--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gerda sends Astrid flying back, then…" description: "\"“Gerda sends Astrid flying back, then swings to her own board. Astrid soars now like a rider taming a wild beast, bending the trapeze to her own will. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/pam-jenoff-32042_wild-beast_gerda-sends-astrid-flying-back-then-swin_1953545.png" --- # Gerda sends Astrid flying back, then swings to her own… ![“Gerda sends Astrid flying back, then swings to her own board. Astrid soars now like a rider taming a wild beast, bending the trapeze to her own will. She spins by her ankles, by a lone knee, barely touching the bar to which I always cling fast. Gerda watches Astrid with disinterest, almost…” quote by Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/pam-jenoff-32042_wild-beast_gerda-sends-astrid-flying-back-then-swin_1953545.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/pam-jenoff-32042_wild-beast_gerda-sends-astrid-flying-back-then-swin_1953545.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/pam-jenoff-32042_wild-beast_gerda-sends-astrid-flying-back-then-swin_1953545.png) > ““Gerda sends Astrid flying back, then swings to her own board. Astrid soars now like a rider taming a wild beast, bending the trapeze to her own will. She spins by her ankles, by a lone knee, barely touching the bar to which I always cling fast. Gerda watches Astrid with disinterest, almost distaste. She and the other women do not like Astrid. Within days of arriving, I heard the whispers: they resent Astrid for returning and taking her spot at the top of the aerial act while they had worked for years, and for coupling up with Peter, one of the few eligible men the war had left. The girls at the home were much the same, sniping and whispering behind each other’s backs. Why are we so hard on one another? I wonder. Hadn’t the world already given us challenges enough? But if Astrid notices their coldness, she doesn’t seem to mind. Or perhaps she just doesn’t have need for any of them. She certainly doesn’t need me”” [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage explores jealousy and rivalry among women in a wartime circus setting, highlighting insecurity and competition. **In simple terms:** Women feel threatened by a newcomer’s success. Key Takeaway Be aware of envy and its impact. Themes jealousy rivalry insecurity Mood reflective somber Type analytical emotional When to use this quote - performing arts - team environments - social hierarchies Key Concepts war circus gender dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do people resent others’ success? - How can empathy reduce rivalry? A Different Perspective The narrative may oversimplify complex interpersonal motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Wild beast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-beast/) ## Related quotes > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [“P33- the wail of the living had answered the call of universal motherhood within her wild beast which the dead could not still.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/p33-the-wail-of-the-living-had-answered-the-call-of-universal/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“As they were speaking, a dog that had been lying asleep raised his head and pricked up his ears. This was Argos, whom Odysseus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/as-they-were-speaking-a-dog-that-had-been-lying-asleep-raised-his/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“The peculiarity of pains of this nature, in which that which is pitiless—that is to say, that which is brutalizing—predominates, is to transform a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-peculiarity-of-pains-of-this-nature-in-which-that-which-is/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Orpheus chose to be the leader of mankind. 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Does not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/does-not-a-man-physically-tremble-under-the-mere-look-of-a-wild-beast/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [Speaking of the murder of the younger Hanan, and other eminent nobles and hierarchs, Josephus says, "I cannot but think that it was because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-farrar/speaking-of-the-murder-of-the-younger-hanan-and-other-eminent-nobles/) [Frederic Farrar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-farrar/) > [“The Marquis De Sade said that the most important experiences a man can have are those that take him to the very limit; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-marquis-de-sade-said-that-the-most-important-experiences-a-man/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. 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Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“Strange that men, from age to age, should consent to hold their lives at the breath of another, merely that each in his turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/strange-that-men-from-age-to-age-should-consent-to-hold-their-lives/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) ## More by Pam Jenoff > [“Sometimes our forever life does not last as long as we think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/sometimes-our-forever-life-does-not-last-as-long-as-we-think/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“Anna is something wrong " he asked his brow furrowed. Yes I want to say. You ran a prison camp for Jews. You keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/anna-is-something-wrong-he-asked-his-brow-furrowed-yes-i-want-to-say/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“His kind of courage was boundless, though, and he would not have turned away a person in need, whether a star performer or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/his-kind-of-courage-was-boundless-though-and-he-would-not-have-turned/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“I'm so sorry. I love you. I never could have hurt you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/i-m-so-sorry-i-love-you-i-never-could-have-hurt-you/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“Never assume that you know the mind of another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/never-assume-that-you-know-the-mind-of-another/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“There is a flash in her eyes as she expects to be rejected yet again. 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I had become a foreigner in the place i had always called home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/krakow-the-city-of-kings-was-no-longer-mine-i-had-become-a-foreigner/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“empty, what was to stop vagrants, or even”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/empty-what-was-to-stop-vagrants-or-even/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“I near the practice hall and pause, trying to push down my dread. Though I have trained with Astrid every day, I still have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-jenoff/i-near-the-practice-hall-and-pause-trying-to-push-down-my-dread/) [Pam Jenoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-jenoff/) > [“I don't. We each have free will. 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Does not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/does-not-a-man-physically-tremble-under-the-mere-look-of-a-wild-beast/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [He who delights in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-delights-in-solitude-is-either-a-wild-beast-or-a-god/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Jonathan Edwards, the dear old soul, who, if his doctrine is true, is now in heaven rubbing his holy hands with glee, as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/jonathan-edwards-the-dear-old-soul-who-if-his-doctrine-is-true-is-now/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [“Orpheus chose to be the leader of mankind. 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This was Argos, whom Odysseus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/as-they-were-speaking-a-dog-that-had-been-lying-asleep-raised-his/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“P33- the wail of the living had answered the call of universal motherhood within her wild beast which the dead could not still.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/p33-the-wail-of-the-living-had-answered-the-call-of-universal/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“Strange that men, from age to age, should consent to hold their lives at the breath of another, merely that each in his turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/strange-that-men-from-age-to-age-should-consent-to-hold-their-lives/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) [Browse all 215 Wild beast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-beast/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Gerda sends Astrid flying back, then swings to her own board. Astrid soars now like a rider taming a wild beast, bending the trapeze to her own will. She spins by her ankles, by a lone knee, barely touching the bar to which I always cling fast. Gerda watches Astrid with disinterest, almost distaste. She and the other women do not like Astrid. Within days of arriving, I heard the whispers: they resent Astrid for returning and taking her spot at the top of the aerial act while they had worked for years, and for coupling up with Peter, one of the few eligible men the war had left. The girls at the home were much the same, sniping and whispering behind each other’s backs. Why are we so hard on one another? I wonder. Hadn’t the world already given us challenges enough? But if Astrid notices their coldness, she doesn’t seem to mind. Or perhaps she just doesn’t have need for any of them. 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