--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was thinking, as I watched her, how…" description: "\"I was thinking, as I watched her, how little it mattered –about her teeth for instance. I know so many women who have kept all the things she had lost,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/willa-cather-634_antonia_i-was-thinking-as-i-watched-her-how-litt_871706.png" --- # I was thinking, as I watched her, how little it mattered… ![“I was thinking, as I watched her, how little it mattered –about her teeth for instance. I know so many women who have kept all the things she had lost, *but whose inner glow has faded*. Whatever else was gone, Antonia had not lost the fire of life.” quote by Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/willa-cather-634_antonia_i-was-thinking-as-i-watched-her-how-litt_871706.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/willa-cather-634_antonia_i-was-thinking-as-i-watched-her-how-litt_871706.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f3/willa-cather-634_antonia_i-was-thinking-as-i-watched-her-how-litt_871706.png) > “I was thinking, as I watched her, how little it mattered –about her teeth for instance. I know so many women who have kept all the things she had lost, \*but whose inner glow has faded\*. Whatever else was gone, Antonia had not lost the fire of life.” [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A woman's external appearance matters less than her inner vitality; true loss is the fading of spirit, not material things. **In simple terms:** Inner spirit matters more than outward traits. Key Takeaway Nurture inner vitality over superficial concerns. Themes inner strength identity resilience perception female experience Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - personal development - literary analysis - health care Key Concepts psychology character study symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How can we support those whose inner light dims? A Different Perspective Focusing on inner fire may ignore necessary external help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > ["More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly, and the girls murmured assent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/more-than-him-has-done-that-said-antonia-sadly-and-the-girls-murmured/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“It was a dizzying prospect—to imagine all that freedom, to understand how little it mattered what choice he made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/it-was-a-dizzying-prospect-to-imagine-all-that-freedom-to-understand/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Antonia was very conscious of the corrosive power of envy and felt that it was this emotion, more than any other, which lay behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/antonia-was-very-conscious-of-the-corrosive-power-of-envy-and-felt/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Talk to each other. Never go to bed when you're angry with each other. Lady Antonia Frasier who was married to Harold Pinter said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/talk-to-each-other-never-go-to-bed-when-you-re-angry-with-each-other/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [“They drained the red-tinged sherry from the cranberries, tasting as they went. Isabelle dropped the swollen berries like a long ruby necklace across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-bauermeister/they-drained-the-red-tinged-sherry-from-the-cranberries-tasting-as/) [Erica Bauermeister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-bauermeister/) > [It's nice to see you again, Laura." "Thank you, Mrs. T-" "No, no, no. Please, my name is-" "Mud," I suggested. "Mud Barfbag Taylor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/it-s-nice-to-see-you-again-laura-thank-you-mrs-t-no-no-no-please-my/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [Grief was like a terrible burden, but at least you could lay it down by the side of the road and walk away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamunde-pilcher/grief-was-like-a-terrible-burden-but-at-least-you-could-lay-it-down/) [Rosamunde Pilcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamunde-pilcher/) > [I've been a writer for a long time but I kind of had to get rid of a lot of the things I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-forbes/i-ve-been-a-writer-for-a-long-time-but-i-kind-of-had-to-get-rid-of-a/) [Maya Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-forbes/) > [“Memory kept things from being over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mcelroy/memory-kept-things-from-being-over/) [Joseph McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mcelroy/) > [“She had always kept things to herself. That was one sure truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/she-had-always-kept-things-to-herself-that-was-one-sure-truth/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [“I'm used to keeping things to myself, it's habit.And then...And then I kept things from you because the harder I fell in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-m-used-to-keeping-things-to-myself-it-s-habit-and-then-and-then-i/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it-s-not-accident-or-time-or/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I've composed all my life and kept things, and even developed things I've done in college into something now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/i-ve-composed-all-my-life-and-kept-things-and-even-developed-things-i/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [I wasn't particularly good at showing my emotions and I kept things inside. It's not good. Now I realize that whenever I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/i-wasn-t-particularly-good-at-showing-my-emotions-and-i-kept-things/) [Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/) > [“Many black women also kept guns