---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He could still remember how…"
description: "\"“He could still remember how breathtakingly beautiful Eleanor was that day. He'd have been content to gaze into her eyes for hours, trying to decide if..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/sharon-kay-penman-6725_beautiful-eleanor_he-could-still-remember-how-breathtaking_827785.png"
---

#  He could still remember how breathtakingly beautiful…

![“He could still remember how breathtakingly beautiful Eleanor was that day. He'd have been content to gaze into her eyes for hours, trying to decide if they were green with gold flecks or gold with green flecks. She had high, finely sculpted cheekbones, soft, flawless skin he'd burned to touch, and…” quote by Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/sharon-kay-penman-6725_beautiful-eleanor_he-could-still-remember-how-breathtaking_827785.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/sharon-kay-penman-6725_beautiful-eleanor_he-could-still-remember-how-breathtaking_827785.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/sharon-kay-penman-6725_beautiful-eleanor_he-could-still-remember-how-breathtaking_827785.png)

> ““He could still remember how breathtakingly beautiful Eleanor was that day. He'd have been content to gaze into her eyes for hours, trying to decide if they were green with gold flecks or gold with green flecks. She had high, finely sculpted cheekbones, soft, flawless skin he'd burned to touch, and lustrous dark braids entwined with gold-threaded ribbons he yearned to unfasten; he'd have bartered his chances of salvation to bury his face in that glossy, perfumed hair, to wind it around his throat and see it spread out on his pillow. He'd watched, mesmerized, as a crystal raindrop trickled toward the sultry curve of her mouth and wanted nothing in his life so much, before or since, as he wanted her. ””

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Intense physical attraction can dominate thoughts, turning a person into an object of obsessive desire.

**In simple terms:** Obsessive desire consumes rational thought.

Key Takeaway

Recognize when attraction becomes obsession.

Themes

love obsession beauty

Mood

passionate melancholic

Type

literary romantic

When to use this quote

- romantic relationships
- unrequited love
- creative writing

Key Concepts

psychology of attraction objectification

Questions to Reflect On

- What boundaries protect healthy admiration?
- How can you balance desire with respect?

A Different Perspective

Obsession can blind judgment and lead to unhealthy behavior.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Beautiful Eleanor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-eleanor-530739/) [Entwined Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entwined-gold-530741/) [Glossy Perfumed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glossy-perfumed-530742/) [Lustrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lustrous-530740/) [Touch Lustrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch-lustrous-530743/)

## Related quotes

> [“A rosewater smell from the box summoned, instantly, a dictatorial woman with a tight bun, hectoring him with questions. The cut, the buttons, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/a-rosewater-smell-from-the-box-summoned-instantly-a-dictatorial-woman/)

[Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/)

> [“I added pieces the same way I’d constructed my body, from the inside out: boy-cut panties first (lacy), bra (sheer), stockings (thigh high), knee-length…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/i-added-pieces-the-same-way-i-d-constructed-my-body-from-the-inside/)

[Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/)

> [“Champ de Mars was long and beautiful in the twilight promise of the lustrous night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armonia-sole/champ-de-mars-was-long-and-beautiful-in-the-twilight-promise-of-the/)

[Armonia Sole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armonia-sole/)

> [“Then she looked away, dismissing him as if she’d found him to be substandard. All right, then. She didn’t find him attractive. Good. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/then-she-looked-away-dismissing-him-as-if-she-d-found-him-to-be/)

[Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/)

> [“We have been tarnished by the views of generations, painted on with society's standards, but if we wipe away the dust, and polish the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-micheal-ratliff/we-have-been-tarnished-by-the-views-of-generations-painted-on-with/)

[Jason Micheal Ratliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-micheal-ratliff/)

> [“One glance, one terrified glance, in which her whole soul was concentrated, sufficed to shew her who and what the figure was. There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-malcolm-rymer/one-glance-one-terrified-glance-in-which-her-whole-soul-was/)

[James Malcolm Rymer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-malcolm-rymer/)

> [Day's lustrous eyes grow heavy in sweet death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/day-s-lustrous-eyes-grow-heavy-in-sweet-death/)

[Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/)

> [“Tresses of lustrous, snow-white hair tumbled from their cloth-bound imprisonment, streaming like a waterfall down the young woman’s back. In an effort to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leanna-renee-hieber/tresses-of-lustrous-snow-white-hair-tumbled-from-their-cloth-bound/)

[Leanna Renee Hieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leanna-renee-hieber/)

