--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had always imagined myself hitching up…" description: "\"I had always imagined myself hitching up on to my elbows on the delivery table after it was all over - dead white, of course, with no makeup and from t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/sylvia-plath-149_awful_i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up_2369604.jpg" --- # I had always imagined myself hitching up on to my elbows… ![“I had always imagined myself hitching up on to my elbows on the delivery table after it was all over - dead white, of course, with no makeup and from the awful ordeal, but smiling and radiant, with my hair down to my waist, and reaching out for my first little squirmy child and saying its name…” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/sylvia-plath-149_awful_i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up_2369604.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/sylvia-plath-149_awful_i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up_2369604.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/sylvia-plath-149_awful_i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up_2369604.jpg) > “I had always imagined myself hitching up on to my elbows on the delivery table after it was all over - dead white, of course, with no makeup and from the awful ordeal, but smiling and radiant, with my hair down to my waist, and reaching out for my first little squirmy child and saying its name, whatever it was.” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## 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 envisions a post‑trauma rebirth, yearning for natural beauty and maternal love after hardship. **In simple terms:** She imagines a hopeful, radiant self after pain. Key Takeaway Embrace healing and nurture new life. Themes rebirth maternal love self‑acceptance trauma recovery Mood hopeful reflective Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - post‑surgery recovery - post‑partum period - grieving process - career transition Key Concepts existentialism feminist perspective psychological resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate realistic hope after trauma? - What small steps support genuine healing? A Different Perspective Idealized image may overlook real emotional complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Delivery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delivery/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Makeup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makeup/) [No makeup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-makeup/) ## Related quotes > [Sweat pants, hair tied, chillin wit no makeup on. That's when you're the prettiest, I hope that you don't take it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/sweat-pants-hair-tied-chillin-wit-no-makeup-on-that-s-when-you-re-the/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Summer = yoga, snowcones, swimming & no makeup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethenny-frankel/summer-yoga-snowcones-swimming-no-makeup/) [Bethenny Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethenny-frankel/) > [Motion capture is amazing. I prefer it. You wear a 'Power Ranger'-esque suit, you have tape balls on you, you have 60 cameras around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellan-lutz/motion-capture-is-amazing-i-prefer-it-you-wear-a-power-ranger-esque/) [Kellan Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellan-lutz/) > [Some girls look beautiful with no makeup on at all. I call them lazy. Now go throw some war paint on you bleak empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-girls-look-beautiful-with-no-makeup-on-at-all-i-call-them-lazy/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [I once said to someone, 'If I could shave my head and wear no makeup and get a part just on my talent, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teri-polo/i-once-said-to-someone-if-i-could-shave-my-head-and-wear-no-makeup/) [Teri Polo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teri-polo/) > [I think that artifice is the new reality. It's more about just being honest and sincere to the core of what you do. Whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-think-that-artifice-is-the-new-reality-it-s-more-about-just-being/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [My personal style is really comfy: flats, tennis shoes, ponytails, no makeup,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-bauer-van-straten/my-personal-style-is-really-comfy-flats-tennis-shoes-ponytails-no/) [Kristin Bauer van Straten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-bauer-van-straten/) > [I really don't have a problem showing the ugly side of people. If that means my wearing no makeup, that's fine. To me, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ryan/i-really-don-t-have-a-problem-showing-the-ugly-side-of-people-if-that/) [Amy Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ryan/) > [No Make up makes a girl pretty… IF no one cares how a girl looks? you must be a reall jerk :/](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashhh/no-make-up-makes-a-girl-pretty-if-no-one-cares-how-a-girl-looks-you/) Ashhh > [I'm not a make-up person, I always take a less-is-more approach to my routine. Less is more: "no makeup" makeup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-m-not-a-make-up-person-i-always-take-a-less-is-more-approach-to-my/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [“Makeup often makes a woman look like another woman; and/or like she is another woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/makeup-often-makes-a-woman-look-like-another-woman-and-or-like-she-is/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If I had to teach someone just one thing about lip color it would be this: Find a lipstick that looks good on your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobbi-brown/if-i-had-to-teach-someone-just-one-thing-about-lip-color-it-would-be/) [Bobbi Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobbi-brown/) > [I'm not quite ready for a no makeup movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tea-leoni/i-m-not-quite-ready-for-a-no-makeup-movie/) [Tea Leoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tea-leoni/) > [On stage, I'm this figure, this actor, who does things that people aren't used to seeing and I relish in that reaction. In real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/on-stage-i-m-this-figure-this-actor-who-does-things-that-people-aren/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [My idea of no makeup on actors is really no makeup. I mean, they can be wearing makeup. I don't care what they're wearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-holofcener/my-idea-of-no-makeup-on-actors-is-really-no-makeup-i-mean-they-can-be/) [Nicole Holofcener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-holofcener/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Awful quotes > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. "I have wanted to, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/layla-brought-her-arms-around-herself-no-doubt-because-she-was/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [You've seen the first issue and what happened in the last page. Some pretty awful stuff. I don't know why I seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-shalvey/you-ve-seen-the-first-issue-and-what-happened-in-the-last-page-some/) [Declan Shalvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-shalvey/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There was a special challenge in describing the awful childhood of a person who happens to be my own husband. It was very painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/there-was-a-special-challenge-in-describing-the-awful-childhood-of-a/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [On balance the moral influence of religion has been awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/on-balance-the-moral-influence-of-religion-has-been-awful/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [Fascism: awful stench of saw and axe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/fascism-awful-stench-of-saw-and-axe/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [No one with a bad tie is getting my vote. Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/no-one-with-a-bad-tie-is-getting-my-vote-some-lib-dems-wear-the-most/) [Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/) > [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“I am awful. I am heartless. I am scared that these things are actually true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-awful-i-am-heartless-i-am-scared-that-these-things-are-actually/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-an-awful-way-to-run-a-country-but-it-s-the-best-system/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) Browse all 1,826 Awful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had always imagined myself hitching up on to my elbows on the delivery table after it was all over - dead white, of course, with no makeup and from the awful ordeal, but smiling and radiant, with my hair down to my waist, and reaching out for my first little squirmy child and saying its name, whatever it was.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvia Plath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up-on-to-my-elbows-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up-on-to-my-elbows-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/sylvia-plath-149_awful_i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up_2369604.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/sylvia-plath-149_awful_i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up_2369604.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ba/sylvia-plath-149_awful_i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up_2369604.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had always imagined myself hitching up on to my elbows on the delivery table after it was all over - dead…” — Sylvia Plath", "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": "Sylvia Plath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had always imagined myself hitching...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up-on-to-my-elbows-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-had-always-imagined-myself-hitching-up-on-to-my-elbows-on-the/#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 } } ] } ```