--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was, she reflected, almost rudely like…" description: "\"He was, she reflected, almost rudely like a tortoise; and she was glad her friend kept none as pets or they might have suspected mockery.\" — Stella Gib..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/stella-gibbons-7519_friendship_he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like_1604902.jpg" --- # He was, she reflected, almost rudely like a tortoise; and… ![“He was, she reflected, almost rudely like a tortoise; and she was glad her friend kept none as pets or they might have suspected mockery.” quote by Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/stella-gibbons-7519_friendship_he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like_1604902.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/stella-gibbons-7519_friendship_he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like_1604902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/stella-gibbons-7519_friendship_he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like_1604902.jpg) > “He was, she reflected, almost rudely like a tortoise; and she was glad her friend kept none as pets or they might have suspected mockery.” [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A metaphor comparing a person to a slow, harmless animal, emphasizing patience and non‑threatening nature. **In simple terms:** Patience, gentle character. Key Takeaway Embrace calm, non‑aggressive traits. Themes character patience metaphor Mood lighthearted observational Type literary humorous When to use this quote - classroom dynamics - team projects - personal relationships Key Concepts animal symbolism social perception Questions to Reflect On - Do you value calm over assertiveness? - When is patience a disadvantage? A Different Perspective Risk of being perceived as overly passive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Mockery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mockery/) [Pet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pet/) ## Related quotes > [I eat like a tortoise eats, if you've ever seen a tortoise eating. Like some prehistoric swamp thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-eat-like-a-tortoise-eats-if-you-ve-ever-seen-a-tortoise-eating-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When I first heard bands like Tortoise, it seemed to come off the back of that world, like let's make a record with three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieran-hebden/when-i-first-heard-bands-like-tortoise-it-seemed-to-come-off-the-back/) [Kieran Hebden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kieran-hebden/) > [Moving like a tortoise, full of rigor mortis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nwa/moving-like-a-tortoise-full-of-rigor-mortis/) [NWA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nwa/) > [“You see, like a tortoise withdraws itself into its shell for protection, we, too, sometimes have to build a wall around ourselves. Maybe it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amita-trasi/you-see-like-a-tortoise-withdraws-itself-into-its-shell-for/) [Amita Trasi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amita-trasi/) > [World is too much fast like rabbit but I'm slow like tortoise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hashaam/world-is-too-much-fast-like-rabbit-but-i-m-slow-like-tortoise/) [Hashaam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hashaam/) > [“He obliterates things, she realized. He shatters them. They think they've won because he's a bit vague and he waffles, but that only goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-harkaway/he-obliterates-things-she-realized-he-shatters-them-they-think-they/) [Nick Harkaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-harkaway/) > [Deathlessness should be arrived at in a... haphazard fashion. Loving fame as much as any man, we shall carve our initials in the shell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/deathlessness-should-be-arrived-at-in-a-haphazard-fashion-loving-fame/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) > [My father collected turtles when he was young. My parent's wedding album, there's two pictures of them getting married and the rest are just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanya-yanagihara/my-father-collected-turtles-when-he-was-young-my-parent-s-wedding/) [Hanya Yanagihara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanya-yanagihara/) > [So Zeno is most famous for his tortoise paradox. Let us imagine that you are in a race with a tortoise. The tortoise has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-zeno-is-most-famous-for-his-tortoise-paradox-let-us-imagine-that/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Remember, slow and steady wins the race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ieyasu-tokugawa/remember-slow-and-steady-wins-the-race/) [Ieyasu Tokugawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ieyasu-tokugawa/) > [Now, if the principle of toleration were once admitted into classical education - if it were admitted that the great object is to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/now-if-the-principle-of-toleration-were-once-admitted-into-classical/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [We wait for the tortoises to come. We wait for that lady who walks them. That’s how art works. It’s never a jackrabbit, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/we-wait-for-the-tortoises-to-come-we-wait-for-that-lady-who-walks/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [Winds flap the sail, tortoise and snake are silent, a great plan looms. A bridge will fly over this moat dug by heaven and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/winds-flap-the-sail-tortoise-and-snake-are-silent-a-great-plan-looms/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [A tortoise is, I suppose, a Jewish pet. It knows its place. Out on the lawn. It doesn't bark. It doesn't tear the Dralon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/a-tortoise-is-i-suppose-a-jewish-pet-it-knows-its-place-out-on-the/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) ## More by Stella Gibbons > [There have always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/there-have-always-been-starkadders-at-cold-comfort-farm/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [Surely she had endured enough for one evening without having to listen to intelligent conversation?