore perfume and smiled openly with the Negro customers, so I knew she was sophisticated. Other people's sophistication tended to make ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/maya-angelou-104_nervousness_she-was-white-wore-perfume-and-smiled-op_2610577.png" --- # She was white, wore perfume and smiled openly with the… ![“She was white, wore perfume and smiled openly with the Negro customers, so I knew she was sophisticated. Other people's sophistication tended to make me nervous and I stayed shy of Louise.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/maya-angelou-104_nervousness_she-was-white-wore-perfume-and-smiled-op_2610577.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/maya-angelou-104_nervousness_she-was-white-wore-perfume-and-smiled-op_2610577.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b55/maya-angelou-104_nervousness_she-was-white-wore-perfume-and-smiled-op_2610577.png) > ““She was white, wore perfume and smiled openly with the Negro customers, so I knew she was sophisticated. Other people's sophistication tended to make me nervous and I stayed shy of Louise.”” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## 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 navigates social dynamics, feeling both admiration and insecurity around a sophisticated white woman serving Black customers. **In simple terms:** Feeling nervous about a sophisticated white woman who serves Black customers. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and address internal biases in social interactions. Themes identity class race insecurity Mood reflective critical Type observational social commentary When to use this quote - workplace - social gatherings - customer service Key Concepts social hierarchy self‑esteem Questions to Reflect On - How does perceived sophistication affect interpersonal trust? - In what ways can we challenge internalized class anxieties? A Different Perspective The narrator’s perspective may be limited, lacking broader context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nervousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervousness/) [Race relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-relations/) [Sophistication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sophistication/) ## Related quotes > [“The pityingly look made Sophie utterly ashamed. He was such a dashing specimen too, with a bony, sophisticated face--really quite oold, well into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/the-pityingly-look-made-sophie-utterly-ashamed-he-was-such-a-dashing/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [Look at them. There are your true philosophers. I think that Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/look-at-them-there-are-your-true-philosophers-i-think-that-mack-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“There will always be nervousness wherever big money is at stake. And above everything else, Madison Avenue is big money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-della-femina/there-will-always-be-nervousness-wherever-big-money-is-at-stake-and/) [Jerry Della Femina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-della-femina/) > [“Three a.m. is prime time for the soul. Programming should start any minute, and it's hard to tell what'll be on this time, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/three-a-m-is-prime-time-for-the-soul-programming-should-start-any/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [I kept waiting for that loneliness and nervousness to make me want to go back. But it never did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-kept-waiting-for-that-loneliness-and-nervousness-to-make-me-want-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [For order represents our fear and nervousness. We create ordered interiors as a protest over the passing of things, to define our mortal lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-diamant/for-order-represents-our-fear-and-nervousness-we-create-ordered/) Gertrude Diamant > [“Limbic consonance is the little-known process through which the mood of a room changes when a happy or nervous person walks in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/limbic-consonance-is-the-little-known-process-through-which-the-mood/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [In boxing, I had a lot of fear. Fear was good. But, for the first time, in the bout with Muhammad Ali, I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/in-boxing-i-had-a-lot-of-fear-fear-was-good-but-for-the-first-time-in/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [“Relax; the world's not watching that closely. It's too busy contemplating itself in the mirror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/relax-the-world-s-not-watching-that-closely-it-s-too-busy/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Nervousness kill us... because we think we have only one opportunity that is in the Present and we don't think about the future! We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-roy/nervousness-kill-us-because-we-think-we-have-only-one-opportunity/) [Vikram Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-roy/) > [Sometimes I dance for concentration. I dance to release my nervousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinsuke-nakamura/sometimes-i-dance-for-concentration-i-dance-to-release-my-nervousness/) [Shinsuke Nakamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinsuke-nakamura/) > [There were so many emotions on 'Idol' with nervousness and pressure, but in good ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-barrett/there-were-so-many-emotions-on-idol-with-nervousness-and-pressure-but/) [Gabby Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-barrett/) > [In the nineteeth century, knitting was prescribed to women as a cure for nervousness and hysteria. Many new knitters find this sort of hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/in-the-nineteeth-century-knitting-was-prescribed-to-women-as-a-cure/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [The psychological condition of fear is divorced from any concrete and true immediate danger. It comes in many forms: unease, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-psychological-condition-of-fear-is-divorced-from-any-concrete-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Nervousness quotes > [Time is the nervous system of narration, whether factual or fictive. If it gets confused some of the minutiae of human nature are certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/time-is-the-nervous-system-of-narration-whether-factual-or-fictive-if/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) > [The psychological condition of fear is divorced from any concrete and true immediate danger. It comes in many forms: unease, worry, anxiety, nervousness, tension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-psychological-condition-of-fear-is-divorced-from-any-concrete-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [In the nineteeth century, knitting was prescribed to women as a cure for nervousness and hysteria. Many new knitters find this sort of hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/in-the-nineteeth-century-knitting-was-prescribed-to-women-as-a-cure/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [There were so many emotions on 'Idol' with nervousness and pressure, but in good ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-barrett/there-were-so-many-emotions-on-idol-with-nervousness-and-pressure-but/) [Gabby Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-barrett/) > [Sometimes I dance for concentration. I dance to release my nervousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinsuke-nakamura/sometimes-i-dance-for-concentration-i-dance-to-release-my-nervousness/) [Shinsuke Nakamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinsuke-nakamura/) > [“Nervousness kill us... because we think we have only one opportunity that is in the Present and we don't think about the future! We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-roy/nervousness-kill-us-because-we-think-we-have-only-one-opportunity/) [Vikram Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-roy/) > [“Relax; the world's not watching that closely. It's too busy contemplating itself in the mirror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/relax-the-world-s-not-watching-that-closely-it-s-too-busy/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [In boxing, I had a lot of fear. Fear was good. But, for the first time, in the bout with Muhammad Ali, I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/in-boxing-i-had-a-lot-of-fear-fear-was-good-but-for-the-first-time-in/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [“Limbic consonance is the little-known process through which the mood of a room changes when a happy or nervous person walks in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/limbic-consonance-is-the-little-known-process-through-which-the-mood/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [For order represents our fear and nervousness. We create ordered interiors as a protest over the passing of things, to define our mortal lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-diamant/for-order-represents-our-fear-and-nervousness-we-create-ordered/) Gertrude Diamant > [I kept waiting for that loneliness and nervousness to make me want to go back. But it never did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-kept-waiting-for-that-loneliness-and-nervousness-to-make-me-want-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Three a.m. is prime time for the soul. Programming should start any minute, and it's hard to tell what'll be on this time, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etgar-keret/three-a-m-is-prime-time-for-the-soul-programming-should-start-any/) [Etgar Keret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etgar-keret/) > [“There will always be nervousness wherever big money is at stake. And above everything else, Madison Avenue is big money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-della-femina/there-will-always-be-nervousness-wherever-big-money-is-at-stake-and/) [Jerry Della Femina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-della-femina/) > [Look at them. There are your true philosophers. I think that Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/look-at-them-there-are-your-true-philosophers-i-think-that-mack-and/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“All the nervousness she’d been feeling about skipping to fourth grade suddenly burbled up inside her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-davies/all-the-nervousness-she-d-been-feeling-about-skipping-to-fourth-grade/) [Jacqueline Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-davies/) [Browse all 159 Nervousness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nervousness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was white, wore perfume and smiled openly with the Negro customers, so I knew she was sophisticated. 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