--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Together they stood in the doorway. For…" description: "\"“Together they stood in the doorway. For Sethe it was as though the Clearing had come to her with all its heat and simmering leaves, where the voices o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/toni-morrison-271_doorway_together-they-stood-in-the-doorway-for-s_2593617.jpg" --- # Together they stood in the doorway. For Sethe it was as… ![“Together they stood in the doorway. For Sethe it was as though the Clearing had come to her with all its heat and simmering leaves, where the voices of women searched for the right combination, the key, the code, the sound that broke the back of words.” quote by Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/toni-morrison-271_doorway_together-they-stood-in-the-doorway-for-s_2593617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/toni-morrison-271_doorway_together-they-stood-in-the-doorway-for-s_2593617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e9/toni-morrison-271_doorway_together-they-stood-in-the-doorway-for-s_2593617.jpg) > ““Together they stood in the doorway. For Sethe it was as though the Clearing had come to her with all its heat and simmering leaves, where the voices of women searched for the right combination, the key, the code, the sound that broke the back of words.”” [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In moments of trauma, women seek a key—an insight or truth—to break oppressive language. **In simple terms:** Women seek truth to heal. Key Takeaway Find the words that liberate. Themes trauma healing voice Mood somber hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - creative writing - activism Key Concepts psychological resilience narrative therapy Questions to Reflect On - What “code” have you uncovered in your pain? - How does sharing your story empower others? A Different Perspective Healing may be non-linear and painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“I was like a woman at a drawer, putting away her party dresses between tissue paper, and there he stood in the doorway-- not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-lee/i-was-like-a-woman-at-a-drawer-putting-away-her-party-dresses-between/) [Rebecca Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-lee/) > [“My girl didn’t step out on me. She just stood in the doorway and wouldn’t close the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/my-girl-didn-t-step-out-on-me-she-just-stood-in-the-doorway-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Well, you stood there with me in the doorway, my hands shake, I'm not usually this way. But you pull me in and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/well-you-stood-there-with-me-in-the-doorway-my-hands-shake-i-m-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Andrew stood in the doorway with Slosky at his back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-sakavic/andrew-stood-in-the-doorway-with-slosky-at-his-back/) [Nora Sakavic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-sakavic/) > [“He stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, the picture of nonchalance, and even as a human, he was too gorgeous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/he-stood-in-the-doorway-with-his-hands-in-his-pockets-the-picture-of/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [Statistics show that diversity in the media is pretty dismal. Critical voices from women and people of color are missing from many important conversations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-russell/statistics-show-that-diversity-in-the-media-is-pretty-dismal-critical/) [Cameron Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-russell/) > [The voices of women need to be heard. The volume needs to be turned up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-bancroft/the-voices-of-women-need-to-be-heard-the-volume-needs-to-be-turned-up/) [Ann Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-bancroft/) > [“Take away the idea of dark times and ruin and you begin to hear other voices. 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We do what we see, not what we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-m-so-happy-that-we-re-finally-hearing-the-stories-and-voices-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I've always been interested in war, but especially its effects on society, which means bringing in the voices of women, which aren't heard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-war-but-especially-its-effects-on/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [The Women's March in Washington was about giving power to the collective voices of women everywhere to demand that our leaders put the interests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-mcbath/the-women-s-march-in-washington-was-about-giving-power-to-the/) [Lucy McBath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-mcbath/) > [I just want to hear the true voices of women self-expressing - smart ones, stupid ones, ugly ones, beautiful ones, good ones, bad ones,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-phair/i-just-want-to-hear-the-true-voices-of-women-self-expressing-smart/) [Liz Phair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-phair/) > [“The voices of the women had the especially sweet and rapturous charm of a gentle stroke passing over the surface of one’s skin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/the-voices-of-the-women-had-the-especially-sweet-and-rapturous-charm/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“He stood in the doorway to a side chamber, bared to the waist and dripping. He propped one shoulder against the doorway and clutched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/he-stood-in-the-doorway-to-a-side-chamber-bared-to-the-waist-and/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) ## More by Toni Morrison > [Perhaps that's what all human relationships boiled down to: Would you save my life? or would you take it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/perhaps-that-s-what-all-human-relationships-boiled-down-to-would-you/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [In times of dread, artists must never choose to remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/in-times-of-dread-artists-must-never-choose-to-remain-silent/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Not know it was hard;knowing it was harder”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/not-know-it-was-hard-knowing-it-was-harder/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Didn’t everything on God’s earth have or acquire defense?