--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can't you make them stop?' I asked her…" description: "\"Can't you make them stop?' I asked her that day, wondering if there was anything in this woman I could speak to, if she had ever run joyfully over gras..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/shirley-jackson-1526_delight_can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-tha_426946.jpg" --- # Can't you make them stop?' I asked her that day, wondering… ![“Can't you make them stop?' I asked her that day, wondering if there was anything in this woman I could speak to, if she had ever run joyfully over grass, or had watched flowers, or known delight or love.” quote by Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/shirley-jackson-1526_delight_can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-tha_426946.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/shirley-jackson-1526_delight_can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-tha_426946.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/shirley-jackson-1526_delight_can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-tha_426946.jpg) > “Can't you make them stop?' I asked her that day, wondering if there was anything in this woman I could speak to, if she had ever run joyfully over grass, or had watched flowers, or known delight or love.” [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker wonders if the woman has ever known simple joys, suggesting a longing for connection through shared human experiences. **In simple terms:** Seeking shared joy and empathy. Key Takeaway Look for moments of joy in others. Themes empathy human connection longing Mood reflective hopeful Type contemplative inspirational When to use this quote - caregiving - friendship - mental health support - artistic inspiration Key Concepts psychology nostalgia beauty of everyday life Questions to Reflect On - What simple pleasures have you overlooked? - How can you invite joy into a conversation? A Different Perspective People may hide joy behind pain, making connection difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Delight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [Honestly some folk will take offence at anything, I met a bloke with no legs this morning while at the bus stop, all I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/honestly-some-folk-will-take-offence-at-anything-i-met-a-bloke-with/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [“We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-re-a-generation-of-men-raised-by-women-i-m-wondering-if-another/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I'm happy when I see a girl on the bus, or on the street, and start wondering about her. Sometimes I see a woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christophe-lemaitre/i-m-happy-when-i-see-a-girl-on-the-bus-or-on-the-street-and-start/) [Christophe Lemaitre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christophe-lemaitre/) > [I grew up in a culture in which it was a sin for a woman to speak out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-grew-up-in-a-culture-in-which-it-was-a-sin-for-a-woman-to-speak-out/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“Listen to a woman speak at a public gathering (if she hasn't painfully lost her wind). She doesn't "speak," she throws her trembling body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/listen-to-a-woman-speak-at-a-public-gathering-if-she-hasn-t-painfully/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [You are a woman: you must never speak what you think; your words must contradict your thoughts, but your actions may contradict your words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/you-are-a-woman-you-must-never-speak-what-you-think-your-words-must/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [I was the first woman to speak ever at the National Press Club, and they gave me a necktie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-was-the-first-woman-to-speak-ever-at-the-national-press-club-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Why shouldn't I or any other woman speak?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reham-khan/why-shouldn-t-i-or-any-other-woman-speak/) [Reham Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reham-khan/) > [“Every woman has known the torment of getting up to speak. Her heart racing, at times entirely lost for words, ground and language slipping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/every-woman-has-known-the-torment-of-getting-up-to-speak-her-heart/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [All well bred persons lie - Besides, you are a woman; you must never speak what you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-congreve/all-well-bred-persons-lie-besides-you-are-a-woman-you-must-never/) [William Congreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-congreve/) > [“We had nothing to say to each other; and I was conscious that not only my remarks but my presence was criticized. They wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-had-nothing-to-say-to-each-other-and-i-was-conscious-that-not-only/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Sometimes to speak as a woman is to cry, and to speak from our emotional, intuitive knowing, as opposed to graphs and charts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/sometimes-to-speak-as-a-woman-is-to-cry-and-to-speak-from-our/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [“How much blood will it take to make them stop? How many more children must die?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brom/how-much-blood-will-it-take-to-make-them-stop-how-many-more-children/) [Brom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brom/) > [“I don’t deserve you, Kels. But I can’t make myself stop. Don’t want to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-butler/i-don-t-deserve-you-kels-but-i-can-t-make-myself-stop-don-t-want-to/) [Erin Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-butler/) > [“There’s a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can’t take part, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/there-s-a-time-when-the-operation-of-the-machine-becomes-so-odious/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) ## More by Shirley Jackson > [I can't help it when people are frightened," says Merricat. "I always want to frighten them more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/i-can-t-help-it-when-people-are-frightened-says-merricat-i-always/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“She could not remember ever being truly happy in her adult life; her years with her mother had been built up devotedly around small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-could-not-remember-ever-being-truly-happy-in-her-adult-life-her/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Upstairs Margaret said abruptly, 'I suppose it starts to happen first in the suburbs,' and when Brad said, 'What starts to happen?' she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/upstairs-margaret-said-abruptly-i-suppose-it-starts-to-happen-first/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“The beautiful clarity of all marked outlines occurred to her--there would be a deep satisfaction in strengthening fences, for instance, going along on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/the-beautiful-clarity-of-all-marked-outlines-occurred-to-her-there/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“And we held each other in the dark hall and laughed, with the tears running down our cheeks and echoes of our laughter going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/and-we-held-each-other-in-the-dark-hall-and-laughed-with-the-tears/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Why do people want to talk to each other? I mean, what are the things people always want to find out about other people?