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/surely-she-had-endured-enough-for-one-evening-without-having-to/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“Twice, in half an hour, Hetty had held up Miss Barlow's plans, and prevented her from moving as quickly as possible on to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/twice-in-half-an-hour-hetty-had-held-up-miss-barlow-s-plans-and/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“She could not be said to dislike Colonel Trumpet so much as not to notice he was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/she-could-not-be-said-to-dislike-colonel-trumpet-so-much-as-not-to/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“Flora sighed. It was curious that persons who lived what the novelists call a rich emotional life always seemed to be a bit slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/flora-sighed-it-was-curious-that-persons-who-lived-what-the-novelists/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“After another minute Reuben brought forth the following sentence: "I ha' scranleted two hundred furrows come five o'clock down i' the bute." It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/after-another-minute-reuben-brought-forth-the-following-sentence-i-ha/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [That would be delightful,' agreed Flora, thinking how nasty and boring it would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/that-would-be-delightful-agreed-flora-thinking-how-nasty-and-boring/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“For it is a peculiarity of persons who lead rich, emotional lives, and who (as the saying is) live intensely and with a wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/for-it-is-a-peculiarity-of-persons-who-lead-rich-emotional-lives-and/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [By god, DH Lawrence was right when he said there must be a dumb, dark, dull, bitter belly-tension between a man and a woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/by-god-dh-lawrence-was-right-when-he-said-there-must-be-a-dumb-dark/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [The education bestowed on Flora Poste by her parents had been expensive, athletic and prolonged; and when they died within a few weeks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/the-education-bestowed-on-flora-poste-by-her-parents-had-been/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“Flora pressed Rennett’s hand graciously, and congratulated her upon her striking toilette, which had been borrowed from one of Mr Mybug’s girl friends who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/flora-pressed-rennett-s-hand-graciously-and-congratulated-her-upon/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“He stood at the table facing Flora and blowing heavily on his tea and staring at her. Flora did not mind. It was quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/he-stood-at-the-table-facing-flora-and-blowing-heavily-on-his-tea-and/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“Dear, Missus, Mister - I beg you never to give thoughts to war, in no way, not to work for it, not by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/dear-missus-mister-i-beg-you-never-to-give-thoughts-to-war-in-no-way/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“Miller had gone off on some affairs of his own, as he always did when the routine at Bryant’s was interrupted, for he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/miller-had-gone-off-on-some-affairs-of-his-own-as-he-always-did-when/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [I saw something nasty in the woodshed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/i-saw-something-nasty-in-the-woodshed/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) [Explore all 90 Stella Gibbons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) ## More Friendship quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) Maureen Andeson > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) Unknwon > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) Unknow > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 'Tis late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-smile-upon-your-friend-to-day-to-day-his-ills-are-over-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“way. A true friend isn't the one that agrees with everything you say or do. A true friend is someone that has your back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shameek-speight/way-a-true-friend-isn-t-the-one-that-agrees-with-everything-you-say/) [Shameek Speight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shameek-speight/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [“The real purpose of friendship was to discover and exploit weakness in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-thompson/the-real-purpose-of-friendship-was-to-discover-and-exploit-weakness/) [Brian Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-thompson/) [Browse all 45,469 Friendship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He was, she reflected, almost rudely like a tortoise; and she was glad her friend kept none as pets or they might have suspected mockery.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stella Gibbons" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like-a-tortoise-and-she-was-glad/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Friendship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like-a-tortoise-and-she-was-glad/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/stella-gibbons-7519_friendship_he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like_1604902.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/stella-gibbons-7519_friendship_he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like_1604902.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b37/stella-gibbons-7519_friendship_he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like_1604902.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was, she reflected, almost rudely like a tortoise; and she was glad her friend kept none as pets or they…” — Stella Gibbons", "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": "Stella Gibbons", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He was, she reflected, almost rudely...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like-a-tortoise-and-she-was-glad/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/he-was-she-reflected-almost-rudely-like-a-tortoise-and-she-was-glad/#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 } } ] } ```