--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...a thin woman about fifty with a face…" description: "\"“...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver hatchet.”\" — Ross Macdonald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ross-macdonald-10904_hatchet_a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-lik_252531.jpg" --- # ...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver… ![“...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver hatchet.” quote by Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ross-macdonald-10904_hatchet_a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-lik_252531.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ross-macdonald-10904_hatchet_a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-lik_252531.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ross-macdonald-10904_hatchet_a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-lik_252531.jpg) > ““...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver hatchet.”” [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman is described with a harsh, metallic image emphasizing her sharp, perhaps unforgiving nature. **In simple terms:** She is depicted as harsh and unforgiving. Key Takeaway Recognize harsh descriptions as metaphorical. Themes character description metaphor appearance perception tone Mood critical neutral Type literary descriptive When to use this quote - detective fiction - character analysis - visual description Key Concepts literary analysis character study Questions to Reflect On - What does this description reveal about the narrator’s bias? - How might this affect reader perception? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify her complexity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Face Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/face-like/) [Hatchet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatchet/) [Silver Hatchet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silver-hatchet-2508086/) [Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman/) [Woman Face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-face-271226/) ## Related quotes > [“TIA OR TARA has stopped applying makeup to my wife’s face and is looking at Scottie with disapproval. The light is hitting this woman’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaui-hart-hemmings/tia-or-tara-has-stopped-applying-makeup-to-my-wife-s-face-and-is/) [Kaui Hart Hemmings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaui-hart-hemmings/) > [“The woman's face was like a stone tablet, as if the president of the chess club had wandered over to the Goth corner of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bard/the-woman-s-face-was-like-a-stone-tablet-as-if-the-president-of-the/) [Elizabeth Bard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bard/) > [Time can tear down a building or destroy a woman's face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-rolling-stones/time-can-tear-down-a-building-or-destroy-a-woman-s-face/) [The Rolling Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-rolling-stones/) > [In the ladies' room, Alice studied her image in the mirror. The reflected older woman's face didn't quite match the picture that she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-genova/in-the-ladies-room-alice-studied-her-image-in-the-mirror-the/) [Lisa Genova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-genova/) > [“of peace and love on a woman’s face.” Augusta’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-grace-whitson/of-peace-and-love-on-a-woman-s-face-augusta-s/) [Stephanie Grace Whitson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-grace-whitson/) > [What woman here is so enamored of her own oppression that she cannot see her heel print upon another woman's face?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-woman-here-is-so-enamored-of-her-own-oppression-that-she-cannot/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakespeare-sonnet-xx/a-woman-s-face-with-nature-s-own-hand-painted/) [Shakespeare (Sonnet XX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakespeare-sonnet-xx/) > [Woman's face is like an open book that reveals her stateàof mind...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mazher-mazher50/woman-s-face-is-like-an-open-book-that-reveals-her-state-of-mind/) [Mazher (@mazher50](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mazher-mazher50/) > [It's not my vision when I cover a woman's face with a chador. I got the idea from a 'National Geographic' photo. I'm just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mcqueen/it-s-not-my-vision-when-i-cover-a-woman-s-face-with-a-chador-i-got/) [Alexander McQueen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mcqueen/) > [A woman whose face looked as if it had been made of sugar and someone had licked it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-woman-whose-face-looked-as-if-it-had-been-made-of-sugar-and-someone/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [When a woman's face is wrinkled And her hairs are sprinkled, With gray, Lackaday! Aside she's cast, No one respect will pay; Remember, Lasses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rinaldi/when-a-woman-s-face-is-wrinkled-and-her-hairs-are-sprinkled-with-gray/) [Ann Rinaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rinaldi/) > [“The imperial expression on the woman’s face almost quivered into a smile. “Don’t forget the button in the corner,” she said, pointing to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-lattwein/the-imperial-expression-on-the-woman-s-face-almost-quivered-into-a/) [Susan Lattwein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-lattwein/) > [“There was something else on this woman’s face, but Taylor pushed it away. She was this woman’s polar opposite—where Taylor was tall, honey-blond, gray-eyed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/there-was-something-else-on-this-woman-s-face-but-taylor-pushed-it/) [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) > [“Beauty lies not in a flawless complexion, but in the stories that are told by each transitioning line on a woman’s face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyscia-cunningham/beauty-lies-not-in-a-flawless-complexion-but-in-the-stories-that-are/) [Alyscia Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyscia-cunningham/) > [Any woman can face the world alone, but why should we have to?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/any-woman-can-face-the-world-alone-but-why-should-we-have-to/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## More by Ross Macdonald > [Money costs too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/money-costs-too-much/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“The sea was surging among the pilings like the blithe mindless forces of dissolution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-sea-was-surging-among-the-pilings-like-the-blithe-mindless-forces/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I knew how it was with drunks. They ran out of generosity, even for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-knew-how-it-was-with-drunks-they-ran-out-of-generosity-even-for/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“She didn't look like any motel manager I had ever seen. More likely an actress who hadn't quite made the grade down south, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/she-didn-t-look-like-any-motel-manager-i-had-ever-seen-more-likely-an/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“In wine was truth, perhaps, but in whisky, the way Hoffman sluiced it down, was an army of imaginary rats climbing your legs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/in-wine-was-truth-perhaps-but-in-whisky-the-way-hoffman-sluiced-it/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“A cockroach stepped out from behind the ketchup, gave me a quick impassive once-over, decided that I was of the Brahmin faith, and walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-cockroach-stepped-out-from-behind-the-ketchup-gave-me-a-quick/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“No more guns for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/no-more-guns-for-you/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I have a secret passion for mercy. . . but justice is what keeps happening to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-have-a-secret-passion-for-mercy-but-justice-is-what-keeps-happening/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [“I found myself wishing that we could live like the birds and move through nature without hurting it ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-found-myself-wishing-that-we-could-live-like-the-birds-and-move/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [An ugly woman with a gun is a terrible thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/an-ugly-woman-with-a-gun-is-a-terrible-thing/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I like a little danger. Tame danger, controlled by me. It gives me a sense of power, I guess, to take my life in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-like-a-little-danger-tame-danger-controlled-by-me-it-gives-me-a/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [I had reached the point when I could not see anything clearly ahead, I needed help, and I got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/i-had-reached-the-point-when-i-could-not-see-anything-clearly-ahead-i/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [How can a man help breaking the law when he don't have money to live on?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/how-can-a-man-help-breaking-the-law-when-he-don-t-have-money-to-live/) [Ross MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [The smell of the sea, of kelp and fish and bitter moving water, rose stronger in my nostrils. It flooded my consciousness like an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-smell-of-the-sea-of-kelp-and-fish-and-bitter-moving-water-rose/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) > [The delicate sensitivity of a frightened rattlesnake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-delicate-sensitivity-of-a-frightened-rattlesnake/) [Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) [Explore all 62 Ross Macdonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/) ## More Hatchet quotes > [I have to be careful to get out before I become the grotesque caricature of a hatchet-faced woman with big knockers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-have-to-be-careful-to-get-out-before-i-become-the-grotesque/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [I must go down to the seas again to find where I buried the hatchet with Yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-must-go-down-to-the-seas-again-to-find-where-i-buried-the-hatchet/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [Buried was the bloody hatchet; Buried was the dreadful war-club; Buried were all warlike weapons, And the war-cry was forgotten. Then was peace among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/buried-was-the-bloody-hatchet-buried-was-the-dreadful-war-club-buried/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [I went about the job in a direct way. I took the hatchet in both my hands and vigorously beat the fish on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-went-about-the-job-in-a-direct-way-i-took-the-hatchet-in-both-my/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [If ever we are constrained to lift the hatchet against any tribe, we will never lay it down till that tribe is exterminated, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-ever-we-are-constrained-to-lift-the-hatchet-against-any-tribe-we/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Hatchet murders were the house speciality of the Journal, whose front page was a virtual abattoir of murder most foul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-israel/hatchet-murders-were-the-house-speciality-of-the-journal-whose-front/) [Lee Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-israel/) > [There are two types of people. Those who bury the hatchet, and those who dig it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/there-are-two-types-of-people-those-who-bury-the-hatchet-and-those/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“There is no point in burying the hatchet if you're going to put up a marker on the site.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-point-in-burying-the-hatchet-if-you-re-going-to-put-up-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't operate on the heart with a hatchet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/don-t-operate-on-the-heart-with-a-hatchet/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [“Anyone have a hatchet handy? … Because I’m feeling the compelling need to hack a bitch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-kage/anyone-have-a-hatchet-handy-because-i-m-feeling-the-compelling-need/) [Linda Kage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-kage/) > [How far men go for the material of their houses! The inhabitants of the most civilized cities, in all ages, send into far, primitive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/how-far-men-go-for-the-material-of-their-houses-the-inhabitants-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I check the list. Rubber tubing, gas, saw, gloves, cuffs, razor wire, hatchet, Gladys, and my mitts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-miller/i-check-the-list-rubber-tubing-gas-saw-gloves-cuffs-razor-wire/) [Frank Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-miller/) > [She didn't give George any too easy a time when she was alive. She was one of those semi-invalids – I believe she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/she-didn-t-give-george-any-too-easy-a-time-when-she-was-alive-she-was/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“Morris chopped off the girl's hand with a hatchet then guttered laughter. The poor mulato wailed, her stump pumping. "What'choo do that for!" Cutton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lee/morris-chopped-off-the-girl-s-hand-with-a-hatchet-then-guttered/) [Edward Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lee/) > [When you meet anything that's going to be human and isn't yet, or used to be human once and isn't now, or ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/when-you-meet-anything-that-s-going-to-be-human-and-isn-t-yet-or-used/) [CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/) [Browse all 60 Hatchet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatchet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver hatchet.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Macdonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-like-a-silver-hatchet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hatchet" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-like-a-silver-hatchet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ross-macdonald-10904_hatchet_a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-lik_252531.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ross-macdonald-10904_hatchet_a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-lik_252531.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/ross-macdonald-10904_hatchet_a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-lik_252531.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...a thin woman about fifty with a face like a silver hatchet.” — Ross Macdonald", "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": "Ross Macdonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...a thin woman about fifty with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-like-a-silver-hatchet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/a-thin-woman-about-fifty-with-a-face-like-a-silver-hatchet/#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 } } ] } ```