--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Starkly in an instant she saw herself as…" description: "\"“Starkly in an instant she saw herself as she really was-alone in a wood standing among blue shadows with no sounds and the air a sort of black ice. Sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b13/susan-minot-11041_black-ice_starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as_1283209.png" --- # Starkly in an instant she saw herself as she really… ![“Starkly in an instant she saw herself as she really was-alone in a wood standing among blue shadows with no sounds and the air a sort of black ice. She had no coat. All the people she’d known had forgotten her. Her mother, biting off thread between her teeth, couldn’t hear her, and her father with…” quote by Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b13/susan-minot-11041_black-ice_starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as_1283209.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b13/susan-minot-11041_black-ice_starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as_1283209.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b13/susan-minot-11041_black-ice_starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as_1283209.png) > ““Starkly in an instant she saw herself as she really was-alone in a wood standing among blue shadows with no sounds and the air a sort of black ice. She had no coat. All the people she’d known had forgotten her. Her mother, biting off thread between her teeth, couldn’t hear her, and her father with his eyes turned sorrowfully inward did not see her. They never had. Those she loved did not need her. Lila and Carl danced together in a bubble. Ralph Eastman picked lint from his sleeve. Buddy tucked in his shirttails, jumped in a truck and drove away. Fiona Speed showed the back of her hat, heading downtown in a cab. They all had more important concerns, they were all in their own lives, and there was no room for her. At night their doors were shut and through lit windows she could see them consulting one another, checking the baby, looking after business, licking envelopes, turning back the bedcover, shutting off the light switch, while she was left stranded out in the chill night in the true human state, lost, in the dark, alone. ”” [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She feels isolated as everyone else pursues their own lives, highlighting deep loneliness and neglect. **In simple terms:** She feels alone while others are busy. Key Takeaway Recognize and address feelings of isolation. Themes loneliness alienation family dynamics existential angst Mood melancholic introspective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - family gatherings - urban life - personal crisis Key Concepts psychology social isolation Questions to Reflect On - What steps can one take to reconnect? - How does society overlook individual suffering? A Different Perspective Isolation can be self‑inflicted or socially imposed, not always external. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-ice/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) ## Related quotes > [“We left in the same kind of truck that had brought us to the camp ten years earlier. When it started up, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chol-hwan-kang/we-left-in-the-same-kind-of-truck-that-had-brought-us-to-the-camp-ten/) Chol-Hwan Kang > [“the future wasn’t something you planned for; it was something that just happened, like your car spinning out on some black ice and hitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lawless/the-future-wasn-t-something-you-planned-for-it-was-something-that/) Wendy Lawless > [The one before this one was named pack he's a choice and this ones name is black ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew/the-one-before-this-one-was-named-pack-he-s-a-choice-and-this-ones/) [Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew/) > [In another universe I probably came out OK, ended up with mad novias and jobs and a sea of love in which to swim,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/in-another-universe-i-probably-came-out-ok-ended-up-with-mad-novias/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“It was night. There was a drizzle, so Emily's black Japanese umbrella was up. The two were close beneath it, walking in long strides,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-amanda-salmonson/it-was-night-there-was-a-drizzle-so-emily-s-black-japanese-umbrella/) [Jessica Amanda Salmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-amanda-salmonson/) > [Black ice is the smoothest naturally occuring ice there is, as if nature were condescending to art. ... Black ice is an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorene-cary/black-ice-is-the-smoothest-naturally-occuring-ice-there-is-as-if/) [Lorene Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorene-cary/) > [“She started to tell him so, but the words vanished unsaid when he abruptly thrust his hands under her skirt, all the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/she-started-to-tell-him-so-but-the-words-vanished-unsaid-when-he/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [“Gregori was as still as a statue, his face a blank mask, his silver eyes as empty as death, yet Shea gave him a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gregori-was-as-still-as-a-statue-his-face-a-blank-mask-his-silver/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“All this blackness was within him, but that was where it really mattered. It was night without moon or stars, it was a doorless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-dexter/all-this-blackness-was-within-him-but-that-was-where-it-really/) Susan Dexter > [Asking a girl if she's alright is like jaywalking across a black ice-covered 4 lane street: you think you can make it safely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowick/asking-a-girl-if-she-s-alright-is-like-jaywalking-across-a-black-ice/) [David Bowick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowick/) > [“Every day part of our mind exercises are devoted to bracing ourselves against the advancing penultimate act that foreshadows our sorrowful ultimate demise. