--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And she wanted to say not one thing, but…" description: "\"“And she wanted to say not one thing, but everything. Little words that broke up the thought and dismembered it said nothing. “About life, about death;..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/virginia-woolf-49_emptiness_and-she-wanted-to-say-not-one-thing-but_2409833.jpg" --- # And she wanted to say not one thing, but everything… ![“And she wanted to say not one thing, but everything. Little words that broke up the thought and dismembered it said nothing. “About life, about death; about Mrs. Ramsay”—no, she thought, one could say nothing to nobody. The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and…” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/virginia-woolf-49_emptiness_and-she-wanted-to-say-not-one-thing-but_2409833.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/virginia-woolf-49_emptiness_and-she-wanted-to-say-not-one-thing-but_2409833.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/virginia-woolf-49_emptiness_and-she-wanted-to-say-not-one-thing-but_2409833.jpg) > ““And she wanted to say not one thing, but everything. Little words that broke up the thought and dismembered it said nothing. “About life, about death; about Mrs. Ramsay”—no, she thought, one could say nothing to nobody. The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and struck the object inches too low. Then one gave it up; then the idea sunk back again; then one became like most middle-aged people, cautious, furtive, with wrinkles between the eyes and a look of perpetual apprehension. For how could one express in words these emotions of the body? express that emptiness there? (She was looking at the drawing-room steps; they looked extraordinarily empty.) It was one’s body feeling, not one’s mind. The physical sensations that went with the bare look of the steps had become suddenly extremely unpleasant. TO want and not to have, sent all up her body a hardness, a hollowness, a strain. And then to want and not to have—to want and want—how that wrung the heart, and wrung it again and again! Oh, Mrs. Ramsay! She called out silently, to that essence which sat by the boat, that abstract one made of her, that woman in grey, as if to abuse her for having gone, and then having gone, come back again. It seemed so safe, thinking of her. Ghost, air, nothingness, a thing you could play with easily and safely at any time of day or night, she had been that, and then suddenly she put her hand out and wrung the heart thus. Suddenly, the empty drawing-room steps, the frill of the chair inside, the puppy tumbling on the terrace, the whole wave and whisper of the garden became like curves and arabesques flourishing around a centre of complete emptiness.”” [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 struggle to articulate deep emotions leads to fragmented thoughts and a sense of emptiness. **In simple terms:** Words often fail to capture feeling. Key Takeaway Seek non‑verbal expression. Themes art expression existentialism Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - artistic performance Key Concepts subjectivity language limits Questions to Reflect On - How do you express what words cannot? - What helps you feel whole when words fail? A Different Perspective Non‑verbal expression can be misinterpreted or dismissed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Ramsay Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ramsay-thought-1294110/) [Thought Dismembered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-dismembered-6062679/) [Time of day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-of-day/) [Words Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-emotions-1085594/) [Words Fluttered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-fluttered-1082020/) ## Related quotes > [One could say nothing to nobody. The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and struck the object inches too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/one-could-say-nothing-to-nobody-the-urgency-of-the-moment-always/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She looked now at the drawing-room step. She saw, through William’s eyes, the shape of a woman, peaceful and silent, with downcast eyes. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-looked-now-at-the-drawing-room-step-she-saw-through-william-s/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [...so now, Mrs. Ramsay thought, she could return to that dream land, that unreal but fascinating place, the Manning's drawing-room at Marlow twenty years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/so-now-mrs-ramsay-thought-she-could-return-to-that-dream-land-that/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Like all feelings felt for oneself, Mrs. Ramsay thought, it made one sad. It was so inadequate, what one could give in return; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/like-all-feelings-felt-for-oneself-mrs-ramsay-thought-it-made-one-sad/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She had some hidden reason of her own for attaching great importance to this choosing what her mother was to wear. What was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-had-some-hidden-reason-of-her-own-for-attaching-great-importance/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and struck the object inches too low. Then one gave it up;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-urgency-of-the-moment-always-missed-its-mark-words-fluttered/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [No, she thought, one could say nothing to nobody. The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and struck the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/no-she-thought-one-could-say-nothing-to-nobody-the-urgency-of-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“How could one express in words these emotions of the body? Express that emptiness there? It was one's body feeling, not one's mind. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-could-one-express-in-words-these-emotions-of-the-body-express/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“They do not know what the words mean; they do not know how to ward them off or blunt their edge or fling them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/they-do-not-know-what-the-words-mean-they-do-not-know-how-to-ward/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Mark my words, emotions hit hard in a crowd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinaya/mark-my-words-emotions-hit-hard-in-a-crowd/) [Vinaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinaya/) > [For we let our young men and women go out unarmed in a day when armor was never so necessary. By teaching them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/for-we-let-our-young-men-and-women-go-out-unarmed-in-a-day-when-armor/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“You’re a lot of things, Nell Hawthorne. You’re complex. You’re cute. You’re lovely. You’re funny. You’re strong. You’re beautiful.” She seems to be struggling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasinda-wilder/you-re-a-lot-of-things-nell-hawthorne-you-re-complex-you-re-cute-you/) [Jasinda Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasinda-wilder/) > [“Sometimes in the great soundtrack of our lives there are no words, there are only emotions; I believe this is why God gave us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-in-the-great-soundtrack-of-our-lives-there-are-no-words/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's tough to control your words and your emotions. A lot of guys will say things out of emotion at that moment when really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-frye/it-s-tough-to-control-your-words-and-your-emotions-a-lot-of-guys-will/) [Channing Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-frye/) > [The unconscious mind: I don't need no pain. I'm just gonna have another drink. Closed eyes see darkness, patterns of thoughts in all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-unconscious-mind-i-don-t-need-no-pain-i-m-just-gonna-have-another/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) [aryadeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryadeva/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And she wanted to say not one thing, but everything. Little words that broke up the thought and dismembered it said nothing. “About life, about death; about Mrs. Ramsay”—no, she thought, one could say nothing to nobody. The urgency of the moment always missed its mark. Words fluttered sideways and struck the object inches too low. Then one gave it up; then the idea sunk back again; then one became like most middle-aged people, cautious, furtive, with wrinkles between the eyes and a look of perpetual apprehension. For how could one express in words these emotions of the body? express that emptiness there? (She was looking at the drawing-room steps; they looked extraordinarily empty.) It was one’s body feeling, not one’s mind. The physical sensations that went with the bare look of the steps had become suddenly extremely unpleasant. TO want and not to have, sent all up her body a hardness, a hollowness, a strain. And then to want and not to have—to want and want—how that wrung the heart, and wrung it again and again! Oh, Mrs. Ramsay! She called out silently, to that essence which sat by the boat, that abstract one made of her, that woman in grey, as if to abuse her for having gone, and then having gone, come back again. It seemed so safe, thinking of her. Ghost, air, nothingness, a thing you could play with easily and safely at any time of day or night, she had been that, and then suddenly she put her hand out and wrung the heart thus. 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