--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There it was before her - life. Life: she…" description: "\"“There it was before her - life. Life: she thought but she did not finish her thought. She took a look at life, for she had a clear sense of it there, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/virginia-woolf-49_life_there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-th_1800777.jpg" --- # There it was before her - life. Life: she thought but she… ![“There it was before her - life. Life: she thought but she did not finish her thought. She took a look at life, for she had a clear sense of it there, something real, something private, which she shared neither with her children nor with her husband. A sort of transaction went on between them, in…” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/virginia-woolf-49_life_there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-th_1800777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/virginia-woolf-49_life_there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-th_1800777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/virginia-woolf-49_life_there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-th_1800777.jpg) > ““There it was before her - life. Life: she thought but she did not finish her thought. She took a look at life, for she had a clear sense of it there, something real, something private, which she shared neither with her children nor with her husband. A sort of transaction went on between them, in which she was on one side, and life was on another, and she was always trying to get the better of it, as it was of her; and sometimes they parleyed (when she sat alone); there were, she remembered, great reconciliation scenes; but for the most part, oddly enough, she must admit that she felt this thing that she called life terrible, hostile, and quick to pounce on you if you gave it a chance.”” [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. Life feels both intimate and hostile; the narrator struggles with its unpredictable, often painful nature. **In simple terms:** Life can feel scary and private. Key Takeaway Accept life's complexity, seek connection. Themes existence psychology relationships Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy - creative writing - mental health awareness Key Concepts existentialism inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - What parts of life feel hostile to you? - How can sharing lessen that feeling? A Different Perspective Life's hostility may be amplified by isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-life/) [Finish Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finish-thought-1860563/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-thought/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-took-654666/) ## Related quotes > [“I can wait patiently for many things, but the sun might set before you finish a thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-berry/i-can-wait-patiently-for-many-things-but-the-sun-might-set-before-you/) [Julie Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-berry/) > [“And Ansel … Celaena didn’t want to finish that thought. Ansel hadn’t sent her away because of this. Ansel couldn’t be behind this. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/and-ansel-celaena-didn-t-want-to-finish-that-thought-ansel-hadn-t/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [You take over my mind, I cant finish a thought, My vision turns to blind, I cant connect the dots, Im helpless & Im…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo/you-take-over-my-mind-i-cant-finish-a-thought-my-vision-turns-to/) [JoJo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo/) > [“Doubt filled her eyes. “What are we betting for, anyway?” He hadn’t thought about that, but it took his brain all of three seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-stewart/doubt-filled-her-eyes-what-are-we-betting-for-anyway-he-hadn-t/) [J.M. Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-stewart/) > [“You weren’t making love to a slave, you were making love to me.’ And he couldn’t think that through clearly but he could catch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/you-weren-t-making-love-to-a-slave-you-were-making-love-to-me-and-he/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [Last night I thought about all the kerosene I've used in the past ten years. And I thought about books. And for the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/last-night-i-thought-about-all-the-kerosene-i-ve-used-in-the-past-ten/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Phury glanced at John and thought that sometimes it took only a hairbreadth between cars to avoid a mortal accident. Sometimes your whole life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/phury-glanced-at-john-and-thought-that-sometimes-it-took-only-a/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“I thought he had taken my soul, said Rev. I thought he took mine, too. But no one can. It's just been sleeping.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/i-thought-he-had-taken-my-soul-said-rev-i-thought-he-took-mine-too/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“What did it mean to her, this thing she called life? Oh, it was very queer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-did-it-mean-to-her-this-thing-she-called-life-oh-it-was-very/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [There must be another life, she thought, sinking back into her chair, exasperated. Not in dreams; but here and now, in this room, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-must-be-another-life-she-thought-sinking-back-into-her-chair/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Life thought me how to laugh, how to cry, how to stick around, how to let go. I've seen things I wish to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/life-thought-me-how-to-laugh-how-to-cry-how-to-stick-around-how-to/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) > [“Los caminos de la vida, no son como yo pensaba, no son como imaginaba, no son como yo creia. The roads of life are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-valdes-rodriguez/los-caminos-de-la-vida-no-son-como-yo-pensaba-no-son-como-imaginaba/) [Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-valdes-rodriguez/) > [“The year that followed - was it the happiest year of his own life? He often thought so, even knowing that such a thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/the-year-that-followed-was-it-the-happiest-year-of-his-own-life-he/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“How many times in a life, he thought, will I lie down in a darkness whose character I cannot imagine, to see what daybreak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/how-many-times-in-a-life-he-thought-will-i-lie-down-in-a-darkness/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Put love first. Entertain thoughts that give life. And when a thought or resentment, or hurt, or fear comes your way, have another thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-manin-morrissey/put-love-first-entertain-thoughts-that-give-life-and-when-a-thought/) [Mary Manin Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-manin-morrissey/) ## 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 Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There it was before her - life. Life: she thought but she did not finish her thought. She took a look at life, for she had a clear sense of it there, something real, something private, which she shared neither with her children nor with her husband. A sort of transaction went on between them, in which she was on one side, and life was on another, and she was always trying to get the better of it, as it was of her; and sometimes they parleyed (when she sat alone); there were, she remembered, great reconciliation scenes; but for the most part, oddly enough, she must admit that she felt this thing that she called life terrible, hostile, and quick to pounce on you if you gave it a chance.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Virginia Woolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-thought-but-she-did-not-finish/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-thought-but-she-did-not-finish/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/virginia-woolf-49_life_there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-th_1800777.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/virginia-woolf-49_life_there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-th_1800777.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/790/virginia-woolf-49_life_there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-th_1800777.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There it was before her - life. Life: she thought but she did not finish her thought. She took a look at…” — 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": "“There it was before her -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-thought-but-she-did-not-finish/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-it-was-before-her-life-life-she-thought-but-she-did-not-finish/#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 } } ] } ```