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/every-day-part-of-our-mind-exercises-are-devoted-to-bracing-ourselves/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“Those boots were almost all he owned in this world. They were his home. An anecdote: One time a recruit was watching him bone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/those-boots-were-almost-all-he-owned-in-this-world-they-were-his-home/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I've never seen a Jade in full feral mode before. Candy's nails have curved out into thick claws. Her eyes are red slit pupils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/i-ve-never-seen-a-jade-in-full-feral-mode-before-candy-s-nails-have/) [Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/) > [“Gregori’s silver eyes moved over both women, then settled on Shea. “The child must be protected. It is no use appealing to Raven for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gregori-s-silver-eyes-moved-over-both-women-then-settled-on-shea-the/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“Barrons Books and Baubles had been ransacked! Tables were overturned, books torn from shelves and strewn everywhere, baubles broken. Even my little TV behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/barrons-books-and-baubles-had-been-ransacked-tables-were-overturned/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) ## More by Susan Minot > [I love 'Anna Karenina.' It's in the top five books on my list. Tolstoy is unsurpassed in combining the grand with the trivial, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/i-love-anna-karenina-it-s-in-the-top-five-books-on-my-list-tolstoy-is/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [After the briskness of loving, loving stops. And you roll over with death stretched out alongside you like a feather boa, or a snake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/after-the-briskness-of-loving-loving-stops-and-you-roll-over-with/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [A lot of readers want characters to behave in a responsible way, or they want to understand the characters' dilemma and act, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/a-lot-of-readers-want-characters-to-behave-in-a-responsible-way-or/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [So many bad things happen in this world because people don't know how to express things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/so-many-bad-things-happen-in-this-world-because-people-don-t-know-how/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [“He had made his decision. Later in life Ann would learn that when certain men made decisions no matter how much it might torture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/he-had-made-his-decision-later-in-life-ann-would-learn-that-when/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [Change and renewal are themes in life, arent they? We keep growing throughout life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/change-and-renewal-are-themes-in-life-arent-they-we-keep-growing/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [“The past was speaking . . . what was the difference now? She had the feeling she'd walked into a house she thought she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/the-past-was-speaking-what-was-the-difference-now-she-had-the-feeling/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [Desire suppressed finds its way into other more surreal settings, into dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/desire-suppressed-finds-its-way-into-other-more-surreal-settings-into/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [When I travel, I always take my Winsor & Newton watercolor kit, which is the size of a pack of cigarettes when folded up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/when-i-travel-i-always-take-my-winsor-newton-watercolor-kit-which-is/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [When a person you love moves by you with flat eyes that will not see you, it is a shock to believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/when-a-person-you-love-moves-by-you-with-flat-eyes-that-will-not-see/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [“A free spirit's just an idiot who doesn't want to face reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/a-free-spirit-s-just-an-idiot-who-doesn-t-want-to-face-reality/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [I remember when I was in graduate school and someone in workshop would say, 'I'm going to bring in a chapter of my novel.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/i-remember-when-i-was-in-graduate-school-and-someone-in-workshop/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [“Where were you all this time? she said. Where have you been? I guess far away. Yes you were. Too far away. They sat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/where-were-you-all-this-time-she-said-where-have-you-been-i-guess-far/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [“She was pulling a rope out of the water and knew it was coming to the end when the barnacles started to appear and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/she-was-pulling-a-rope-out-of-the-water-and-knew-it-was-coming-to-the/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [ ...\[She\] felt as if she were both a stranger to herself and more herself than she'd ever been. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/she-felt-as-if-she-were-both-a-stranger-to-herself-and-more-herself/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) [Explore all 61 Susan Minot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) ## More Black ice quotes > [“Barrons Books and Baubles had been ransacked! Tables were overturned, books torn from shelves and strewn everywhere, baubles broken. Even my little TV behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/barrons-books-and-baubles-had-been-ransacked-tables-were-overturned/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Gregori’s silver eyes moved over both women, then settled on Shea. “The child must be protected. It is no use appealing to Raven for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gregori-s-silver-eyes-moved-over-both-women-then-settled-on-shea-the/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“I've never seen a Jade in full feral mode before. Candy's nails have curved out into thick claws. Her eyes are red slit pupils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/i-ve-never-seen-a-jade-in-full-feral-mode-before-candy-s-nails-have/) [Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/) > [“Those boots were almost all he owned in this world. They were his home. An anecdote: One time a recruit was watching him bone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/those-boots-were-almost-all-he-owned-in-this-world-they-were-his-home/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Every day part of our mind exercises are devoted to bracing ourselves against the advancing penultimate act that foreshadows our sorrowful ultimate demise. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/every-day-part-of-our-mind-exercises-are-devoted-to-bracing-ourselves/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Asking a girl if she's alright is like jaywalking across a black ice-covered 4 lane street: you think you can make it safely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowick/asking-a-girl-if-she-s-alright-is-like-jaywalking-across-a-black-ice/) [David Bowick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowick/) > [“All this blackness was within him, but that was where it really mattered. It was night without moon or stars, it was a doorless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-dexter/all-this-blackness-was-within-him-but-that-was-where-it-really/) Susan Dexter > [“Gregori was as still as a statue, his face a blank mask, his silver eyes as empty as death, yet Shea gave him a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gregori-was-as-still-as-a-statue-his-face-a-blank-mask-his-silver/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“She started to tell him so, but the words vanished unsaid when he abruptly thrust his hands under her skirt, all the way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-howard/she-started-to-tell-him-so-but-the-words-vanished-unsaid-when-he/) [Linda Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-howard/) > [Black ice is the smoothest naturally occuring ice there is, as if nature were condescending to art. ... Black ice is an act of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorene-cary/black-ice-is-the-smoothest-naturally-occuring-ice-there-is-as-if/) [Lorene Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorene-cary/) > [“It was night. There was a drizzle, so Emily's black Japanese umbrella was up. The two were close beneath it, walking in long strides,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-amanda-salmonson/it-was-night-there-was-a-drizzle-so-emily-s-black-japanese-umbrella/) [Jessica Amanda Salmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-amanda-salmonson/) > [In another universe I probably came out OK, ended up with mad novias and jobs and a sea of love in which to swim,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/in-another-universe-i-probably-came-out-ok-ended-up-with-mad-novias/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The one before this one was named pack he's a choice and this ones name is black ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew/the-one-before-this-one-was-named-pack-he-s-a-choice-and-this-ones/) [Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew/) > [“the future wasn’t something you planned for; it was something that just happened, like your car spinning out on some black ice and hitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lawless/the-future-wasn-t-something-you-planned-for-it-was-something-that/) Wendy Lawless > [“Jet-black hair curled slightly against his neck and around his ears, and his eyes . . . oh, those eyes . . . cold,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-roland/jet-black-hair-curled-slightly-against-his-neck-and-around-his-ears/) Lee Roland [Browse all 26 Black ice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-ice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Starkly in an instant she saw herself as she really was-alone in a wood standing among blue shadows with no sounds and the air a sort of black ice. She had no coat. All the people she’d known had forgotten her. Her mother, biting off thread between her teeth, couldn’t hear her, and her father with his eyes turned sorrowfully inward did not see her. They never had. Those she loved did not need her. Lila and Carl danced together in a bubble. Ralph Eastman picked lint from his sleeve. Buddy tucked in his shirttails, jumped in a truck and drove away. Fiona Speed showed the back of her hat, heading downtown in a cab. They all had more important concerns, they were all in their own lives, and there was no room for her. At night their doors were shut and through lit windows she could see them consulting one another, checking the baby, looking after business, licking envelopes, turning back the bedcover, shutting off the light switch, while she was left stranded out in the chill night in the true human state, lost, in the dark, alone. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Minot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as-she-really-was-alone-in-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black ice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as-she-really-was-alone-in-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b13/susan-minot-11041_black-ice_starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as_1283209.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b13/susan-minot-11041_black-ice_starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as_1283209.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b13/susan-minot-11041_black-ice_starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as_1283209.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Starkly in an instant she saw herself as she really was-alone in a wood standing among blue shadows with no…” — Susan Minot", "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": "Susan Minot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Starkly in an instant she saw...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as-she-really-was-alone-in-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/starkly-in-an-instant-she-saw-herself-as-she-really-was-alone-in-a/#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 } } ] } ```