--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was observing her closely as I talked…" description: "\"I was observing her closely as I talked, and after a while I began to get the impression that she was not, in fact, quite so merry and smiling a girl a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/roald-dahl-899_believe_i-was-observing-her-closely-as-i-talked_2880404.jpg" --- # I was observing her closely as I talked, and after a while… ![“I was observing her closely as I talked, and after a while I began to get the impression that she was not, in fact, quite so merry and smiling a girl as I had been led to believe at first. She seemed to be coiled in herself, as though with a secret she was jealously guarding. The deep-blue eyes…” quote by Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/roald-dahl-899_believe_i-was-observing-her-closely-as-i-talked_2880404.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/roald-dahl-899_believe_i-was-observing-her-closely-as-i-talked_2880404.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c2/roald-dahl-899_believe_i-was-observing-her-closely-as-i-talked_2880404.jpg) > “I was observing her closely as I talked, and after a while I began to get the impression that she was not, in fact, quite so merry and smiling a girl as I had been led to believe at first. She seemed to be coiled in herself, as though with a secret she was jealously guarding. The deep-blue eyes moved too quickly about the room, never settling or resting on one thing for more than a moment; and over all her face, though so faint that they might not even have been there, those small downward lines of sorrow.” [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) ## 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 initially seems cheerful but reveals hidden sorrow and guarded secrets through restless eyes and subtle facial lines. **In simple terms:** People may hide deep sadness behind a smile. Key Takeaway Pay attention to non‑verbal cues. Themes psychology deception empathy Mood thoughtful somber Type literary character‑study When to use this quote - reading people - writing characters - therapy - social interaction Key Concepts facial expression inner turmoil Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate hidden pain? - How can we respond empathetically? A Different Perspective Misinterpretation can cause misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Blue eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-eyes/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Eyes Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes-moved-742863/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Guarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guarding/) [Impression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impression/) [Jealously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealously/) [Jealously Guarding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealously-guarding-442855/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moved/) [Never settle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-settle/) [Observing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observing/) [Observing Closely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observing-closely-3701112/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret Jealously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-jealously-3988391/) [Settling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settling/) [Smiling Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiling-girl-2987851/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) ## Related quotes > [...Individualistic material progress and the desire to gain prestige by coming out on top have taken over from the sense of fellowship, compassion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/individualistic-material-progress-and-the-desire-to-gain-prestige-by/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [I'm still primarily interested in observing as closely as possible the shifting weather between people. 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His eyes moved up and down my entire body, staring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-k-burke/so-you-really-think-dylan-s-voice-trailed-off-as-soon-as-he-saw-me/) [Rachel K. Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-k-burke/) > [“His eyes moved over me, but hovered mostly on my face. That was almost worse. Who am I without this? I thought. Without the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/his-eyes-moved-over-me-but-hovered-mostly-on-my-face-that-was-almost/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) ## More by Roald Dahl > [Nowadays you can go anywhere in the world in a few hours, and nothing is fabulous any more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/nowadays-you-can-go-anywhere-in-the-world-in-a-few-hours-and-nothing/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [When I walked to school in the mornings I would start out alone but would pick up four other boys along the way. 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You'll never get anywhere if you go about what-iffing like that. Would Columbus have discovered America if he'd said 'What if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/bunkum-and-tummyrot-you-ll-never-get-anywhere-if-you-go-about-what/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [If the Good Lord intended for us to walk, he wouldn't have invented rollar skates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/if-the-good-lord-intended-for-us-to-walk-he-wouldn-t-have-invented/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [The witching hour, somebody had once whispered to her, was a special moment in the middle of the night when every child and every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/the-witching-hour-somebody-had-once-whispered-to-her-was-a-special/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/those-who-don-t-believe-in-magic-will-never-find-it/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [But there was one other thing that the grown-ups also knew, and it was this: that however small the chance might be of striking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/but-there-was-one-other-thing-that-the-grown-ups-also-knew-and-it-was/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful. Truth is more important than modesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/when-writing-about-oneself-one-must-strive-to-be-truthful-truth-is/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [“the world is a scary place for such a small child”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/the-world-is-a-scary-place-for-such-a-small-child/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [And above all, watch with glittering eyes the world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/and-above-all-watch-with-glittering-eyes-the-world-around-you-because/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [“We must hurry!’ said Mr. Wonka. ‘We have so much time and so little to do! No! Wait! Strike that! Reverse it!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/we-must-hurry-said-mr-wonka-we-have-so-much-time-and-so-little-to-do/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) [Explore all 318 Roald Dahl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was observing her closely as I talked, and after a while I began to get the impression that she was not, in fact, quite so merry and smiling a girl as I had been led to believe at first. She seemed to be coiled in herself, as though with a secret she was jealously guarding. 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