--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We live in a stocking which is in the…" description: "\"“We live in a stocking which is in the process of being turned inside out, without our ever knowing for sure to what phase of the process our moment of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/vladimir-nabokov-198_hermeneutics_we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-pr_3141026.jpg" --- # We live in a stocking which is in the process of being… ![“We live in a stocking which is in the process of being turned inside out, without our ever knowing for sure to what phase of the process our moment of consciousness corresponds.” quote by Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/vladimir-nabokov-198_hermeneutics_we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-pr_3141026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/vladimir-nabokov-198_hermeneutics_we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-pr_3141026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/vladimir-nabokov-198_hermeneutics_we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-pr_3141026.jpg) > ““We live in a stocking which is in the process of being turned inside out, without our ever knowing for sure to what phase of the process our moment of consciousness corresponds.”” [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) ## 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 like a sock being turned inside out, with consciousness uncertain of its stage in the process. **In simple terms:** Life is confusing and constantly changing. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty in personal growth. Themes change consciousness uncertainty Mood reflective philosophical Type literary thought‑provoking When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - psychological analysis Key Concepts philosophy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate moments of confusion? - What does “inside out” mean to you? A Different Perspective May be too abstract for practical guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hermeneutics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hermeneutics/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Stocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stocking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [OH, THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING IN THE STOCKING THAT MAKES A NOISE, said Death. OTHERWISE, WHAT IS 4:30 A.M. FOR?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/oh-there-has-to-be-something-in-the-stocking-that-makes-a-noise-said/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A healthy man is content with a woman. An erotic man is content with a stocking to get to a woman. A sick man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-healthy-man-is-content-with-a-woman-an-erotic-man-is-content-with-a/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [A blue-stocking is the scourge of her husband, children, friends, servants, and every one. \[Fr., Une femme bel-esprit est le fleau de son mari,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/a-blue-stocking-is-the-scourge-of-her-husband-children-friends/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [When you're young, you think you can handle anything. By the time you find out otherwise, it's already too late. You got a stocking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-you-re-young-you-think-you-can-handle-anything-by-the-time-you/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking. Now, Heaven knows, anything goes. The world has gone mad today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-porter/in-olden-days-a-glimpse-of-stocking-was-looked-on-as-something-2/) [Cole Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-porter/) > [I loved Christmas. We had a really great time. But there wasn't - it was all - you had to be happy with, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-lowe/i-loved-christmas-we-had-a-really-great-time-but-there-wasn-t-it-was/) [Nick Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-lowe/) > [Christmas it too large to be tucked away in the toe of a child's stocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-stanley-lee/christmas-it-too-large-to-be-tucked-away-in-the-toe-of-a-child-s/) [Gerald Stanley Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-stanley-lee/) > [That's not a run in your stocking, it's a hand on your leg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-o-hara/that-s-not-a-run-in-your-stocking-it-s-a-hand-on-your-leg/) [Frank O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-o-hara/) > [I'd like a stocking made for a giant, And a meeting house full of toys, Then I'd go out in a happy hunt For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/i-d-like-a-stocking-made-for-a-giant-and-a-meeting-house-full-of-toys/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [With toilet books, people don't review them that much. They don't really pay much attention to them. It's just like, "Oh, okay. I'll put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-magary/with-toilet-books-people-don-t-review-them-that-much-they-don-t/) [Drew Magary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-magary/) > [My mom always puts a grapefruit in my stocking. I like grapefruit, but why put it in a stocking like it's a gift? It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/my-mom-always-puts-a-grapefruit-in-my-stocking-i-like-grapefruit-but/) [Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/) > [ “\[When I meditate,\] there in the deep, I could sense something circulating inside me. It was a Knowing. I can know things down at… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glennon-doyle/when-i-meditate-there-in-the-deep-i-could-sense-something-circulating/) [Glennon Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glennon-doyle/) > [I've done everything from stocking shelves at a natural food co-op, to baking bagels at Brueggers and bussing tables. Then I realized that jobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-arment/i-ve-done-everything-from-stocking-shelves-at-a-natural-food-co-op-to/) [Marco Arment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-arment/) > [“Some call it stocking, I call it love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph/some-call-it-stocking-i-call-it-love/) Ralph > [In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking but now, God knows, anything goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-porter/in-olden-days-a-glimpse-of-stocking-was-looked-on-as-something/) [Cole Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-porter/) ## More by Vladimir Nabokov > [And the rest is rust and stardust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-the-rest-is-rust-and-stardust/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-no-science-without-fancy-and-no-art-without-fact/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“My solemn exasperation was to her the silence of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/my-solemn-exasperation-was-to-her-the-silence-of-love/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [ “...under no circumstances would he \[Humbert Humbert\] have interfered with the innocence of a child, if there was the least risk of a row.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/under-no-circumstances-would-he-humbert-humbert-have-interfered-with/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Ami azt illeti, Vannak kezdtek nagyon tetszeni a fák is, a csodák is meg az Adák is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/ami-azt-illeti-vannak-kezdtek-nagyon-tetszeni-a-f-k-is-a-csod-k-is/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [We live not only in a world of thoughts, but also in a world of things. Words without experience are meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-not-only-in-a-world-of-thoughts-but-also-in-a-world-of-things/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“As palavras sem a experiência não teriam qualquer significado.