---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Standing by the frozen glass, he stared…"
description: "\"“Standing by the frozen glass, he stared down at the icy, barely lit streets running towards the river Seine, the bell-clanging local church, then to t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/tanith-lee-3374_leadership_standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-d_3181072.jpg"
---

#  Standing by the frozen glass, he stared down at the icy…

![“Standing by the frozen glass, he stared down at the icy, barely lit streets running towards the river Seine, the bell-clanging local church, then to the sky like black lead. (&quot;Israbel&quot;)” quote by Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/tanith-lee-3374_leadership_standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-d_3181072.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/tanith-lee-3374_leadership_standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-d_3181072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/tanith-lee-3374_leadership_standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-d_3181072.jpg)

> ““Standing by the frozen glass, he stared down at the icy, barely lit streets running towards the river Seine, the bell-clanging local church, then to the sky like black lead. ("Israbel")””

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The narrator observes a cold, desolate cityscape, suggesting isolation and the starkness of urban life.

**In simple terms:** Cold city evokes isolation.

Key Takeaway

Notice how environment reflects inner feelings.

Themes

urban isolation desolation observation

Mood

somber contemplative

Type

fiction poetic

When to use this quote

- night walks
- writing
- visual arts

Key Concepts

existentialism environmental mood

Questions to Reflect On

- How does the setting influence your mood?
- What does the bell symbolize?

A Different Perspective

It may romanticize loneliness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Seine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seine/) [Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winter/)

## Related quotes

> [“This is the girl in the borrowed trench-coat, moving across the bridge with the river Seine underneath. She pulls something from the jacket's pocket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israel-elysium/this-is-the-girl-in-the-borrowed-trench-coat-moving-across-the-bridge/)

Israel Elysium

> [“Adele and Vladimir danced along the banks of the River Seine, the loveliness of spring a backdrop all around them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristy-cambron/adele-and-vladimir-danced-along-the-banks-of-the-river-seine-the/)

Kristy Cambron

> [“I held up my glass and stared through it, where things looked as distorted as they really were.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/i-held-up-my-glass-and-stared-through-it-where-things-looked-as/)

[Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/)

> [“Ponyboy, listen, don't get tough. You're not like the rest of us and don't try to be..." What was the matter with Two-Bit? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-hinton-2/ponyboy-listen-don-t-get-tough-you-re-not-like-the-rest-of-us-and-don/)

[S.E. Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-hinton-2/)

> [SEINE, n. A kind of net for effecting an involuntary change of environment. For fish it is made strong and coarse, but women are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/seine-n-a-kind-of-net-for-effecting-an-involuntary-change-of/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [“Mephisto zeigte alle seine Schneidezähne in alphabetisch unwiderstehlicher Reihenfolge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albrecht-behmel/mephisto-zeigte-alle-seine-schneidez-hne-in-alphabetisch/)

Albrecht Behmel

> [If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-you-jumped-off-the-bridge-in-paris-you-d-be-in-seine/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [“I want to be bullied. But in again and you'll pay." "She... wants to be bullied...?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuna-kagesaki/i-want-to-be-bullied-but-in-again-and-you-ll-pay-she-wants-to-be/)

Yuna Kagesaki

> [“So quietly flows the Seine that one hardly notices its presence. It is always there, quiet and unobtrusive, like a great artery running through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/so-quietly-flows-the-seine-that-one-hardly-notices-its-presence-it-is/)

[Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/)

> [“Morning" SUN That awakens Paris The highest poplar on the bank On The Eiffel Tower A tricolored cock Sings to the flapping of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicente-huidobro/morning-sun-that-awakens-paris-the-highest-poplar-on-the-bank-on-the/)

[Vicente Huidobro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicente-huidobro/)

> [“Let’s walk down the rue de Seine and look in all the galleries and in the windows of the shops.’ ‘Sure. We can walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/let-s-walk-down-the-rue-de-seine-and-look-in-all-the-galleries-and-in/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [“Eiffel Tower" To Robert Delaunay Eiffel Tower Guitar of the sky Your wireless telegraphy Attracts words As a rosebush the bees During the night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicente-huidobro/eiffel-tower-to-robert-delaunay-eiffel-tower-guitar-of-the-sky-your/)

[Vicente Huidobro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicente-huidobro/)

> [With the Capital One Bowl, the average fan might think whoopty do. But if you are a team member, you win that game and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-herbstreit/with-the-capital-one-bowl-the-average-fan-might-think-whoopty-do-but/)

[Kirk Herbstreit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-herbstreit/)

> [This, at last, was where things were as they ought to be. Everything was in its place -- the tree, the earth underneath, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-liedloff/this-at-last-was-where-things-were-as-they-ought-to-be-everything-was/)

[Jean Liedloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-liedloff/)

> [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/)

[Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/)

