--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They were staggered to learn that a real…" description: "\"“They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently bel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/sinclair-lewis-1945_blood-relation_they-were-staggered-to-learn-that-a-real_1129114.jpg" --- # They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person… ![“They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently believe that divorce may not always be immoral; that illegitimate children do not bear any special and guaranteed form of curse; that there are ethical…” quote by Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/sinclair-lewis-1945_blood-relation_they-were-staggered-to-learn-that-a-real_1129114.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/sinclair-lewis-1945_blood-relation_they-were-staggered-to-learn-that-a-real_1129114.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/270/sinclair-lewis-1945_blood-relation_they-were-staggered-to-learn-that-a-real_1129114.jpg) > ““They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently believe that divorce may not always be immoral; that illegitimate children do not bear any special and guaranteed form of curse; that there are ethical authorities outside of the Hebrew Bible; that men have drunk wine yet not died in the gutter; that the capitalistic system of distribution and the Baptist wedding-ceremony were not known in the Garden of Eden; that mushrooms are as edible as corn-beef hash; that the word "dude" is no longer frequently used; that there are Ministers of the Gospel who accept evolution; that some persons of apparent intelligence and business ability do not always vote the Republican ticket straight; that it is not a universal custom to wear scratchy flannels next the skin in winter; that a violin is not inherently more immoral than a chapel organ; that some poets do not have long hair; and that Jews are not always peddlers or pants-makers. "Where does she get all them theories?" marveled Uncle Whittier Smail; while Aunt Bessie inquired, "Do you suppose there's many folks got notions like hers? My! If there are," and her tone settled the fact that there were not, "I just don't know what the world's coming to!”” [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote sat the bewilderment at someone holding many unconventional beliefs that clash with traditional expectations. **In simple terms:** People can hold many surprising ideas that defy norms. Key Takeaway Accept diverse viewpoints. Themes conformity beliefs culture surprise identity Mood confused curious Type observational critical When to use this quote - family discussions - political debates - educational settings - media analysis Key Concepts social norms cognitive dissonance pluralism Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate unconventional ideas? - What influences shape our belief systems? A Different Perspective Some beliefs may be based on misinformation or lack of critical thinking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blood relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood-relation/) [Garden of eden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden-of-eden/) [Hebrew bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew-bible/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) ## Related quotes > [With the indiscriminate nature of modern military technology (no such thing as a "smart bomb," it turns out) all wars are wars against civilians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/with-the-indiscriminate-nature-of-modern-military-technology-no-such/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [The government forces you to give your money to things you don't believe in, to have your money go to projects that might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-terry/the-government-forces-you-to-give-your-money-to-things-you-don-t/) [Randall Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-terry/) > [“benefit. 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If a good deal of the work of writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-l-grabbe/much-of-the-persian-period-is-blank-for-jewish-history-however-you/) [Lester L. Grabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-l-grabbe/) > [When you come to the New Testament you can't even swing a cat without hitting three demons and two spirits. 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Material prosperity is a divine blessing. Poverty crushes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-market-economy-is-deeply-congruent-with-the-values-set-out-in-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [“Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact is that belief in a dying and rising messiah simply did not exist in Judaism. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apologetics-the-fact-is-that/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## More by Sinclair Lewis > [“She found beauty in the children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/she-found-beauty-in-the-children/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [What is Love? Listen! It is the rainbow that stands out, in all its glorious many-colored hues, illuminating and making glad again the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/what-is-love-listen-it-is-the-rainbow-that-stands-out-in-all-its/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [When you think that most of us are doomed by divine grace to roast in hell, to say nothing of mortgages and hail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/when-you-think-that-most-of-us-are-doomed-by-divine-grace-to-roast-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [He loved the people just as much as he feared and detested persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-loved-the-people-just-as-much-as-he-feared-and-detested-persons/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“He had expected that traditionally Republican Vermont would give him too drearily easy a task in preaching Trowbridge. 