--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the first time, she felt it: this was…" description: "\"“For the first time, she felt it: this was the freedom her brother had sought. There was life in London. There was life in her. And desire. A flame lea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/rachel-kadish-30721_desire_for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was_2389991.jpg" --- # For the first time, she felt it: this was the freedom her… ![“For the first time, she felt it: this was the freedom her brother had sought. There was life in London. There was life in her. And desire. A flame leapt in her, defiant of the bounds in which she'd imprisoned it. How could desire be wrong - the question seized her - if each living being contained…” quote by Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/rachel-kadish-30721_desire_for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was_2389991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/rachel-kadish-30721_desire_for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was_2389991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/rachel-kadish-30721_desire_for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was_2389991.jpg) > ““For the first time, she felt it: this was the freedom her brother had sought. There was life in London. There was life in her. And desire. A flame leapt in her, defiant of the bounds in which she'd imprisoned it. How could desire be wrong - the question seized her - if each living being contained it? Each creature was born with the unthinking need to draw each next breath, find each next meal. Mustn't desire then be integral - a set of essential guideposts on the map of life's purpose? And mightn't its very denial then be a desecration? The thought were heretical, and they were her own.”” [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) ## 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 how embracing desire is essential to personal freedom and purpose, challenging moral taboos that label desire as wrong. **In simple terms:** Desire is a natural guide to life. Key Takeaway Honor your inner drive. Themes freedom desire self‑discovery ethical questioning Mood defiant reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal awakening - creative work - relationship building - career decisions Key Concepts existentialism human nature autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What desires have you suppressed? - How might embracing desire reshape your life? A Different Perspective Desire can conflict with social norms and cause guilt. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-wrong-1548321/) [First time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-time/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Imprisoned Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imprisoned-desire-5949956/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-desire/) [Life'S Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-s-purpose/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Sought Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sought-life-1640975/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Desire by itself is not wrong. It is life itself, the urge to grow in knowledge and experience. It is the choices you make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-walsh/desire-by-itself-is-not-wrong-it-is-life-itself-the-urge-to-grow-in/) [Roger Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-walsh/) > [“When the last days were upon me, and the ugly trifles of existence began to drive me to madness like the small drops of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/when-the-last-days-were-upon-me-and-the-ugly-trifles-of-existence-2/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Everything I sought in life I abandoned for the sake of the search. I'm like one who absentmindedly looks for he doesn't know what,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-i-sought-in-life-i-abandoned-for-the-sake-of-the-search-i/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We must beware of one who is in a passion against us as of one who has once sought our life; for the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-must-beware-of-one-who-is-in-a-passion-against-us-as-of-one-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The desire of wrong things leads to wickedness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-desire-of-wrong-things-leads-to-wickedness/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We are acting on our desire; there is nothing wrong. Just remember if it does not pan out, if our desires go unfulfilled, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/we-are-acting-on-our-desire-there-is-nothing-wrong-just-remember-if/) [Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/) > [“Life for me had already lost much of its pulp; the edges were collapsing into the center, and in that gap was the sympathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaux-fragoso/life-for-me-had-already-lost-much-of-its-pulp-the-edges-were/) [Margaux Fragoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaux-fragoso/) > [When the last days were upon me, and the ugly trifles of existence began to drive me to madness like the small drops of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/when-the-last-days-were-upon-me-and-the-ugly-trifles-of-existence/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [All you want is to be happy. All your desires, whatever they may be, are longing for happiness. Basically, you wish yourself well...desire by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/all-you-want-is-to-be-happy-all-your-desires-whatever-they-may-be-are/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [“Everything I sought in life I abandoned for the sake of the search.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-i-sought-in-life-i-abandoned-for-the-sake-of-the-search/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-your-nature-it-is-not-wrong-to-desire-it-what-is-wrong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I’ve wanted you from the moment we met, and if you think sitting next to me in your bra doesn’t overwhelm me with desire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-ve-wanted-you-from-the-moment-we-met-and-if-you-think-sitting-next/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Everyone should want to excel in life. You should never take the desire to excel away from the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-iba/everyone-should-want-to-excel-in-life-you-should-never-take-the/) [Henry Iba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-iba/) > [“Reality doesn’t always give us the life that we desire, but we can always find what we desire between the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adelise-m-cullens/reality-doesn-t-always-give-us-the-life-that-we-desire-but-we-can/) [Adelise M. Cullens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adelise-m-cullens/) > [Picture your life exactly the way you want it and then ask yourself, am I doing the things that will take me there? Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-cook/picture-your-life-exactly-the-way-you-want-it-and-then-ask-yourself/) [Stephanie Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-cook/) ## More by Rachel Kadish > [“The request had been impossible to refuse, delivered as it was in Darcy’s perennial air of wry cheer—a demeanor Aaron was certain was tattooed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/the-request-had-been-impossible-to-refuse-delivered-as-it-was-in/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“I’m an ivy twined so long against a tower of strange design that I cannot now assume any other shape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/i-m-an-ivy-twined-so-long-against-a-tower-of-strange-design-that-i/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“The Grocery Checkout Proviso: The more things you care about, the more vulnerable you are. If you are part of that epicurean minority in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/the-grocery-checkout-proviso-the-more-things-you-care-about-the-more/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“How wrong she'd been, to believe a mind could reign over anything. For it did not reign even over itself...and despite all the arguments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/how-wrong-she-d-been-to-believe-a-mind-could-reign-over-anything-for/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“It is not God’s will,” Aaron quoted, “that Jews should wager on the Messiah as dicers will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/it-is-not-god-s-will-aaron-quoted-that-jews-should-wager-on-the/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“She'd insulted Manuel HaLevy today because he angered her - yet, she admitted, also to pique him. For those Esther disliked him, still her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/she-d-insulted-manuel-halevy-today-because-he-angered-her-yet-she/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“You’re American,” she said simply. “You think straightforwardness is a virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/you-re-american-she-said-simply-you-think-straightforwardness-is-a/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“Love isn't rest. Love requires you, from time to time, to rip up your soul and replant it. To dare your lover to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/love-isn-t-rest-love-requires-you-from-time-to-time-to-rip-up-your/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“Feminism means having a choice. And feminism doesn't care which choices you make, either. Just that you have them. The point has never been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/feminism-means-having-a-choice-and-feminism-doesn-t-care-which/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“Sentiment would undo her - each of its ties were a tether that would hold her from her purpose. Men, perhaps, might nourish both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/sentiment-would-undo-her-each-of-its-ties-were-a-tether-that-would/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“Our life is a walk in the night, we know not how great the distance to the dawn that awaits us. And the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/our-life-is-a-walk-in-the-night-we-know-not-how-great-the-distance-to/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“Love must be, then, an act of truth-telling, a baring of mind and spirit just as ardent as the baring of the body. Truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/love-must-be-then-an-act-of-truth-telling-a-baring-of-mind-and-spirit/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“Never underestimate the passion of a lonely mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/never-underestimate-the-passion-of-a-lonely-mind/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [People misunderstand happiness. They think it's the absence of trouble. That's not happiness, that's luck. Happiness is the ability to live well alongside trouble.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/people-misunderstand-happiness-they-think-it-s-the-absence-of-trouble/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) > [“Books. People have no idea how beautiful books are. How they taste on your fingers. How bright everything is when you light it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/books-people-have-no-idea-how-beautiful-books-are-how-they-taste-on/) [Rachel Kadish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) [Explore all 17 Rachel Kadish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For the first time, she felt it: this was the freedom her brother had sought. There was life in London. There was life in her. And desire. A flame leapt in her, defiant of the bounds in which she'd imprisoned it. How could desire be wrong - the question seized her - if each living being contained it? Each creature was born with the unthinking need to draw each next breath, find each next meal. Mustn't desire then be integral - a set of essential guideposts on the map of life's purpose? And mightn't its very denial then be a desecration? The thought were heretical, and they were her own.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rachel Kadish" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was-the-freedom-her-brother-had/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was-the-freedom-her-brother-had/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/rachel-kadish-30721_desire_for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was_2389991.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/rachel-kadish-30721_desire_for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was_2389991.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/rachel-kadish-30721_desire_for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was_2389991.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For the first time, she felt it: this was the freedom her brother had sought. There was life in London…” — Rachel Kadish", "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": "Rachel Kadish", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kadish/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For the first time, she felt...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was-the-freedom-her-brother-had/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kadish/for-the-first-time-she-felt-it-this-was-the-freedom-her-brother-had/#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 } } ] } ```