--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Miss Craven held up a pair she thought…" description: "\"“Miss Craven held up a pair she thought would fit me—monstrous great things they were, of course, and I thought she smiled as she held them.”\" — Sarah ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/sarah-waters-2758_smiled_miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-w_9982.png" --- # Miss Craven held up a pair she thought would fit… ![“Miss Craven held up a pair she thought would fit me—monstrous great things they were, of course, and I thought she smiled as she held them.” quote by Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/sarah-waters-2758_smiled_miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-w_9982.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/sarah-waters-2758_smiled_miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-w_9982.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/sarah-waters-2758_smiled_miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-w_9982.png) > ““Miss Craven held up a pair she thought would fit me—monstrous great things they were, of course, and I thought she smiled as she held them.”” [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes being presented with an imposing, perhaps ill-fitting, gift that is simultaneously awe-inspiring and unsettling, highlighting the tension between expectation and personal identity. **In simple terms:** A grand, uncomfortable gift reveals inner conflict. Key Takeaway Appearances mask deeper discomfort. Themes identity expectation gift awe discomfort Mood melancholy wonder Type narrative descriptive When to use this quote - receiving an unexpected inheritance - being offered a role that feels too large - accepting a symbolic object - navigating family expectations Key Concepts self-perception social pressure Practical Applications - exploring character development in literature - illustrating themes of societal pressure Questions to Reflect On - How does the gift shape the narrator's self-image? - What does the smile suggest about the giver's intent? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Craven Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craven-held-360199/) [Miss Craven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miss-craven-360198/) [Smiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiled/) [Smiled Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiled-held-360200/) [Thought Smiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-smiled-360201/) ## Related quotes > [“Saw in her mind’s eye that delicious moment when Stan—a version of the piano player himself, when you thought about it—smiled the sweet self-satisfied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/saw-in-her-mind-s-eye-that-delicious-moment-when-stan-a-version-of/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [I thought about you and smiled but turned sad when I realized you're not here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/i-thought-about-you-and-smiled-but-turned-sad-when-i-realized-you-re/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“Jane,” he whispered as the streaks of dawn broke through their bedroom window. “Once more. 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A real smile that lit up his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/so-i-said-seems-you-re-going-to-be-stuck-with-me-for-a-while-he/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [“She smiled at and spoke to each person. It was as though she couldn't come into contact with anyone or anything without imparting some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/she-smiled-at-and-spoke-to-each-person-it-was-as-though-she-couldn-t/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) ## More by Sarah Waters > [“Now, from the crown of my head to the curve of my toe-nails, there was an unguent for every part of me - oil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/now-from-the-crown-of-my-head-to-the-curve-of-my-toe-nails-there-was/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [I barely knew I had skin before I met you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-barely-knew-i-had-skin-before-i-met-you/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [I suppose I really seemed mad, then; but it was only through the awfulness of having said nothing but the truth, and being thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-suppose-i-really-seemed-mad-then-but-it-was-only-through-the/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [My nan was a nursery maid. Most people weren't in big houses. 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And at my throat there was a velvet collar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/and-yet-i-seemed-to-feel-my-eyes-bound-too-with-bands-of-silk-and-at/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“No-one speaks. No-one moves (…). We glide, softly, in silence, into our dark and separate hells”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/no-one-speaks-no-one-moves-we-glide-softly-in-silence-into-our-dark/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“She loved these walks through London. She seemed, as she made them, to become porous, to soak in detail after detail; or else, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/she-loved-these-walks-through-london-she-seemed-as-she-made-them-to/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“Oh, for shame! Nancy, have you never seen Florrie's face in a chrysanthemum, or a rose?' 'Never.' I said. 'Though there was a flounder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/oh-for-shame-nancy-have-you-never-seen-florrie-s-face-in-a/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“My locket hangs in my closet beside the glass, the only shining thing among so many shadows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/my-locket-hangs-in-my-closet-beside-the-glass-the-only-shining-thing/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“Mr Bliss looked grave. 'Your brother was very sensible to warn you, Miss Astley - but sadly misinformed. There are no trams in Trafalgur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/mr-bliss-looked-grave-your-brother-was-very-sensible-to-warn-you-miss/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [I knew Id always be a second-rate academic, and I thought, Well, Id rather be a second-rate novelist or even a third-rate one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-knew-id-always-be-a-second-rate-academic-and-i-thought-well-id/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [“It is a world that is made of love. Did you think there is only the kind of love your sister knows for her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/it-is-a-world-that-is-made-of-love-did-you-think-there-is-only-the/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [Sometimes I think I'd be perfectly happy to go on rewriting 'Tipping the Velvet' forever because it was so much fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/sometimes-i-think-i-d-be-perfectly-happy-to-go-on-rewriting-tipping/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) [Explore all 148 Sarah Waters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) ## More Smiled quotes > [“She smiled at and spoke to each person. It was as though she couldn't come into contact with anyone or anything without imparting some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/she-smiled-at-and-spoke-to-each-person-it-was-as-though-she-couldn-t/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) > [So," I said. 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I want to be aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-with-one-of-his-quick-changes-of-mood-he-smiled-yes-there-s-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Kurt smiled a shy smile. "You're just trying to cheer me up," he said. "Course I am," Andy said. "You deserve to be full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/kurt-smiled-a-shy-smile-you-re-just-trying-to-cheer-me-up-he-said/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“He smiled sadly. "I was lost from the moment I saw you on Ovchinin Island. 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For a long moment they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-jo-wright/there-must-be-a-reason-to-smile-miss-fran-ois-will-you-supply-one-it/) [Jaime Jo Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-jo-wright/) [Browse all 1,165 Smiled quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smiled/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Miss Craven held up a pair she thought would fit me—monstrous great things they were, of course, and I thought she smiled as she held them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Waters" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-would-fit-me-monstrous-great/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Smiled" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-would-fit-me-monstrous-great/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/sarah-waters-2758_smiled_miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-w_9982.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/sarah-waters-2758_smiled_miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-w_9982.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b9/sarah-waters-2758_smiled_miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-w_9982.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Miss Craven held up a pair she thought would fit me—monstrous great things they were, of course, and I…” — Sarah Waters", "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": "Sarah Waters", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Miss Craven held up a pair...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-would-fit-me-monstrous-great/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/miss-craven-held-up-a-pair-she-thought-would-fit-me-monstrous-great/#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 } } ] } ```