--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was no wonder that they thus…" description: "\"“It was no wonder that they thus questioned one another’s actual and bodily existence, and even doubted of their own. So strangely did they meet in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_fear_it-was-no-wonder-that-they-thus-question_2795602.jpg" --- # It was no wonder that they thus questioned one another’s… ![“It was no wonder that they thus questioned one another’s actual and bodily existence, and even doubted of their own. So strangely did they meet in the dim wood, that it was like the first encounter, in the world beyond the grave, of the two spirits who had been intimately connected in their former…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_fear_it-was-no-wonder-that-they-thus-question_2795602.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_fear_it-was-no-wonder-that-they-thus-question_2795602.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_fear_it-was-no-wonder-that-they-thus-question_2795602.jpg) > ““It was no wonder that they thus questioned one another’s actual and bodily existence, and even doubted of their own. So strangely did they meet in the dim wood, that it was like the first encounter, in the world beyond the grave, of the two spirits who had been intimately connected in their former life, but now stood coldly shuddering, in mutual dread, as not yet familiar with their state, more wonted to the companionship of disembodied beings. Each a ghost, and awe-stricken at the other ghost! They were awe-stricken likewise at themselves; because the crisis flung back to them their consciousness, and revealed to each heart its history and experience, as life never does, except at such breathless epochs. The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. It was with fear, and tremulously, and, as it were, by a slow, reluctant necessity, that Arthur Dimmesdale put forth his hand, chill as death, and touched the chill hand of Hester Prynne. The grasp, cold as it was, took away what was the dreariest in the interview. They now felt themselves, at last, inhabitants of the same sphere.”” [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. Characters confront their own mortality and past connections, feeling both fear and recognition in a ghostly encounter. **In simple terms:** Characters meet as ghosts, feeling fear and recognition of shared past. Key Takeaway Acknowledge past ties to ease present dread. Themes mortality identity connection fear recognition Mood melancholic reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - therapy sessions - historical reenactments - spiritual retreats Key Concepts existentialism psychology literary symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting past alter present identity? - What does “ghost” symbolize in personal growth? A Different Perspective The metaphor may over‑dramaticize emotional distance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arthur Dimmesdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arthur-dimmesdale-221701/) [Beings Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beings-ghost-3411325/) [Coldly Shuddering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coldly-shuddering-3411328/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hester Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hester-prynne/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Shuddering Mutual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shuddering-mutual-3411326/) [Spirits Intimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirits-intimately-3411324/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Stricken Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stricken-ghost-3411327/) ## Related quotes > [Most gumihos are scary beings in ghost stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hye-ri/most-gumihos-are-scary-beings-in-ghost-stories/) [Lee Hye-ri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hye-ri/) ## 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. 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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 Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. 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Each a ghost, and awe-stricken at the other ghost! They were awe-stricken likewise at themselves; because the crisis flung back to them their consciousness, and revealed to each heart its history and experience, as life never does, except at such breathless epochs. The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. It was with fear, and tremulously, and, as it were, by a slow, reluctant necessity, that Arthur Dimmesdale put forth his hand, chill as death, and touched the chill hand of Hester Prynne. The grasp, cold as it was, took away what was the dreariest in the interview. 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