---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was as if she had been made afresh out…"
description: "\"“It was as if she had been made afresh out of new elements, and must perforce be permitted to live her own life and be a law unto herself without her e..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_eccentricity_it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-ou_431027.jpg"
---

#  It was as if she had been made afresh out of new elements…

![“It was as if she had been made afresh out of new elements, and must perforce be permitted to live her own life and be a law unto herself without her eccentricities being reckoned to her for a crime.” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_eccentricity_it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-ou_431027.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_eccentricity_it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-ou_431027.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_eccentricity_it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-ou_431027.jpg)

> ““It was as if she had been made afresh out of new elements, and must perforce be permitted to live her own life and be a law unto herself without her eccentricities being reckoned to her for a crime.””

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A character seeks autonomy, shedding imposed judgments to live authentically.

**In simple terms:** She wants to live freely, without being judged for quirks.

Key Takeaway

Embrace personal authenticity.

Themes

individualism freedom identity nonconformity

Mood

reflective determined

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- career choices
- creative pursuits
- social activism

Key Concepts

self‑determination authenticity social judgment

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you honor your uniqueness despite external pressure?
- What limits does society place on personal freedom?

A Different Perspective

Societal expectations may still constrain true self‑expression.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Eccentricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentricity/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Otherness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/otherness/)

## Related quotes

> [When I'm creating art or music, when something is resonating or a scene is going well, that almost feels religious to me... there's this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-thatcher/when-i-m-creating-art-or-music-when-something-is-resonating-or-a/)

[Sophie Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-thatcher/)

> [One of the age-old truths about love is that while it offers unparalleled opportunities for union and the lifting of ego boundaries, it also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-epstein/one-of-the-age-old-truths-about-love-is-that-while-it-offers/)

[Mark Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-epstein/)

> [Pack the one bag. Unpack it, pack it, unpack it, pack it: passeport, ticket, book, taxi, airport, check-in, beer, announcement, stairs, airplane, fasten seat-belt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/pack-the-one-bag-unpack-it-pack-it-unpack-it-pack-it-passeport-ticket/)

[Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/)

> [“The friend is not another I, but an otherness immanent in selfness, a becoming other of the self. At the point at which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-agamben/the-friend-is-not-another-i-but-an-otherness-immanent-in-selfness-a/)

[Giorgio Agamben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-agamben/)

> [What I write comes from a place of deep love, and a deep understanding of all kinds of otherness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/what-i-write-comes-from-a-place-of-deep-love-and-a-deep-understanding/)

[Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/)

> [“There is this question of otherness….So just as it is blood alone that binds people to defend one another in the face of danger,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ndor-m-rai/there-is-this-question-of-otherness-so-just-as-it-is-blood-alone-that/)

[Sándor Márai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ndor-m-rai/)

> [We are fascinated, all of us, by the implacable otherness of others. And we wish to penetrate by hypothesis, by daydream, by scientific investigation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/we-are-fascinated-all-of-us-by-the-implacable-otherness-of-others-and/)

[Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/)

> [“When I think of what I already lived through it seems to me I was shedding my bodies along the paths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/when-i-think-of-what-i-already-lived-through-it-seems-to-me-i-was/)

[Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/)

> [“Beyond thought I reach a state. I refuse to divide it up into words - and what I cannot and do not want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/beyond-thought-i-reach-a-state-i-refuse-to-divide-it-up-into-words/)

[Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/)

> [“Love is a challenge with an illusion emanating an aura of otherness. Through their unrelenting attention, two smitten people can arouse a to and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/love-is-a-challenge-with-an-illusion-emanating-an-aura-of-otherness/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [“There are other people of other worlds and you should get to know those other people because what will teach you something different or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/there-are-other-people-of-other-worlds-and-you-should-get-to-know/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“Literature is and should continue to be a vehicle that dispels 'otherness' or the 'outsider”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mala-naidoo/literature-is-and-should-continue-to-be-a-vehicle-that-dispels/)

[Mala Naidoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mala-naidoo/)