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/didn-t-everything-on-god-s-earth-have-or-acquire-defense/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [If you can't count, they can cheat you. If you can't read, they can beat you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/if-you-can-t-count-they-can-cheat-you-if-you-can-t-read-they-can-beat/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“You looked at them and wondered why the were so ugly; you looked closely and could not find the source. Then you realized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-looked-at-them-and-wondered-why-the-were-so-ugly-you-looked/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [All she saw, down in the cellar well beneath the stoop, was a light yellow feather with a tip of green. And she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/all-she-saw-down-in-the-cellar-well-beneath-the-stoop-was-a-light/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [For me, Art is the restoration of order. 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We say twinkle because that is how it looks, but when a star feels itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/you-know-how-a-star-is-supposed-to-twinkle-we-say-twinkle-because/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [My father saw two black men lynched on his street in Cartersville, as a child. And I think seeing two black businessmen - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/my-father-saw-two-black-men-lynched-on-his-street-in-cartersville-as/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“She was fierce in the presence of death, heroic even, as she was at no other time. Its threat gave her direction, clarity, audacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/she-was-fierce-in-the-presence-of-death-heroic-even-as-she-was-at-no/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Explore all 774 Toni Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) ## More Doorway quotes > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“I love you,” he says as he meets me in the doorway. “Just because you say it doesn’t make it true, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-randall/i-love-you-he-says-as-he-meets-me-in-the-doorway-just-because-you-say/) [Andrea Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-randall/) > [She was standing in the airport of Copenhagen, staring at a doorway, trying to figure out if it was (a) a bathroom and (b)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/she-was-standing-in-the-airport-of-copenhagen-staring-at-a-doorway/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“I caught a bob of Rhys's throat as we cleared the final steps to the open doorway. ... And though his face was calm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-caught-a-bob-of-rhys-s-throat-as-we-cleared-the-final-steps-to-the/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [I don't know if I'd want to be a Secret Service agent. In the movies, it's exciting and romantic and all that. Really, most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-quaid/i-don-t-know-if-i-d-want-to-be-a-secret-service-agent-in-the-movies/) [Dennis Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-quaid/) > [“Meditation can be a doorway to mindfulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/meditation-can-be-a-doorway-to-mindfulness/) [Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/) > [After clearing 9 metres of the descending passage, in about the middle of the afternoon, we came upon a second sealed doorway, which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-carter/after-clearing-9-metres-of-the-descending-passage-in-about-the-middle/) [Howard Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-carter/) > [“The volume exploded when Travis appeared in a doorway across the room. He made his entrance, shirtless, relaxed and unaffected. He strolled into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/the-volume-exploded-when-travis-appeared-in-a-doorway-across-the-room/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [There's a part of 'Twin Peaks' that is sort of a hinged doorway to another, stranger place, if you can imagine such a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/there-s-a-part-of-twin-peaks-that-is-sort-of-a-hinged-doorway-to/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [“Lord child you ain't nothing but a doorway. How many haints you count at your heels?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-bond/lord-child-you-ain-t-nothing-but-a-doorway-how-many-haints-you-count/) [Cynthia Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-bond/) > [Imagination is the doorway you walk through into every future moment. Are you walking through doorways to pain or to joy?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/imagination-is-the-doorway-you-walk-through-into-every-future-moment/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It's the simplest thing, a kiss. It's the doorway to everything else, you know? Promise, hope, a future with someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-the-simplest-thing-a-kiss-it-s-the-doorway-to-everything-else/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Success is not a doorway, it's a stairway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dottie-walters/success-is-not-a-doorway-it-s-a-stairway/) [Dottie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dottie-walters/) > [At the time of death we walk through a doorway and our spirit, which is very thin, slides through into another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/at-the-time-of-death-we-walk-through-a-doorway-and-our-spirit-which/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“wet with it. In that same moment the room beyond the doorway was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-kernick/wet-with-it-in-that-same-moment-the-room-beyond-the-doorway-was/) [Simon Kernick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-kernick/) Browse all 140 Doorway quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Together they stood in the doorway. 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