## More by Tanith Lee

> [No one more cynical than an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/no-one-more-cynical-than-an-idealist/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [The humble were the elect of God. Did not the priests teach so, in their gemmed, kingly robes, from their towering pulpits?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/the-humble-were-the-elect-of-god-did-not-the-priests-teach-so-in/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [“Having told of so much beauty, how is it possible to tell of her? There are no words left on the earth in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/having-told-of-so-much-beauty-how-is-it-possible-to-tell-of-her-there/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [As a child, my mother told me lots of fairy stories, many her own invention. She, too, tended to reverse the norm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/as-a-child-my-mother-told-me-lots-of-fairy-stories-many-her-own/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [“Often misunderstood, Dionysus is far more than a wine deity. He is the Breaker of Chains, who rescues not only the flesh but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/often-misunderstood-dionysus-is-far-more-than-a-wine-deity-he-is-the/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [In the usual way I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-usual-way-i-submitted-manuscripts-to-publishers-this-was-not/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [Whatever the hell I am, I am Me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/whatever-the-hell-i-am-i-am-me/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [If they had said my writing wasn't good enough, fair enough, that's an opinion. But to say it's too complex is to insult the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/if-they-had-said-my-writing-wasn-t-good-enough-fair-enough-that-s-an/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [“Louisa beheld the grounds and house with the calm pleasure of one who has seen nothing, been nowhere, expects everything, and has little imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/louisa-beheld-the-grounds-and-house-with-the-calm-pleasure-of-one-who/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [“Live and let love. Love and let go. Go live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/live-and-let-love-love-and-let-go-go-live/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [Pirates have always fascinated me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/pirates-have-always-fascinated-me/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [“All the Scarabae—all but one—were crowded in the garden. They watched her. Their grim old faces gave away nothing. Like elderly kiddies at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/all-the-scarabae-all-but-one-were-crowded-in-the-garden-they-watched/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [“She did this not out of fear of him, but out of pity. Because she had come to see the ultimate terrible truth behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/she-did-this-not-out-of-fear-of-him-but-out-of-pity-because-she-had/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and nonfiction. And even there, who can be sure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/writing-is-writing-and-stories-are-stories-perhaps-the-only-true/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

> [“Tanaquil gently toed the peeve. "I'll unfasten the window. Jump out to the lower roof and run." "Stay and bite," said the peeve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/tanaquil-gently-toed-the-peeve-i-ll-unfasten-the-window-jump-out-to/)

[Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

[Explore all 131 Tanith Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/)

## More Leadership quotes

> [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [It is absolutely necessary... for me to have persons that can think for me, as well as execute orders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/it-is-absolutely-necessary-for-me-to-have-persons-that-can-think-for/)

[George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/)

> [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [“Under the treaty of Sevres in 1920 Greece had been given Smyrna, and by 1922 the Greek army was trying to push its way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/under-the-treaty-of-sevres-in-1920-greece-had-been-given-smyrna-and/)

[Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/)

> [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/)

[Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/)

> [Some people you speak to you speak into their heads. It's logical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/some-people-you-speak-to-you-speak-into-their-heads-it-s-logical/)

[Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/)

> [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/)

Jennifer Siebel Newsom

> [Leaders need to compromise, negotiate with members of both parties and ideologies, and reform health care the right way - by developing a strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/leaders-need-to-compromise-negotiate-with-members-of-both-parties-and/)

[Charles Boustany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-boustany/)

> [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/)

[Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/)

> [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/)

[Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/)

> [No judge can stop us from praying for our country and I pray that on May 6, millions of Americans will join me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-graham/no-judge-can-stop-us-from-praying-for-our-country-and-i-pray-that-on/)

[Franklin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-graham/)

> [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/)

[Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/)

> [You can have Asians being leading men that are sex symbols. You can have leading women powering through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-golding/you-can-have-asians-being-leading-men-that-are-sex-symbols-you-can/)

[Henry Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-golding/)

> [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/)

[Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/)

[Browse all 20,954 Leadership quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Standing by the frozen glass, he stared down at the icy, barely lit streets running towards the river Seine, the bell-clanging local church, then to the sky like black lead. (\"Israbel\")”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tanith Lee"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-down-at-the-icy-barely-lit/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Leadership"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-down-at-the-icy-barely-lit/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/tanith-lee-3374_leadership_standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-d_3181072.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/tanith-lee-3374_leadership_standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-d_3181072.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/663/tanith-lee-3374_leadership_standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-d_3181072.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Standing by the frozen glass, he stared down at the icy, barely lit streets running towards the river Seine…” — Tanith Lee",
                "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": "Tanith Lee",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Standing by the frozen glass, he...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-down-at-the-icy-barely-lit/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/standing-by-the-frozen-glass-he-stared-down-at-the-icy-barely-lit/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
