---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every woman, even the most respectable…"
description: "\"“Every woman, even the most respectable, had roses blooming under glass; lips cut with a knife; curls of Indian ink; there was design, art, everywhere;..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/virginia-woolf-49_art_every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-ha_593395.jpg"
---

#  Every woman, even the most respectable, had roses blooming…

![“Every woman, even the most respectable, had roses blooming under glass; lips cut with a knife; curls of Indian ink; there was design, art, everywhere; a change of some sort had undoubtedly taken place.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/virginia-woolf-49_art_every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-ha_593395.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/virginia-woolf-49_art_every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-ha_593395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/virginia-woolf-49_art_every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-ha_593395.jpg)

> ““Every woman, even the most respectable, had roses blooming under glass; lips cut with a knife; curls of Indian ink; there was design, art, everywhere; a change of some sort had undoubtedly taken place.””

[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.

Even respectable women conceal hidden pains and artistic impulses, indicating a universal undercurrent of suppressed creativity and emotional depth.

**In simple terms:** Women hide inner struggles and creativity.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and nurture hidden artistic expression.

Themes

gender roles creativity psychology identity

Mood

reflective empathetic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- mental health awareness
- creative workshops

Key Concepts

feminist critique inner life artistic suppression

Questions to Reflect On

- How do societal expectations shape inner expression?
- What can support hidden creativity?

A Different Perspective

Not all women experience this uniformly; cultural context varies.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flowers/) [Roses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roses/)

## Related quotes

> [When you cut, The skin around it puffs, red like wine. The blood beads up, perfectly in a crimson dotted line. It tingles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baileyrenae/when-you-cut-the-skin-around-it-puffs-red-like-wine-the-blood-beads-2/)

BaileyRenae

> [“I want to cut your lips, and cut your lisp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-want-to-cut-your-lips-and-cut-your-lisp/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [When you cut. The skin around it puffs red like wine. The blood beads up, perfectly in a crimson dotted line. It tingles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-cut-the-skin-around-it-puffs-red-like-wine-the-blood-beads/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Words are like butter Rolling off my lips Cut like a knife And now I'm sinking battleships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geri-halliwell/words-are-like-butter-rolling-off-my-lips-cut-like-a-knife-and-now-i/)

[Geri Halliwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geri-halliwell/)

> [“I can see some of the roses still blooming in my mother´s garden. Brown on the edges and bright in other colors, their petals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-nowlin/i-can-see-some-of-the-roses-still-blooming-in-my-mother-s-garden/)

[Laura Nowlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-nowlin/)

> [“We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/we-are-all-dreaming-of-some-magical-rose-garden-over-the-horizon/)

[Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/)

> [“It is winter now, and the roses are blooming again, their petals bright against the snow. My father died last April; my sisters no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-yolen/it-is-winter-now-and-the-roses-are-blooming-again-their-petals-bright/)

[Jane Yolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-yolen/)

> [“It was a clear, bright, beautiful day, the air tinged with salt, the climbing roses blooming. The graveyard was filled with sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/it-was-a-clear-bright-beautiful-day-the-air-tinged-with-salt-the/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“I wonder why Miss Kosugi's lectures are always so stiff. Is she a fool? It makes me sad. She went on and on, explaining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/i-wonder-why-miss-kosugi-s-lectures-are-always-so-stiff-is-she-a-fool/)

[Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/)

> [Friendship is a bouquet of roses blooming into your life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-is-a-bouquet-of-roses-blooming-into-your-life/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/one-of-the-most-tragic-things-i-know-about-human-nature-is-that-all/)

[Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/)

> [Can art change the world? Maybe ... we should change the question: Can art change people's lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jr/can-art-change-the-world-maybe-we-should-change-the-question-can-art/)

JR

> [Poetry can change the world, just like any art can change the world, by changing consciousness. Of course this was the great slogan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/poetry-can-change-the-world-just-like-any-art-can-change-the-world-by/)

[Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/)

> [Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who could change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/art-cannot-change-the-world-but-it-can-contribute-to-changing-the/)

[Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/)

> [The basis of art is change in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-basis-of-art-is-change-in-the-universe/)

[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 &amp; 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 Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

Taf Teh

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Every woman, even the most respectable, had roses blooming under glass; lips cut with a knife; curls of Indian ink; there was design, art, everywhere; a change of some sort had undoubtedly taken place.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Virginia Woolf"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-had-roses-blooming-under-glass/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-had-roses-blooming-under-glass/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/virginia-woolf-49_art_every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-ha_593395.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/virginia-woolf-49_art_every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-ha_593395.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/virginia-woolf-49_art_every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-ha_593395.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Every woman, even the most respectable, had roses blooming under glass; lips cut with a knife; curls 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": "“Every woman, even the most respectable,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-had-roses-blooming-under-glass/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/every-woman-even-the-most-respectable-had-roses-blooming-under-glass/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