within easy reach. But it is important to mention that women & their use of guns present the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-cobb/many-black-women-also-kept-guns-within-easy-reach-but-it-is-important/) Charles E. Cobb ## More by Willa Cather > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Of all the bewildering things about a new country, the absence of human landmarks is one of the most depressing and disheartening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/of-all-the-bewildering-things-about-a-new-country-the-absence-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Success is less interesting than struggle. There is great pleasure in the effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/success-is-less-interesting-than-struggle-there-is-great-pleasure-in/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“I only knew the schoolbooks said he "died in the wilderness, of a broken heart." "More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/i-only-knew-the-schoolbooks-said-he-died-in-the-wilderness-of-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Have the last word ma'm," he said cheerfully. "It's a lady's privilege.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/have-the-last-word-ma-m-he-said-cheerfully-it-s-a-lady-s-privilege/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > ["More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly, and the girls murmured assent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/more-than-him-has-done-that-said-antonia-sadly-and-the-girls-murmured/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Nothing mattered ... but writing books, and living the kind of life that made it possible to write them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/nothing-mattered-but-writing-books-and-living-the-kind-of-life-that/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Money and office and success are the consolations of impotence. Fortune turns kind to such solid people and lets them suck their bone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/money-and-office-and-success-are-the-consolations-of-impotence/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [But she still had that something which fires the imagination, could still stop one's breath for a moment by a look or gesture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/but-she-still-had-that-something-which-fires-the-imagination-could/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“You remember how homesick I used to get, and what long talks we used to have coming from school? We've someway always felt alike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/you-remember-how-homesick-i-used-to-get-and-what-long-talks-we-used/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“He placed this book in my grandmother's hands, looked at her entreatingly, and said, with an earnestness which I shall never forget, "Te-e-ach, te-e-ach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/he-placed-this-book-in-my-grandmother-s-hands-looked-at-her/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The sincerity of feeling that is possible between a writer and a reader is one of the finest things I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-sincerity-of-feeling-that-is-possible-between-a-writer-and-a/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/our-tree-became-the-talking-tree-of-the-fairy-tale-legends-and/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Isn’t it queer: there are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/isn-t-it-queer-there-are-only-two-or-three-human-stories-and-they-go/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) [Explore all 434 Willa Cather quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) ## More Antonia quotes > ["More than him has done that," said Antonia sadly, and the girls murmured assent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/more-than-him-has-done-that-said-antonia-sadly-and-the-girls-murmured/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [“Antonia was very conscious of the corrosive power of envy and felt that it was this emotion, more than any other, which lay behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/antonia-was-very-conscious-of-the-corrosive-power-of-envy-and-felt/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Grief was like a terrible burden, but at least you could lay it down by the side of the road and walk away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamunde-pilcher/grief-was-like-a-terrible-burden-but-at-least-you-could-lay-it-down/) [Rosamunde Pilcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamunde-pilcher/) > [“They drained the red-tinged sherry from the cranberries, tasting as they went. Isabelle dropped the swollen berries like a long ruby necklace across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-bauermeister/they-drained-the-red-tinged-sherry-from-the-cranberries-tasting-as/) [Erica Bauermeister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-bauermeister/) > [Talk to each other. Never go to bed when you're angry with each other. Lady Antonia Frasier who was married to Harold Pinter said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/talk-to-each-other-never-go-to-bed-when-you-re-angry-with-each-other/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [It's nice to see you again, Laura." "Thank you, Mrs. T-" "No, no, no. Please, my name is-" "Mud," I suggested. "Mud Barfbag Taylor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/it-s-nice-to-see-you-again-laura-thank-you-mrs-t-no-no-no-please-my/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) Browse all 7 Antonia quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was thinking, as I watched her, how little it mattered –about her teeth for instance. I know so many women who have kept all the things she had lost, *but whose inner glow has faded*. 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