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/as-palavras-sem-a-experi-ncia-n-o-teriam-qualquer-significado/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“It isn’t possible. I cannot imagine it. Come on over here, you foolish little doe, and tell me on what day I shall die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-isn-t-possible-i-cannot-imagine-it-come-on-over-here-you-foolish/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Precautions to be taken in the case Of freak reincarnation: what to do On suddenly discovering that you Are now a young and vulnerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/precautions-to-be-taken-in-the-case-of-freak-reincarnation-what-to-do/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [And this is the only immortality you and i may share, my Lolita.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-this-is-the-only-immortality-you-and-i-may-share-my-lolita/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“Be true to your Dick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/be-true-to-your-dick/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“It is indeed a tricky name. It is often misspelt, because the eye tends to regard the "a" of the first syllable as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/it-is-indeed-a-tricky-name-it-is-often-misspelt-because-the-eye-tends/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“(T)here exist friendships which develop their own inner duration, their own eons of transparent time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/t-here-exist-friendships-which-develop-their-own-inner-duration-their/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“She was all rose and honey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/she-was-all-rose-and-honey/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) [Explore all 883 Vladimir Nabokov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) ## More Hermeneutics quotes > [“Pastors and Bible teachers go about their work in communal settings, where they listen to as well as deliver sermons, hear as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-j-leithart/pastors-and-bible-teachers-go-about-their-work-in-communal-settings/) [Peter J. Leithart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-j-leithart/) > [“In my view, the gospels are true, not historically, but theologically, or, as I would argue, prophetically! What we have is, the Messiah’s history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/in-my-view-the-gospels-are-true-not-historically-but-theologically-or/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) > [Although there has always been a hermeneutic problem in Christianity, the hermeneutic question today seems to us a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/although-there-has-always-been-a-hermeneutic-problem-in-christianity/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [By now they had mastered my own language, but they still made simple mistakes, like using 'hermeneutics,' when they meant 'heuristic'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/by-now-they-had-mastered-my-own-language-but-they-still-made-simple/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“One could say that my view legitimately fuses the end-time messianic expectations of all three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/one-could-say-that-my-view-legitimately-fuses-the-end-time-messianic/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) > [“If we fail to understand the biblical story of Jesus, we will compromise our prophetic interpretations of the end-times. And that's exactly what we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/if-we-fail-to-understand-the-biblical-story-of-jesus-we-will/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) > [To a degree which is difficult to determine, the esoteric impulse in twentieth-century music, literature and the arts reflects calculation. It looks to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/to-a-degree-which-is-difficult-to-determine-the-esoteric-impulse-in/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [Talk can neither be verified nor falsified in any rigorous sense. This is an open secret which hermeneutics and aesthetics, from Aristotle to Croce,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/talk-can-neither-be-verified-nor-falsified-in-any-rigorous-sense-this/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) > [“Historical exegesis is only the preliminary part of interpretation; application is its essence. Exegesis without application should not be called interpretation at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer-2/historical-exegesis-is-only-the-preliminary-part-of-interpretation/) [J.I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer-2/) > [“There is a moment in the tractate Menahot when the Rabbis imagine what takes place when Moses ascends Mount Sinai to receive the Torah.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rosen/there-is-a-moment-in-the-tractate-menahot-when-the-rabbis-imagine/) [Jonathan Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rosen/) > [A physicist friend of mine once said that in facing death, he drew some consolation from the reflection that he would never again have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/a-physicist-friend-of-mine-once-said-that-in-facing-death-he-drew/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“Too often scholars have thought and even suggested that what happened during and after Constantine was that the church sought to replace the pagan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-witherington-iii/too-often-scholars-have-thought-and-even-suggested-that-what-happened/) [Ben Witherington III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-witherington-iii/) > [The hermeneutic consciousness, which must be awakened and kept awake, recognized that in the age of science philosophy's claim of superiority has something chimerical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-georg-gadamer/the-hermeneutic-consciousness-which-must-be-awakened-and-kept-awake/) [Hans-Georg Gadamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-georg-gadamer/) > [I am firmly of the opinion that the Macintosh is Catholic and that DOS is Protestant. 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I am convinced that there are not multiple comings and multiple returns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-of-kittim/what-is-the-difference-between-my-view-and-the-classical-christian/) [Eli Of Kittim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-of-kittim/) [Browse all 45 Hermeneutics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hermeneutics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We live in a stocking which is in the process of being turned inside out, without our ever knowing for sure to what phase of the process our moment of consciousness corresponds.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vladimir Nabokov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-process-of-being-turned-inside/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hermeneutics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-process-of-being-turned-inside/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/vladimir-nabokov-198_hermeneutics_we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-pr_3141026.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/vladimir-nabokov-198_hermeneutics_we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-pr_3141026.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bad/vladimir-nabokov-198_hermeneutics_we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-pr_3141026.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We live in a stocking which is in the process of being turned inside out, without our ever knowing for sure…” — Vladimir Nabokov", "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": "Vladimir Nabokov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We live in a stocking which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-process-of-being-turned-inside/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-live-in-a-stocking-which-is-in-the-process-of-being-turned-inside/#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 } } ] } ```