--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All the being and the doing, expansive…" description: "\"“All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped cor..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/virginia-woolf-49_darkness_all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-gl_1807529.jpg" --- # All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal… ![“All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/virginia-woolf-49_darkness_all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-gl_1807529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/virginia-woolf-49_darkness_all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-gl_1807529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/virginia-woolf-49_darkness_all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-gl_1807529.jpg) > ““All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others.”” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The self contracts to a core of solitude, hidden from others, amid life's expansive activities. **In simple terms:** Self becomes a hidden core. Key Takeaway Recognize inner solitude. Themes identity solitude perception Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - quiet contemplation - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism selfhood inner life Questions to Reflect On - What inner core do you hide? - How does solitude affect creativity? A Different Perspective Isolation may hinder connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Core Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/core-darkness-2085699/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Expansive Glittering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expansive-glittering-2085698/) [Invisibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invisibility/) [Seclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seclusion/) [Shrunk Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shrunk-sense-2085700/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Solemnity Oneself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solemnity-oneself-2085701/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) ## Related quotes > [To be silent; to be alone. All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-be-silent-to-be-alone-all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I suffered no pain, my hunger had taken the edge off; instead I felt pleasantly empty, untouched by everything around me and happy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/i-suffered-no-pain-my-hunger-had-taken-the-edge-off-instead-i-felt/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [Nor has he lived in vain, who from his cradle to his grave has passed his life in seclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/nor-has-he-lived-in-vain-who-from-his-cradle-to-his-grave-has-passed/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Go into seclusion and rest your mind on the silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharma-mittra/go-into-seclusion-and-rest-your-mind-on-the-silence/) [Dharma Mittra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharma-mittra/) > [“Loneliness clarifies. Here silence stands Like heat. Here leaves unnoticed thicken, Hidden weeds flower, neglected waters quicken, Luminously-peopled air ascends; And past the poppies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/loneliness-clarifies-here-silence-stands-like-heat-here-leaves/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [“In the case of the solitary, his seclusion, even when it is absolute and ends only with life itself, has often as its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/in-the-case-of-the-solitary-his-seclusion-even-when-it-is-absolute/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Few are there that will leave the secure seclusion of the scholar's life, the peaceful walks of literature and learning, to stand out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-adler/few-are-there-that-will-leave-the-secure-seclusion-of-the-scholar-s/) [Felix Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-adler/) > [Mr. Tulkinghorn, sitting in the twilight by the open window, enjoys his wine. 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To thrive in the crevices of existence, slip into the dark cracks of life and avoid the noise. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-abbott/he-s-only-ever-wanted-solace-to-thrive-in-the-crevices-of-existence/) [Daniel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-abbott/) > [What can my enemies do to me? My paradise is in my heart, it is with me wherever I go. To imprison me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/what-can-my-enemies-do-to-me-my-paradise-is-in-my-heart-it-is-with-me/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) > [“Seclusion wasn't good for anyone; it made you forget how to protect yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-james/seclusion-wasn-t-good-for-anyone-it-made-you-forget-how-to-protect/) [Heather James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-james/) ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. 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That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? 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Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself, a wedge-shaped core of darkness, something invisible to others.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Virginia Woolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-glittering-vocal-evaporated-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-glittering-vocal-evaporated-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/virginia-woolf-49_darkness_all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-gl_1807529.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/virginia-woolf-49_darkness_all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-gl_1807529.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/virginia-woolf-49_darkness_all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-gl_1807529.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of…” — Virginia Woolf", "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": "Virginia Woolf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“All the being and the doing,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-glittering-vocal-evaporated-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/all-the-being-and-the-doing-expansive-glittering-vocal-evaporated-and/#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 } } ] } ```