--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Perhaps she was both child and woman…" description: "\"Perhaps she was both child and woman, darkness and light, past and present, life and death - all the opposites contained and reconciled in her.\" — Paul..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/paule-marshall-37422_children_perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-dar_447387.png" --- # Perhaps she was both child and woman, darkness and light… ![“Perhaps she was both child and woman, darkness and light, past and present, life and death - all the opposites contained and reconciled in her.” quote by Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/paule-marshall-37422_children_perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-dar_447387.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/paule-marshall-37422_children_perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-dar_447387.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/paule-marshall-37422_children_perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-dar_447387.png) > “Perhaps she was both child and woman, darkness and light, past and present, life and death - all the opposites contained and reconciled in her.” [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She embodies dualities, integrating opposing forces into a harmonious whole. **In simple terms:** She unites contradictions within herself. Key Takeaway Recognize and integrate opposing aspects of self. Themes identity duality integration womanhood Mood reflective empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - relationship dynamics - creative expression Key Concepts psychology feminist theory spiritual wholeness Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile conflicting parts of yourself? - What strengths arise from integrating opposites? A Different Perspective Balancing opposites can be destabilizing without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Darkness And Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness-and-light/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Light and darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light-and-darkness/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past and present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-and-present/) [Present life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-life/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) ## Related quotes > [Gazing into the mirror, I saw myself as I was-a black silhouette in the room, a woman whose darkness had completely leaked through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/gazing-into-the-mirror-i-saw-myself-as-i-was-a-black-silhouette-in/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The bearing and the training of a child Is woman's wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-bearing-and-the-training-of-a-child-is-woman-s-wisdom/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Because everyone is someone's child, every woman seems like someone's mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/because-everyone-is-someone-s-child-every-woman-seems-like-someone-s/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [“It's good of you to teach the child. A woman needs to be as independent as she can be ore else the world will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-hayes-loretta-nyhan/it-s-good-of-you-to-teach-the-child-a-woman-needs-to-be-as/) Suzanne Hayes, Loretta Nyhan > [“In every man, there is a child. In every woman, there is a mother. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/in-every-man-there-is-a-child-in-every-woman-there-is-a-mother/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [Peace on earth, and mercy mild God and sinners reconciled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/peace-on-earth-and-mercy-mild-god-and-sinners-reconciled/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [The minute we get reconciled to a person, how willing we are to throw aside little needless punctilios and pronounce his name right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-minute-we-get-reconciled-to-a-person-how-willing-we-are-to-throw/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled one is truly vanquished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/a-merely-fallen-enemy-may-rise-again-but-the-reconciled-one-is-truly/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [“COL1.21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled COL1.22 In the body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/col1-21-and-you-that-were-sometime-alienated-and-enemies-in-your-mind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A holy person is someone who is whole; who has, as it were, reconciled his opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-holy-person-is-someone-who-is-whole-who-has-as-it-were-reconciled/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [I had reconciled myself to being happily out to pasture, a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/i-had-reconciled-myself-to-being-happily-out-to-pasture-a-bit/) [Elizabeth McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mcgovern/) > [“you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind,  a doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled  b in his body of flesh by his death,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-who-once-were-alienated-and-hostile-in-mind-a-doing-evil-deeds/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God himself is pleading through us for people to be reconciled to him, if we prepare our body for him”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/god-himself-is-pleading-through-us-for-people-to-be-reconciled-to-him/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Since science and religion provide two different perspectives on the human situation, they must ultimately be able to be reconciled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-griffith/since-science-and-religion-provide-two-different-perspectives-on-the/) [Jeremy Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-griffith/) > [Propensities and principles must be reconciled by some means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/propensities-and-principles-must-be-reconciled-by-some-means/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) ## More by Paule Marshall > [We live surrounded by white images, and white in this world is synonymous with the good, light, beauty, success, so that, despite ourselves sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/we-live-surrounded-by-white-images-and-white-in-this-world-is/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [Once a great wrong has been done, it never dies. People speak the words of peace, but their hearts do not forgive. Generations perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/once-a-great-wrong-has-been-done-it-never-dies-people-speak-the-words/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [But sometimes it's necessary to go back before you can go forward, really forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/but-sometimes-it-s-necessary-to-go-back-before-you-can-go-forward/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [I question whether I want to be integrated into America as it stands now, with its complacency and materialism, its soullessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/i-question-whether-i-want-to-be-integrated-into-america-as-it-stands/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [A silenced Haiti has once again found its literary voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/a-silenced-haiti-has-once-again-found-its-literary-voice/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [I realise that it is fashionable now to dismiss the traditional novel as something of an anachronism, but to me it is still a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/i-realise-that-it-is-fashionable-now-to-dismiss-the-traditional-novel/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [My very first lessons in the art of telling stories took place in the kitchen . . . my mother and three or four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/my-very-first-lessons-in-the-art-of-telling-stories-took-place-in-the/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [Sometimes a person has to go back, really back-to have a sense, an understanding of all that's gone to make them-before they can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/sometimes-a-person-has-to-go-back-really-back-to-have-a-sense-an-2/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [“And in a way, this was how he had come to see his death, as a series of small ones taking place over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/and-in-a-way-this-was-how-he-had-come-to-see-his-death-as-a-series-of/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [A person can run for years but sooner or later he has to take a stand in the place which, for better or worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/a-person-can-run-for-years-but-sooner-or-later-he-has-to-take-a-stand/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [“He was one of those old people who give the impression of having undergone a lifetime trial by fire which they somehow managed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/he-was-one-of-those-old-people-who-give-the-impression-of-having/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) [Explore all 12 Paule Marshall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Perhaps she was both child and woman, darkness and light, past and present, life and death - all the opposites contained and reconciled in her.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paule Marshall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-darkness-and-light-past-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-darkness-and-light-past-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/paule-marshall-37422_children_perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-dar_447387.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/paule-marshall-37422_children_perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-dar_447387.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/paule-marshall-37422_children_perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-dar_447387.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Perhaps she was both child and woman, darkness and light, past and present, life and death - all the…” — Paule Marshall", "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": "Paule Marshall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Perhaps she was both child and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-darkness-and-light-past-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/perhaps-she-was-both-child-and-woman-darkness-and-light-past-and/#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 } } ] } ```