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/why-do-people-want-to-talk-to-each-other-i-mean-what-are-the-things/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/within-walls-continued-upright-bricks-met-neatly-floors-were-firm-and/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“It was as though the people needed the ugliness of the village, and fed on it. The houses and the stores seemed to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/it-was-as-though-the-people-needed-the-ugliness-of-the-village-and/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Eleanor—“I plan to stay up and read for a while.” “Are you still reading Pamela?” Eleanor asked the doctor. “Volume two. I have three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/eleanor-i-plan-to-stay-up-and-read-for-a-while-are-you-still-reading/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“Is everyone really crazy but me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/is-everyone-really-crazy-but-me/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [February, when the days of winter seem endless and no amount of wistful recollecting can bring back any air of summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/february-when-the-days-of-winter-seem-endless-and-no-amount-of/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [“it’s quite a hazard, quite a hazard indeed, people knocking you down. Still, it’s a genuine pleasure to find one as willing as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/it-s-quite-a-hazard-quite-a-hazard-indeed-people-knocking-you-down/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [On the moon we have everything. Lettuce, and pumpkin pie and Amanita phalloides. We have cat-furred plants and horses dancing with their wings. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/on-the-moon-we-have-everything-lettuce-and-pumpkin-pie-and-amanita/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [She walked quickly around her one-room apartment. After more than four years in this one home she knew all its possibilities, how it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/she-walked-quickly-around-her-one-room-apartment-after-more-than-four/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) > [I very much dislike writing about myself or my work, and when pressed for autobiographical material can only give a bare chronological outline which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/i-very-much-dislike-writing-about-myself-or-my-work-and-when-pressed/) [Shirley Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) [Explore all 224 Shirley Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/) ## More Delight quotes > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [There was an Old Man of Messina, Whose daughter was named Opsibeena; She wore a small wig, and rode out on a pig, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lear/there-was-an-old-man-of-messina-whose-daughter-was-named-opsibeena/) [Edward Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lear/) > [A real flame of love is a subtle thing. It burns as a will-o'-the-wisp, dancing onward to fairy lands of delight. It roars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/a-real-flame-of-love-is-a-subtle-thing-it-burns-as-a-will-o-the-wisp/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [“The gift of words, the source of enjoyment, the source of delight that comes within and the unfading beauty and energy of words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/the-gift-of-words-the-source-of-enjoyment-the-source-of-delight-that/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [All the world's bravery that delights our eyes is but thy several liveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-cowley/all-the-world-s-bravery-that-delights-our-eyes-is-but-thy-several/) [Abraham Cowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-cowley/) > [It might be lonelier Without the Loneliness - I’m so accustomed to my Fate - Perhaps the Other - Peace - Would interrupt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/it-might-be-lonelier-without-the-loneliness-i-m-so-accustomed-to-my/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [Design should do the same thing in everyday life that art does when encountered: amaze us, scare us or delight us, but certainly open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-betsky/design-should-do-the-same-thing-in-everyday-life-that-art-does-when/) Aaron Betsky > [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Every natural power exhilarates; a true talent delights the possessor first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-natural-power-exhilarates-a-true-talent-delights-the-possessor/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [Significantly, God in Genesis 1 pronounces the rest of creation "good" before humanity is created. The psalmist and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-clapp/significantly-god-in-genesis-1-pronounces-the-rest-of-creation-good/) Rodney Clapp > [Being asked to play 'The Doctor' is an amazing privilege. Like the Doctor himself I find myself in a state of utter terror and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/being-asked-to-play-the-doctor-is-an-amazing-privilege-like-the/) [Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/) [Browse all 2,212 Delight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delight/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Can't you make them stop?' I asked her that day, wondering if there was anything in this woman I could speak to, if she had ever run joyfully over grass, or had watched flowers, or known delight or love.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shirley Jackson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-that-day-wondering-if-there-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Delight" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-that-day-wondering-if-there-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/shirley-jackson-1526_delight_can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-tha_426946.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/shirley-jackson-1526_delight_can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-tha_426946.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81e/shirley-jackson-1526_delight_can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-tha_426946.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can't you make them stop?' I asked her that day, wondering if there was anything in this woman I could speak…” — Shirley Jackson", "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": "Shirley Jackson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-jackson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can't you make them stop?' I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-that-day-wondering-if-there-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-jackson/can-t-you-make-them-stop-i-asked-her-that-day-wondering-if-there-was/#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 } } ] } ```