--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She held in her hands for one brief…" description: "\"“She held in her hands for one brief moment the globe which we spend our lives in trying to shape, round, whole, and entire from the confusion of chaos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/virginia-woolf-49_globe_she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-mome_3010001.jpg" --- # She held in her hands for one brief moment the globe which… ![“She held in her hands for one brief moment the globe which we spend our lives in trying to shape, round, whole, and entire from the confusion of chaos.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/virginia-woolf-49_globe_she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-mome_3010001.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/virginia-woolf-49_globe_she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-mome_3010001.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/virginia-woolf-49_globe_she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-mome_3010001.jpg) > ““She held in her hands for one brief moment the globe which we spend our lives in trying to shape, round, whole, and entire from the confusion of chaos.”” [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. Holding the world briefly symbolizes humanity’s attempt to shape chaos into order. **In simple terms:** Holding the world symbolizes order from chaos. Key Takeaway Seek clarity amid chaos. Themes literature existential order chaos Mood poetic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - social reform - artistic creation Key Concepts human condition symbolic representation Questions to Reflect On - What does “the globe” represent for you? - How can you shape disorder into meaning? A Different Perspective Chaos may resist simplification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brief Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brief-moment-976312/) [Confusion Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion-chaos-2998872/) [Globe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/globe/) [Held Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/held-hands/) [Moment Globe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-globe-4821987/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [If all simply insist on rights and no duties, there will be utter confusion and chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-all-simply-insist-on-rights-and-no-duties-there-will-be-utter/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Some people can touch your life for a brief moment but will leave an imprint for a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-williams/some-people-can-touch-your-life-for-a-brief-moment-but-will-leave-an/) [Lisa Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-williams/) > [I guess what I'm passionate about is, I see so many things that I find that there's no real solution to, and you're only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/i-guess-what-i-m-passionate-about-is-i-see-so-many-things-that-i-find/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [You cannot deny that love lasts for only a brief moment, uniting two beings as a single being that is capable of only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/you-cannot-deny-that-love-lasts-for-only-a-brief-moment-uniting-two/) [Leopold von Sacher-Masoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-von-sacher-masoch/) > [For just one night, even if it's only a brief moment. I want to forget everything that was once us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-just-one-night-even-if-it-s-only-a-brief-moment-i-want-to-forget/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There was a brief moment of weightlesssness: a balancing point between air and earth, dirt and heaven. How strange, I thought, how like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/there-was-a-brief-moment-of-weightlesssness-a-balancing-point-between/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [It's what Shakespeare's mission was - to illuminate our thoughts and struggles and bring about the possibility of getting the most we can out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/it-s-what-shakespeare-s-mission-was-to-illuminate-our-thoughts-and/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [There's a brief moment when you first wake up, where you have no memories. A blissful blank slate, a happy emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/there-s-a-brief-moment-when-you-first-wake-up-where-you-have-no/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [But only a brief moment is granted to the brave one breath or two, whose wage is the long nights of the grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/but-only-a-brief-moment-is-granted-to-the-brave-one-breath-or-two/) [Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/) > [Love is a brief moment for which you hold forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-the-best/love-is-a-brief-moment-for-which-you-hold-forever/) [SAM (THE BEST](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-the-best/) > [“That brief moment of being loved is worth any pain you have to endure at losing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-bayley-burke/that-brief-moment-of-being-loved-is-worth-any-pain-you-have-to-endure/) [Jenna Bayley-Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-bayley-burke/) > [“After a brief moment of splendour, the whole enterprise too a sad turn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-schulz/after-a-brief-moment-of-splendour-the-whole-enterprise-too-a-sad-turn/) [Bruno Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-schulz/) > [“But had he squandered it? He thought maybe not. At least not entirely. He’d enjoyed his brief moment of wakefulness. He’d seen and experienced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-f-gustav/but-had-he-squandered-it-he-thought-maybe-not-at-least-not-entirely/) [G.F. Gustav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-f-gustav/) > [“This is not a letter but my arms about you for a brief moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/this-is-not-a-letter-but-my-arms-about-you-for-a-brief-moment/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [God often gives in one brief moment that which He has for a long time denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/god-often-gives-in-one-brief-moment-that-which-he-has-for-a-long-time/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) ## 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 Globe quotes > [Read more learn more, change the globe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/read-more-learn-more-change-the-globe/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [Extreme weather threatens our energy and electric grid, federal buildings, transportation infrastructure, access to natural resources, public health, our relationships across the globe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cartwright/extreme-weather-threatens-our-energy-and-electric-grid-federal/) [Matt Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cartwright/) > [That first replica of the Globe that I saw at the Chicago World's Fair was a suspect thing, made of plywood and papier-mache. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-wanamaker/that-first-replica-of-the-globe-that-i-saw-at-the-chicago-world-s/) [Sam Wanamaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-wanamaker/) > [Thousands upon thousands of people across America and many more across the globe are suffering at the hands of the oil and gas industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-fox/thousands-upon-thousands-of-people-across-america-and-many-more/) [Josh Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-fox/) > [“The thrill of working in this building, with its iconic globe on top, would never fade.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenda-bond/the-thrill-of-working-in-this-building-with-its-iconic-globe-on-top/) [Gwenda Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenda-bond/) > [My generation has left the globe in a mess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/my-generation-has-left-the-globe-in-a-mess/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“Your potentials contain local elements that can react with your passion to produce global compounds for the solution of the world’s problems. Go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/your-potentials-contain-local-elements-that-can-react-with-your/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [In seeking an empire of liberty, Jefferson wished not only to expand the country's territorial holdings, but also to extend American institutions around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/in-seeking-an-empire-of-liberty-jefferson-wished-not-only-to-expand/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [“If we want truth and justice to rule our global village, there must be no hypocrisy. If there is no truth, then there will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-we-want-truth-and-justice-to-rule-our-global-village-there-must-be/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [When we consider the fact that nearly three-quarters of the surface of the globe is covered by oceanic water, we begin to realise that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-raman/when-we-consider-the-fact-that-nearly-three-quarters-of-the-surface/) [C. V. Raman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-raman/) > [A Golden Globe is a mood-altering substance, there's no doubt about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-griffiths/a-golden-globe-is-a-mood-altering-substance-there-s-no-doubt-about/) [Rachel Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-griffiths/) > [ The globe of this earth … \[is\] … not just a machine but also a organised body as it has a regenerative power. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hutton/the-globe-of-this-earth-is-not-just-a-machine-but-also-a-organised/) [James Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hutton/) > [Every woman across the globe is my inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupali-ganguly/every-woman-across-the-globe-is-my-inspiration/) [Rupali Ganguly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupali-ganguly/) > [Digital Globe is, I think, a really great company. And it's had its virtual monopoly in the area where it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-robertson/digital-globe-is-i-think-a-really-great-company-and-it-s-had-its/) [Julian Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-robertson/) > [In spite of the opinions of certain narrow-minded people, who would shut up the human race upon this globe, as within some magic circle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/in-spite-of-the-opinions-of-certain-narrow-minded-people-who-would/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) [Browse all 159 Globe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/globe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She held in her hands for one brief moment the globe which we spend our lives in trying to shape, round, whole, and entire from the confusion of chaos.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Virginia Woolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-moment-the-globe-which-we-spend/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Globe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-moment-the-globe-which-we-spend/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/virginia-woolf-49_globe_she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-mome_3010001.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/virginia-woolf-49_globe_she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-mome_3010001.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b87/virginia-woolf-49_globe_she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-mome_3010001.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She held in her hands for one brief moment the globe which we spend our lives in trying to shape, round…” — 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": "“She held in her hands for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-moment-the-globe-which-we-spend/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-held-in-her-hands-for-one-brief-moment-the-globe-which-we-spend/#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 } } ] } ```