> [Maturity implies otherness... The art of living is the art of living with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-gordon/maturity-implies-otherness-the-art-of-living-is-the-art-of-living-with/)

Julius Gordon

> [To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-be-enlightened-is-to-be-aware-always-of-total-reality-in-its/)

[Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/)

> [“He wanted to limit me to his own investigation of who I was . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-hay/he-wanted-to-limit-me-to-his-own-investigation-of-who-i-was/)

[Sheridan Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-hay/)

## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne

> [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

[Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

## More Eccentricity quotes

> [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. It will be those people now standing in the water, and on those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/something-will-be-there-when-the-flood-recedes-we-know-that-it-will/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/)

[Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/)

> [The difference between tragedy and comedy is the difference between experience and intuition. In the experience we strive against every condition of our animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/the-difference-between-tragedy-and-comedy-is-the-difference-between/)

[Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/)

> [No one can be profoundly original who does not avoid eccentricity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-maurois/no-one-can-be-profoundly-original-who-does-not-avoid-eccentricity/)

[Andre Maurois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-maurois/)

> [“To the extent that self-expression does broadcast and reinforce a person's character, it clarifies a link between art, eccentricity, and mental illness. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-weaver-flaherty/to-the-extent-that-self-expression-does-broadcast-and-reinforce-a/)

[Alice Weaver Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-weaver-flaherty/)

> [“English: "From a certain degree of freedom, understanding is impossible." Česky: „Od určité míry svobody je dorozumění nemožné.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-from-a-certain-degree-of-freedom-understanding-is-impossible/)

[Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/)

> [“Weirdism is definitely the cornerstone of many an artist's career.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/weirdism-is-definitely-the-cornerstone-of-many-an-artist-s-career/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/eccentricity-is-not-as-dull-people-would-have-us-believe-a-form-of/)

[Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/)

> [I am not eccentric. It's just that I am more alive than most people. I am an unpopular electric eel set in a pond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/i-am-not-eccentric-it-s-just-that-i-am-more-alive-than-most-people-i/)

[Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/)

> [No matter how valuable you are and your ideas, fools will certainly play both of you down, so exclude yourselves from the inflammatory environs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/no-matter-how-valuable-you-are-and-your-ideas-fools-will-certainly/)

[Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/)

> [It's okay to be eccentric if you're rich; otherwise you're just crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvon-chouinard/it-s-okay-to-be-eccentric-if-you-re-rich-otherwise-you-re-just-crazy/)

[Yvon Chouinard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvon-chouinard/)

> [Eccentricity, to be socially acceptable, had still to have at least four or five generations of inbreeding behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osbert-lancaster/eccentricity-to-be-socially-acceptable-had-still-to-have-at-least/)

[Osbert Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osbert-lancaster/)

> [It may be expecting too much to expect most intellectuals to have common sense, when their whole life is based on their being uncommon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/it-may-be-expecting-too-much-to-expect-most-intellectuals-to-have/)

[Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/)

> [I seem to have the blind self-acceptance of the eccentric who can't conceive that his eccentricities are not clearly understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-seem-to-have-the-blind-self-acceptance-of-the-eccentric-who-can-t/)

[Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/)

> [In our imaginations the adults of our childhood remain extreme, essential - we might say radical since they are the roots that fed luxuriant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/in-our-imaginations-the-adults-of-our-childhood-remain-extreme/)

[Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/)

[Browse all 166 Eccentricity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentricity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It was as if she had been made afresh out of new elements, and must perforce be permitted to live her own life and be a law unto herself without her eccentricities being reckoned to her for a crime.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Nathaniel Hawthorne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-out-of-new-elements-and-must/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Eccentricity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-out-of-new-elements-and-must/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_eccentricity_it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-ou_431027.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_eccentricity_it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-ou_431027.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaa/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_eccentricity_it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-ou_431027.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It was as if she had been made afresh out of new elements, and must perforce be permitted to live her own…” — Nathaniel Hawthorne",
                "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": "Nathaniel Hawthorne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It was as if she had...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-out-of-new-elements-and-must/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-was-as-if-she-had-been-made-afresh-out-of-new-elements-and-must/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```