Contemplation Quote by Rosamond Lehmann
““The present mood in which they sat relaxed was nothing more than the relief of two people coming back to a bombed building once familiar, shared as a dwelling, and finding all over the smashed foundations a rose-ash haze of willow herb. No more, no less. It is a ruin; but suspense at least, at least the need for sterile resolution, have evaporated with the fact of the return. Terror of nothingness contracts before the contemplation of it. It is not, after all, vacancy, but space; an area razed, roped off by time; by time refertilized, sown with a transfiguration, a ruin-haunting, ghost-spun No Man's crop of grace.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann, 1936
After returning to a devastated place, the characters find a strange calm, seeing the ruin as both emptiness and a space for new growth, turning trauma into a quiet, hopeful pause.
In simple terms: Finding peace in ruins can reveal hidden possibilities.
Key Takeaway
Seek calm amid chaos to discover new beginnings.
Themes
trauma
healing
resilience
Mood
contemplative
hopeful
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal loss
- urban renewal
- emotional recovery
- creative inspiration
Key Concepts
post‑war recovery
psychology of space
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you transform loss into growth?
- What does “space” mean after devastation?
A Different Perspective
The sense of peace may be temporary, and the underlying trauma can resurface later.