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'What?' flatly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/she-continued-it-to-hugh-darling-do-you-know-what-mother-and-you-are/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Is it possible that nobody has ever known that there never has been a completely civilized man, and won't be for another thousand years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/is-it-possible-that-nobody-has-ever-known-that-there-never-has-been-a/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“I think perhaps we want a more conscientious life. We're tired of drudging and sleeping and dying. We're tired of always deferring hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/i-think-perhaps-we-want-a-more-conscientious-life-we-re-tired-of/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [It might be the doing of Satan, in whom Aaron anxiously believed with all of his being except, perhaps, his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-might-be-the-doing-of-satan-in-whom-aaron-anxiously-believed-with/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The author says one character's definition of a classic is any book he'd heard of before he was thirty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-author-says-one-character-s-definition-of-a-classic-is-any-book/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Like all males, he hated to confess ignorance by asking directions,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/like-all-males-he-hated-to-confess-ignorance-by-asking-directions/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Winter is not a season, it's an occupation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/winter-is-not-a-season-it-s-an-occupation/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Author sees the "congested idealism" of the generally discontent as reservoir that will support centralized power even while disagreeing with many specific provisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/author-sees-the-congested-idealism-of-the-generally-discontent-as/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The poor we have always with us, and the purpose of the Lord in providing the poor is to enable us of the better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-poor-we-have-always-with-us-and-the-purpose-of-the-lord-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) [Explore all 196 Sinclair Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## More Blood relation quotes > [To-day there is hardly a woman of intelligence in all America ... who is not definitely and actively concerned in some social interest, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/to-day-there-is-hardly-a-woman-of-intelligence-in-all-america-who-is/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [A friend is the best gift we give to ourselves. Friends are those people in our life with whom we do not have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/a-friend-is-the-best-gift-we-give-to-ourselves-friends-are-those/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I am impressed by how much of my grandparent's life depended on continuities, contacts, connections, friendships, and blood relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-am-impressed-by-how-much-of-my-grandparent-s-life-depended-on/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Next to blood relationships, come water relationships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-crawford/next-to-blood-relationships-come-water-relationships/) [Stanley Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-crawford/) > [I think we all make our own families, whether they're comprised of blood relations or friends. Some people are lucky and love their families.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-cleland/i-think-we-all-make-our-own-families-whether-they-re-comprised-of/) [Jane Cleland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-cleland/) > [We dont have to have blood relations in order to be brothers and sisters. Flesh and blood, those are just things that were made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-dont-have-to-have-blood-relations-in-order-to-be-brothers-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never set a child afloat on the flat sea of life with only one sail to catch the wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/never-set-a-child-afloat-on-the-flat-sea-of-life-with-only-one-sail/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [“What is family? they were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/what-is-family-they-were-the-people-who-claimed-you-in-good-in-bad-in-2/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Blood relations are the most durable and everlastings connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blood-relations-are-the-most-durable-and-everlastings-connections/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We should free ourselves from the narrowness of being related only to those familiar to us, either by the fact that they are blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/we-should-free-ourselves-from-the-narrowness-of-being-related-only-to/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“Knowledge without action is like a bow without a string.” A relationship as close as blood relationship must be established between knowledge and action.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-rosenthal/knowledge-without-action-is-like-a-bow-without-a-string-a/) [Franz Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-rosenthal/) > [“Like Newt Gingrich shifting the focus from local to national, social media has transformed politics from the public to the personal. Whereas, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jared-yates-sexton/like-newt-gingrich-shifting-the-focus-from-local-to-national-social/) [Jared Yates Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jared-yates-sexton/) > [“What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/what-is-family-they-were-the-people-who-claimed-you-in-good-in-bad-in-3/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I love you but I am not your lover. i hug you but I am not ur life patner. I care for you but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-d-r-l-testament/i-love-you-but-i-am-not-your-lover-i-hug-you-but-i-am-not-ur-life/) Junior Dè Rèál Testament > [When destiny forgets to tie some people in blood relations.. It corrects its mistake by making them true friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-destiny-forgets-to-tie-some-people-in-blood-relations-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 44 Blood relation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blood-relation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently believe that divorce may not always be immoral; that illegitimate children do not bear any special and guaranteed form of curse; that there are ethical authorities outside of the Hebrew Bible; that men have drunk wine yet not died in the gutter; that the capitalistic system of distribution and the Baptist wedding-ceremony were not known in the Garden of Eden; that mushrooms are as edible as corn-beef hash; that the word \"dude\" is no longer frequently used; that there are Ministers of the Gospel who accept evolution; that some persons of apparent intelligence and business ability do not always vote the Republican ticket straight; that it is not a universal custom to wear scratchy flannels next the skin in winter; that a violin is not inherently more immoral than a chapel organ; that some poets do not have long hair; and that Jews are not always peddlers or pants-makers. \"Where does she get all them theories?\" marveled Uncle Whittier Smail; while Aunt Bessie inquired, \"Do you suppose there's many folks got notions like hers? 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