--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Returning to the arched window, she…" description: "\"“Returning to the arched window, she lifted her eyes- scowling, poor dim-sighted Hepzibah, in the face of heaven!- and strove hard to send up a prayer ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_prayer_returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifte_903292.jpg" --- # Returning to the arched window, she lifted her eyes… ![“Returning to the arched window, she lifted her eyes- scowling, poor dim-sighted Hepzibah, in the face of heaven!- and strove hard to send up a prayer through the dense grey pavement of clouds. Those mists had gathered , as if to symbolize a great, brooding mass of human trouble, doubt, confusion…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_prayer_returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifte_903292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_prayer_returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifte_903292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_prayer_returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifte_903292.jpg) > ““Returning to the arched window, she lifted her eyes- scowling, poor dim-sighted Hepzibah, in the face of heaven!- and strove hard to send up a prayer through the dense grey pavement of clouds. Those mists had gathered , as if to symbolize a great, brooding mass of human trouble, doubt, confusion, and chill indifference, between earth and the better regions. Her faith was too weak; the prayer to heavy to be thus uplifted. It fell back, a lump of lead, upon her heart. It smote her with the wretched conviction that Providence intermeddled not in these petty wrongs of one individual to his fellow, nor had any balm for these little agonies of a solitary soul; but shed it's justice , and it's mercy, in a broad, sunlike sweep, over half the universe at once. It's vastness made it nothing. But Hepzibah did not see that, just as there comes a warm sunbeam into every cottage window, so comes a lovebeam of God's care and pity for every separate need”” [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’s weak faith and heavy prayer illustrate how personal suffering feels isolated, yet divine care spans all humanity, offering a broader, comforting perspective. **In simple terms:** Faith feels weak, but divine care is universal. Key Takeaway Recognize broader compassion beyond personal pain. Themes faith suffering divine compassion Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - moments of doubt - seeking meaning - contemplating suffering Key Concepts existential reflection spiritual struggle human empathy Questions to Reflect On - What does universal compassion mean to you? - How can you find solace in broader perspectives? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex theological debates. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) ## Related quotes > [“Do you have a weekly prayer meeting in your church? Your answer reflects how spiritual you are and how much you are depending on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mack-tomlinson/do-you-have-a-weekly-prayer-meeting-in-your-church-your-answer/) [Mack Tomlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mack-tomlinson/) > [If weak in prayer we are weak everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/if-weak-in-prayer-we-are-weak-everywhere/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [This much is sure in all churches, forgetting party labels; the smallest meeting numerically is the prayer-meeting. If weak in prayer we are weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/this-much-is-sure-in-all-churches-forgetting-party-labels-the/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [“She is more beautiful than I have words for.” He lifted his eyes to Phury’s. “And last night I was blessed beyond measure to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/she-is-more-beautiful-than-i-have-words-for-he-lifted-his-eyes-to/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [I lifted my eyes to the heavens and asked for help because if God exists, there's no way he's French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-pirlo/i-lifted-my-eyes-to-the-heavens-and-asked-for-help-because-if-god/) [Andrea Pirlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-pirlo/) > [“Stung, I lifted my eyes to his and saw them as if for the first time. Eyes the color of rain, soft as dew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-wheeler/stung-i-lifted-my-eyes-to-his-and-saw-them-as-if-for-the-first-time/) Deborah Wheeler > [He lifted his eyes to the girl. She looked afraid. She always looked afraid, these days. The world was a scary place. She said:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-lifted-his-eyes-to-the-girl-she-looked-afraid-she-always-looked/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [How those holy men of old could storm the battlements above! When there was no way to look but up, they lifted up their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-lockyer/how-those-holy-men-of-old-could-storm-the-battlements-above-when/) [Herbert Lockyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-lockyer/) > [“Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jesus-lifted-up-his-eyes-and-said-father-i-thank-thee-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I lifted my eyes, and, for the first time, admitted the truth. "I gave up," I whispered. "Don't give up," she whispered back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-lifted-my-eyes-and-for-the-first-time-admitted-the-truth-i-gave-up/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Of course there is sometimes a price to pay. While I was busy painting, not only was my light dissipating quickly, but the fog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-trepanier/of-course-there-is-sometimes-a-price-to-pay-while-i-was-busy-painting/) [Cory Trepanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-trepanier/) > [“... he lifted his eyes. The eternal kind went out of his shoulder. He opened his mouth and closed it again, speechless