## More by Sharon Kay Penman

> [“Outside, the sky was clear, stars gleaming in its ebony vastness like celestial fireflies. It was bitterly cold, and Hywel's every breath trailed after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/outside-the-sky-was-clear-stars-gleaming-in-its-ebony-vastness-like/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“He'd never seen one so vibrant, though, or so vividly compelling... those glowing green eyes sparkling with sunlight and curiosity and silent laughter, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-d-never-seen-one-so-vibrant-though-or-so-vividly-compelling-those/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“We've schemed and fought and loved until we are so entangled in hearts and minds that there is no way to set us free.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/we-ve-schemed-and-fought-and-loved-until-we-are-so-entangled-in/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“You seem to forget, Dickon, that we are dealing with the Spider King. Louis realized, just as you have, that it would take more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/you-seem-to-forget-dickon-that-we-are-dealing-with-the-spider-king/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“I asked Simon if he’d ever feared that all our struggles, all our suffering might be in vain. Not a priest’s question, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-asked-simon-if-he-d-ever-feared-that-all-our-struggles-all-our/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [In writing my historical novels, I have to rely upon my imagination to a great extent. I think of it as 'filling in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/in-writing-my-historical-novels-i-have-to-rely-upon-my-imagination-to/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“I once came upon a definition of history as ‘the process by which complex truths are transformed into simplified falsehoods’. That is particularly true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-once-came-upon-a-definition-of-history-as-the-process-by-which/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [My novels about medieval Wales were set in unexplored terrain; my readers did not know what lay around every bend in the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/my-novels-about-medieval-wales-were-set-in-unexplored-terrain-my/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“Otherwise, I’d like nothing better than…conversing with you. You’re such a deep, penetrating conversationalist, after all,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/otherwise-i-d-like-nothing-better-than-conversing-with-you-you-re/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [Poor Wales. So far from Heaven, so close to England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/poor-wales-so-far-from-heaven-so-close-to-england/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“Richard grinned, very pleased with himself for having found a way to honor his mother, thwart his father, and serve God, while having a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/richard-grinned-very-pleased-with-himself-for-having-found-a-way-to/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [I was actually born in New York City, but my family moved to Atlantic City when I was five, this being my dad's home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/i-was-actually-born-in-new-york-city-but-my-family-moved-to-atlantic/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“In time of war, the Devil makes more room in Hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/in-time-of-war-the-devil-makes-more-room-in-hell/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“You asked what the Londoners wanted of you, and he…he said ‘ballocks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/you-asked-what-the-londoners-wanted-of-you-and-he-he-said-ballocks/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

> [“...for he of all men knew how dangerously stubborn Henry Fitz Empress could be. There were faint bloodstains upon the tiles in Canterbury Cathedral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/for-he-of-all-men-knew-how-dangerously-stubborn-henry-fitz-empress/)

[Sharon Kay Penman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

[Explore all 98 Sharon Kay Penman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“He could still remember how breathtakingly beautiful Eleanor was that day. He'd have been content to gaze into her eyes for hours, trying to decide if they were green with gold flecks or gold with green flecks. She had high, finely sculpted cheekbones, soft, flawless skin he'd burned to touch, and lustrous dark braids entwined with gold-threaded ribbons he yearned to unfasten; he'd have bartered his chances of salvation to bury his face in that glossy, perfumed hair, to wind it around his throat and see it spread out on his pillow. He'd watched, mesmerized, as a crystal raindrop trickled toward the sultry curve of her mouth and wanted nothing in his life so much, before or since, as he wanted her. ”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sharon Kay Penman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-could-still-remember-how-breathtakingly-beautiful-eleanor-was-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Beautiful Eleanor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-could-still-remember-how-breathtakingly-beautiful-eleanor-was-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/sharon-kay-penman-6725_beautiful-eleanor_he-could-still-remember-how-breathtaking_827785.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/sharon-kay-penman-6725_beautiful-eleanor_he-could-still-remember-how-breathtaking_827785.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3de/sharon-kay-penman-6725_beautiful-eleanor_he-could-still-remember-how-breathtaking_827785.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He could still remember how breathtakingly beautiful Eleanor was that day. He'd have been content to gaze…” — Sharon Kay Penman",
                "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": "Sharon Kay Penman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-kay-penman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“He could still remember how breathtakingly...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-could-still-remember-how-breathtakingly-beautiful-eleanor-was-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-kay-penman/he-could-still-remember-how-breathtakingly-beautiful-eleanor-was-that/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
