--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There must be some other possibility than…" description: "\"There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance, said the Ellen Ward of my dream, that woman I hate and fear. I am sure she meant s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_1825236.png" --- # There must be some other possibility than death or… ![“There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance, said the Ellen Ward of my dream, that woman I hate and fear. I am sure she meant some meeting, some intersection of lines; and some cowardly, hopeful geometer in my brain tells me it is the angle at which two lines prop each…” quote by Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_1825236.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_1825236.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_1825236.png) > “There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance, said the Ellen Ward of my dream, that woman I hate and fear. I am sure she meant some meeting, some intersection of lines; and some cowardly, hopeful geometer in my brain tells me it is the angle at which two lines prop each other up, the leaning together from the vertical which produces the false arch.” [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A dream figure suggests an alternative to death or endless punishment, using geometry as a metaphor for hope and connection. **In simple terms:** Dream imagery offers a hopeful alternative to despair, symbolized by intersecting lines. Key Takeaway Seek hopeful perspectives that bridge despair and optimism. Themes hope despair dreams geometry metaphor Mood hopeful introspective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - creative writing - spiritual seeking - mental health counseling Key Concepts alternatives existential psychology symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does the “angle” represent in your life? - How can metaphorical geometry guide personal resilience? A Different Perspective Hope may be fragile and not universally accessible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angle/) [Arches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arches/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Cowardly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardly/) [Cowardly Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardly-hopeful-2227597/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [False Arch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-arch-2227596/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hate Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate-fear/) [Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeful/) [Intersections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intersections/) [Keystones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keystones/) [Lifelong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifelong/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Meetings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meetings/) [Penance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/penance/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Props](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/props/) [This life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-life/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Vertical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vertical/) [Ward Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ward-dream-2227598/) ## Related quotes > [There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance ... some meeting, some intersection of lines; and some cowardly, hopeful geometer in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/there-must-be-some-other-possibility-than-death-or-lifelong-penance/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“All this had already given us an inkling of what the new regime was about. There was still some hope, however. There is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinaldo-arenas/all-this-had-already-given-us-an-inkling-of-what-the-new-regime-was/) [Reinaldo Arenas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinaldo-arenas/) > [Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed ... so that never again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/something-will-have-gone-out-of-us-as-a-people-if-we-ever-let-the-3/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [I fear being like everyone I hate, I fear failure, I fear losing control. I love balancing between chaos and control with everything I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-fear-being-like-everyone-i-hate-i-fear-failure-i-fear-losing/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [To hate and to fear is to be psychologically ill. It is in fact the consuming illness of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-allen-overstreet/to-hate-and-to-fear-is-to-be-psychologically-ill-it-is-in-fact-the/) [Harry Allen Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-allen-overstreet/) > [Hate is crystallized fear, fear's dividend, fear objectified. We hate what we fear and so where hate is, fear will be lurking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/hate-is-crystallized-fear-fear-s-dividend-fear-objectified-we-hate/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Democracy is not what we hate the most and what we fear the most. We need to stand up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/democracy-is-not-what-we-hate-the-most-and-what-we-fear-the-most-we/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Indeed, it is a kind of quintessence of pride to hate and fear even the kind and legitimate approval of those who love us!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/indeed-it-is-a-kind-of-quintessence-of-pride-to-hate-and-fear-even/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“My name is surrounded with such hate and fear that no one can judge what is the truth and what is false, what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-roman-von-ungern-sternberg/my-name-is-surrounded-with-such-hate-and-fear-that-no-one-can-judge/) [Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-roman-von-ungern-sternberg/) > [“But the roots of their hate and fear were too deep, and Lazlo saw hints of revulsion as their confusion smeared one feeling into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/but-the-roots-of-their-hate-and-fear-were-too-deep-and-lazlo-saw/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [Aversion is a form of bondage. We are tied to what we hate or fear. That is why, in our lives, the same problem,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/aversion-is-a-form-of-bondage-we-are-tied-to-what-we-hate-or-fear/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [There is no hate without fear.Hate is crystallized fear, fear'sdividend, fear objectivized. We hate what we fear and so where hate is, fear will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-hate-without-fear-hate-is-crystallized-fear-fear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He couldn't help thinking that all that money we were spending blowing up things and killing people so far away, making people the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-vonnegut/he-couldn-t-help-thinking-that-all-that-money-we-were-spending/) [Mark Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-vonnegut/) > [They hate whom they fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quintus-ennius/they-hate-whom-they-fear/) [Quintus Ennius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quintus-ennius/) > [“God, I was a mess when it came to Derrek. One part relief that I wasn’t still with him. One part embarrassment that I’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-higginson/god-i-was-a-mess-when-it-came-to-derrek-one-part-relief-that-i-wasn-t/) [Rachel Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-higginson/) ## More by Wallace Stegner > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [No life goes past so swiftly as an eventless one, no clock spins like a clock whose days are all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/no-life-goes-past-so-swiftly-as-an-eventless-one-no-clock-spins-like/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“within yourself, you became a grave for her as you were a grave for Chet, and you carried your dead unquietly within you. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/within-yourself-you-became-a-grave-for-her-as-you-were-a-grave-for/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/towns-are-like-people-old-ones-often-have-character-the-new-ones-are/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [By his very profession, a serious fiction writer is a vendor of the sensuous particulars of life, a perceiver and handler of things. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/by-his-very-profession-a-serious-fiction-writer-is-a-vendor-of-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“The creative writer is compulsively concrete . . . . His fictional house should be haunted by ideas, not inhabited by them; they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/the-creative-writer-is-compulsively-concrete-his-fictional-house/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Hard writing makes easy reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/hard-writing-makes-easy-reading/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [You married me...but you didn't marry what you could make out of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/you-married-me-but-you-didn-t-marry-what-you-could-make-out-of-me/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Wisdom. . .is knowing what you have to accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/wisdom-is-knowing-what-you-have-to-accept/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“His mouth is full of ecology, his mind is full of fumes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/his-mouth-is-full-of-ecology-his-mind-is-full-of-fumes/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [I gave my heart to the mountains the minute I stood beside this river with its spray in my face and watched it thunder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-gave-my-heart-to-the-mountains-the-minute-i-stood-beside-this-river/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Poetry ought to be a by-product of living, and you can't have a by-product unless you've got a product first .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/poetry-ought-to-be-a-by-product-of-living-and-you-can-t-have-a-by/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/something-will-have-gone-out-of-us-as-a-people-if-we-ever-let-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“Some people, I am told, have memories like computers, nothing to do but punch the button and wait for the print-out. Mine is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/some-people-i-am-told-have-memories-like-computers-nothing-to-do-but/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [ “\[Y\]ou were too alert to the figurative possibilities of words not to see the phrase \[angle of repose\] as descriptive of human as well… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/y-ou-were-too-alert-to-the-figurative-possibilities-of-words-not-to/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) [Explore all 251 Wallace Stegner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) ## More Angle quotes > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [Los Angles to me seems to be a little bit more forgiving. They're just as rowdy and they're just as excited but they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/los-angles-to-me-seems-to-be-a-little-bit-more-forgiving-they-re-just/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles… So my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-laubach/our-mind-is-a-flowing-something-it-oscillates-concentration-is-merely/) [Frank Laubach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-laubach/) > [There's only a very small representation of girls among you. Too little. Women have much to tell us in today’s society. Sometimes we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-s-only-a-very-small-representation-of-girls-among-you-too/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [The genius is a genius by the first look he casts on any object. Is his eye creative? Does he not rest in angles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-genius-is-a-genius-by-the-first-look-he-casts-on-any-object-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I have known a very good, fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/i-have-known-a-very-good-fisher-angle-diligently-four-or-six-hours/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“Distribution of weight is preferable to balancing everything on the head of a pin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psixaristw/distribution-of-weight-is-preferable-to-balancing-everything-on-the/) [Psixaristw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psixaristw/) > [He was not as soft as when I'd first met him, not as young, but the angles of his face, his quick gestures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-was-not-as-soft-as-when-i-d-first-met-him-not-as-young-but-the/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat - I don't know how long you're supposed to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-somebody-is-really-trying-to-take-your-head-off-with-a-baseball/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. As I teach I project the condition of my soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/teaching-like-any-truly-human-activity-emerges-from-one-s-inwardness/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [The divisions of science are not like different lines that meet in one angle, but rather like the branches of trees that join in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/the-divisions-of-science-are-not-like-different-lines-that-meet-in/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) [Browse all 645 Angle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance, said the Ellen Ward of my dream, that woman I hate and fear. I am sure she meant some meeting, some intersection of lines; and some cowardly, hopeful geometer in my brain tells me it is the angle at which two lines prop each other up, the leaning together from the vertical which produces the false arch.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wallace Stegner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/there-must-be-some-other-possibility-than-death-or-lifelong-penance-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Angle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/there-must-be-some-other-possibility-than-death-or-lifelong-penance-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_1825236.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_1825236.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_1825236.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance, said the Ellen Ward of my dream, that…” — Wallace Stegner", "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": "Wallace Stegner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There must be some other possibility...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/there-must-be-some-other-possibility-than-death-or-lifelong-penance-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/there-must-be-some-other-possibility-than-death-or-lifelong-penance-2/#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 } } ] } ```