with outrage,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/he-lifted-his-eyes-the-eternal-kind-went-out-of-his-shoulder-he/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“By what seemed then and still seems a chance, the suggestion of a moment’s idle thought followed up upon familiar lines and paths that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/by-what-seemed-then-and-still-seems-a-chance-the-suggestion-of-a/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [“Look at me, sugar.” She lifted her eyes, and he wiped away the tear that spilled over. “I could tell you what I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/look-at-me-sugar-she-lifted-her-eyes-and-he-wiped-away-the-tear-that/) [Cherise Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/) > [“In the twinkling of an eye a veil is lifted; and you see with other eyes and hear with other ears and are given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-b-edwards/in-the-twinkling-of-an-eye-a-veil-is-lifted-and-you-see-with-other/) G.B. Edwards ## 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 Pity quotes > [It's a pity that there's such a negative connotation about paying for sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-sprinkle/it-s-a-pity-that-there-s-such-a-negative-connotation-about-paying-for/) [Annie Sprinkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-sprinkle/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [It is a pity that, commonly, more care is had--yea, and that among very wise men--to find out rather a cunning man for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ascham/it-is-a-pity-that-commonly-more-care-is-had-yea-and-that-among-very/) [Roger Ascham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ascham/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“How dare I, Mrs Reed? How dare I? Because it is the truth. You think I have no feelings, and that I can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/how-dare-i-mrs-reed-how-dare-i-because-it-is-the-truth-you-think-i/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silouan-the-athonite/whoever-will-not-love-his-enemies-cannot-know-the-lord-and-the/) [Silouan the Athonite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silouan-the-athonite/) > [Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone; peace to our children when they fall in small war on the heel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/pity-the-planet-all-joy-gone-from-this-sweet-volcanic-cone-peace-to/) [Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/) > [Please dont say you dont miss him. Just to pity me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-yap/please-dont-say-you-dont-miss-him-just-to-pity-me/) [William Yap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-yap/) > [It's really a pity that there are observers who view political events like comic strips. There has to be a Zorro, there has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/it-s-really-a-pity-that-there-are-observers-who-view-political-events/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [Do not be proud of your inconsistency. It is a pity, it is a pity that we should be equipped like this. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/do-not-be-proud-of-your-inconsistency-it-is-a-pity-it-is-a-pity-that/) [E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/) > [The only justice is to follow the sincere intuition of the soul, angry or gentle. Anger is just, and pity is just, but judgement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-justice-is-to-follow-the-sincere-intuition-of-the-soul-angry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [“Self-pity is the worst disability a person can have, Callie. It's crippling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-terrell/self-pity-is-the-worst-disability-a-person-can-have-callie-it-s/) Shelley Terrell [Browse all 2,046 Pity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Returning to the arched window, she lifted her eyes- scowling, poor dim-sighted Hepzibah, in the face of heaven!- and strove hard to send up a prayer through the dense grey pavement of clouds. Those mists had gathered , as if to symbolize a great, brooding mass of human trouble, doubt, confusion, and chill indifference, between earth and the better regions. Her faith was too weak; the prayer to heavy to be thus uplifted. It fell back, a lump of lead, upon her heart. It smote her with the wretched conviction that Providence intermeddled not in these petty wrongs of one individual to his fellow, nor had any balm for these little agonies of a solitary soul; but shed it's justice , and it's mercy, in a broad, sunlike sweep, over half the universe at once. It's vastness made it nothing. But Hepzibah did not see that, just as there comes a warm sunbeam into every cottage window, so comes a lovebeam of God's care and pity for every separate need”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nathaniel Hawthorne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifted-her-eyes-scowling-poor-dim/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifted-her-eyes-scowling-poor-dim/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_prayer_returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifte_903292.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_prayer_returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifte_903292.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/630/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_prayer_returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifte_903292.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Returning to the arched window, she lifted her eyes- scowling, poor dim-sighted Hepzibah, in the face of…” — 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": "“Returning to the arched window, she...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifted-her-eyes-scowling-poor-dim/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/returning-to-the-arched-window-she-lifted-her-eyes-scowling-poor-dim/#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 } } ] } ```