--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The house stank; a stench all its own…" description: "\"“The house stank; a stench all its own pervaded every corner. It was a threnody in the key of Cat minor, with a ground-bass of Old Dog, and modulations..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08e/robertson-davies-834_hope_the-house-stank-a-stench-all-its-own-per_2543247.png" --- # The house stank; a stench all its own pervaded every… ![“The house stank; a stench all its own pervaded every corner. It was a threnody in the key of Cat minor, with a ground-bass of Old Dog, and modulations of old people, waning lives, and relinquished hopes.” quote by Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08e/robertson-davies-834_hope_the-house-stank-a-stench-all-its-own-per_2543247.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08e/robertson-davies-834_hope_the-house-stank-a-stench-all-its-own-per_2543247.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08e/robertson-davies-834_hope_the-house-stank-a-stench-all-its-own-per_2543247.png) > ““The house stank; a stench all its own pervaded every corner. It was a threnody in the key of Cat minor, with a ground-bass of Old Dog, and modulations of old people, waning lives, and relinquished hopes.”” [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes a house’s oppressive atmosphere using musical metaphor, reflecting decay and lost hope. **In simple terms:** House feels like a mournful song. Key Takeaway Recognize environments that drain you. Themes decay hopelessness atmosphere Mood melancholic poetic Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - moving into old homes - family reunions Key Concepts literary imagery psychology Questions to Reflect On - What elements make a space feel oppressive? - How can you transform such environments? A Different Perspective May overlook positive aspects of place. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Old people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-people/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) ## Related quotes > [“The house stank of liquored-up Kool-Aid and delusions of invincibility. 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It would do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-griffin/the-van-stank-of-cabbage-and-cornered-like-a-drunken-elephant-it/) [Kate Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-griffin/) > [That's why your breath stank because you talk so much shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolando-vargas/that-s-why-your-breath-stank-because-you-talk-so-much-shit/) Rolando Vargas > [“They all had them. Secrets. But some stank more than others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/they-all-had-them-secrets-but-some-stank-more-than-others/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [“The night stank and was loud with flies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-night-stank-and-was-loud-with-flies/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Tell Me I Love You Show Me How Beautiful I Am When I Wake Up Looking A Mess Hair All Over The Place With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spoken-words/tell-me-i-love-you-show-me-how-beautiful-i-am-when-i-wake-up-looking/) [Spoken Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spoken-words/) > [Maybe you's a stank ho, maybe that's a bit mean/Maybe you grew up and I'm still living like I'm sixteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-gibbs/maybe-you-s-a-stank-ho-maybe-that-s-a-bit-mean-maybe-you-grew-up-and/) [Freddie Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-gibbs/) > [I don't understand why people feel the need to be stank. 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It's called 'funk mixed with stank.' That's what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-robinson/i-have-a-sound-it-s-called-funk-mixed-with-stank-that-s-what-i-do/) [Craig Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-robinson/) > [They were painfully clean. But inwardly they stank. 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If there were such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-samuel-marchbanks-is-one-of-the-choice-and/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Nobody who looks as though he enjoyed life is ever called distinguished, though he is a man in a million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/nobody-who-looks-as-though-he-enjoyed-life-is-ever-called/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [They're all so highly educated, you know. Education is a great shield against experience. It offers so much, ready-made and all from the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/they-re-all-so-highly-educated-you-know-education-is-a-great-shield/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Students today are a pretty solemn lot. One of the really notable achievements of the twentieth century has been to make the young old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/students-today-are-a-pretty-solemn-lot-one-of-the-really-notable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) [Explore all 357 Robertson Davies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## More Hope quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [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/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. 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