--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There must be some other possibility than…" description: "\"There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance ... some meeting, some intersection of lines; and some cowardly, hopeful geometer i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_623385.png" --- # There must be some other possibility than death or… ![“There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance ... 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…” quote by Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_623385.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_623385.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c83/wallace-stegner-1352_angle_there-must-be-some-other-possibility-tha_623385.png) > “There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance ... 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. For lack of a keystone, the false arch may be as much as one can expect in this life. Only the very lucky discover the keystone.” [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. The speaker sees life as a series of intersecting possibilities, hoping for a supportive structure (keystone) that can hold the false arch of existence together, but acknowledges it is rare. **In simple terms:** Life offers many paths, but true support is rare. Key Takeaway Seek connections that strengthen you. Themes hope structure existence chance Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative projects - relationships - spiritual seeking Key Concepts philosophy metaphor architecture Questions to Reflect On - What structures in your life act as keystones? - How can you create supportive connections? A Different Perspective Finding a keystone may be impossible without effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angle/) [Arch Lack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arch-lack-5039974/) [Arches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arches/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [False Arch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-arch-2227596/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Harmony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmony/) [Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeful/) [Intersections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intersections/) [Keystone False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keystone-false-5039975/) [Keystones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keystones/) [Lack Keystone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lack-keystone-5039976/) [Lifelong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifelong/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Married life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-life/) [Matrimony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matrimony/) [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/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [This life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/this-life/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Togetherness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/togetherness/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [There must be some other possibility than death or lifelong penance, said the Ellen Ward of my dream, that woman I hate and fear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/there-must-be-some-other-possibility-than-death-or-lifelong-penance-2/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [Our Keystone legislation received strong bipartisan support in the Senate. Although it didn't receive the 60 votes necessary for passage, 56 senators - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hoeven/our-keystone-legislation-received-strong-bipartisan-support-in-the/) [John Hoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hoeven/) > [Winning control of the Senate would allow Republicans to pass a whole range of measures now being held up by Reid, often at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/winning-control-of-the-senate-would-allow-republicans-to-pass-a-whole/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [I believe the alphabet is no longer considered an essential piece of equipment for traveling through life. In my day it was the keystone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-believe-the-alphabet-is-no-longer-considered-an-essential-piece-of/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [I believe, along with Pope Francis and almost all scientists, that climate change is threatening this planet in horrendous ways, and that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-believe-along-with-pope-francis-and-almost-all-scientists-that/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The cell, this elementary keystone of living nature, is far from being a peculiar chemical giant molecule or even a living protein and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-hertwig/the-cell-this-elementary-keystone-of-living-nature-is-far-from-being/) [Oscar Hertwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-hertwig/) > [Churchill decides from very early on that he will create a political position that is somehow above left and right, embodying the best points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/churchill-decides-from-very-early-on-that-he-will-create-a-political/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [We certainly ... hope that the Congress will act in an appropriate fashion and not waste its time with ineffectual, sham legislation on Keystone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-carney/we-certainly-hope-that-the-congress-will-act-in-an-appropriate/) [Jay Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-carney/) > [I heard Joby Talbot's Hovercraft piece for orchestra and felt its immediate physical impact - visceral, unsettling, hungry and direct. These short five minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-mcgregor/i-heard-joby-talbot-s-hovercraft-piece-for-orchestra-and-felt-its/) [Wayne McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-mcgregor/) > [Owning a home is a keystone of wealth - both financial affluence and emotional security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/owning-a-home-is-a-keystone-of-wealth-both-financial-affluence-and/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [Medicine is the keystone of the arch of socialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/medicine-is-the-keystone-of-the-arch-of-socialism/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think a lot of the reason people are attracted to the Keystone pipeline is because at least we're doing something. There's a fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zephyr-teachout/i-think-a-lot-of-the-reason-people-are-attracted-to-the-keystone/) [Zephyr Teachout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zephyr-teachout/) > [Many of the medicines we use today, to fight everything from AIDS to cancer, originate as a toxin in an amphibian skin. When we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-corwin/many-of-the-medicines-we-use-today-to-fight-everything-from-aids-to/) [Jeff Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-corwin/) > [I am passionate about making sure that we collectively and proactively preserve all of the world's most iconic coastal and oceanic wild places -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-dedina/i-am-passionate-about-making-sure-that-we-collectively-and/) [Serge Dedina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-dedina/) > [What I've started to realize is that social media is not just technology - it's become its own entity, full of energy waves. These…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/what-i-ve-started-to-realize-is-that-social-media-is-not-just/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) ## 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 ... 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. For lack of a keystone, the false arch may be as much as one can expect in this life. 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