---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...could a face have been fashioned to…"
description: "\"“...could a face have been fashioned to fit the attitude of his consciousness where it lay suspended between life and death that face would have worn a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/william-golding-1233_death_could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit_1290500.jpg"
---

#  ...could a face have been fashioned to fit the attitude of…

![“...could a face have been fashioned to fit the attitude of his consciousness where it lay suspended between life and death that face would have worn a snarl.” quote by William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/william-golding-1233_death_could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit_1290500.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/william-golding-1233_death_could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit_1290500.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/william-golding-1233_death_could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit_1290500.jpg)

> ““...could a face have been fashioned to fit the attitude of his consciousness where it lay suspended between life and death that face would have worn a snarl.””

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A mask that mirrors a tormented mind would appear hostile, reflecting inner conflict between existence and oblivion.

**In simple terms:** A troubled mind shows a snarling face.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how inner turmoil shapes outward expression.

Themes

psychology identity conflict

Mood

reflective somber

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- mental health therapy
- creative writing
- character design
- meditation

Key Concepts

existentialism self‑perception

Questions to Reflect On

- How does inner conflict affect your outward behavior?
- Can you soften the “snarl” through acceptance?

A Different Perspective

The metaphor may oversimplify complex emotional states.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/)

## Related quotes

> [Once you've stared death in the face, every day is a good day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-quigley/once-you-ve-stared-death-in-the-face-every-day-is-a-good-day/)

[Mike Quigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-quigley/)

> [Christ, because of who He is, can look death in the face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/christ-because-of-who-he-is-can-look-death-in-the-face/)

[Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/)

> [“She thought of death and of her own in particular: the death of her body and the death of her face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-trevor/she-thought-of-death-and-of-her-own-in-particular-the-death-of-her/)

[William Trevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-trevor/)

> [And what is death, if not a face at peace - its artistic perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-what-is-death-if-not-a-face-at-peace-its-artistic-perfection/)

[Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/)

> [We Deveauxs preferred to talk you to death, rather than face you in physical combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/we-deveauxs-preferred-to-talk-you-to-death-rather-than-face-you-in/)

[Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/)

> [I looked at death in the face once...and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-looked-at-death-in-the-face-once-and-it-was-the-most-beautiful/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I've looked death in the face, I'm not obsessed with it, but it is a relevant topic for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everlast/i-ve-looked-death-in-the-face-i-m-not-obsessed-with-it-but-it-is-a/)

[Everlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everlast/)

> [Why would I fear Golovkin when I have stared death in the face?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kell-brook/why-would-i-fear-golovkin-when-i-have-stared-death-in-the-face/)

[Kell Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kell-brook/)

> [“I bet you'll be spitting on Death's face when she comes to claim you, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/i-bet-you-ll-be-spitting-on-death-s-face-when-she-comes-to-claim-you/)

[Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/)

> [“It's the question mark that comes with death that we can't face, not the period.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-question-mark-that-comes-with-death-that-we-can-t-face-not/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [Do we have to stare death in the face to make us stand up and confront Resistance?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/do-we-have-to-stare-death-in-the-face-to-make-us-stand-up-and/)

[Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/)

> [I hate cats." Death's face became a little stiffer, if that were possible. The blue glow in his eye sockets flickered red for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-hate-cats-death-s-face-became-a-little-stiffer-if-that-were/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [Only the soldier is a free man, because he can look death in the face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/only-the-soldier-is-a-free-man-because-he-can-look-death-in-the-face/)

[Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/)

> [“The beast might shout and snarl, and he might well devour her, but he'd at least been interested enough to listen to her speak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/the-beast-might-shout-and-snarl-and-he-might-well-devour-her-but-he-d/)

[Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/)

> [“People here snarl and frown a lot, he wrote; he had seen neither a smile nor the sun in months. What is life without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/people-here-snarl-and-frown-a-lot-he-wrote-he-had-seen-neither-a/)

[Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/)

## More by William Golding

> [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [“Sucks to your ass-mar!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/sucks-to-your-ass-mar/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/ralph-wept-for-the-end-of-innocence-the-darkness-of-man-s-heart-and/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [“Once more, amid the breeze, the shouting, the slanting sunlight on the high mountain, was shed that glamour, that strange invisible light of friendship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/once-more-amid-the-breeze-the-shouting-the-slanting-sunlight-on-the/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [“There ought to be some mode of life where all love is good, where one love can't compete with another but adds to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/there-ought-to-be-some-mode-of-life-where-all-love-is-good-where-one/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [His mind was crowded with memories; memories of the knowledge that had come to them when they closed in on the struggling pig, knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/his-mind-was-crowded-with-memories-memories-of-the-knowledge-that-had/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [“I stood, in shame and confusion, seeing for the first time despite my anger a different picture of Evie in her life-long struggle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-stood-in-shame-and-confusion-seeing-for-the-first-time-despite-my/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [When you take a child who's hollering like hell, sit him on your knee, and say "once upon a time", you stop him hollering.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/when-you-take-a-child-who-s-hollering-like-hell-sit-him-on-your-knee/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [I am here; and here is nowhere in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-am-here-and-here-is-nowhere-in-particular/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [The beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-beast-was-harmless-and-horrible-and-the-news-must-reach-the/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [“He tried to convey the compulsion to track down and kill that was swallowing him up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/he-tried-to-convey-the-compulsion-to-track-down-and-kill-that-was/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [I'm scared of him," said Piggy, "and that's why I know him. If you're scared of someone you hate him but you can't stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-m-scared-of-him-said-piggy-and-that-s-why-i-know-him-if-you-re/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [The trouble was, if you were a chief you had to think, you had to be wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/the-trouble-was-if-you-were-a-chief-you-had-to-think-you-had-to-be/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [“But nobody else understands about the fire. If someone threw you a rope when you were drowning. If a doctor said take this because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/but-nobody-else-understands-about-the-fire-if-someone-threw-you-a/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [“I think women are foolish to pretend that they are equal to men, they are far superior and always have been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-think-women-are-foolish-to-pretend-that-they-are-equal-to-men-they/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

[Explore all 263 William Golding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

## More Death quotes

> [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [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/)

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/)

[Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/)

> [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/)

[Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/)

> [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/)

J. Anthony Torino

> [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/)

Alan W. Powers

> [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/)

[Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/)

> [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/)

[Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/)

> [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/)

[Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/)

[Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“...could a face have been fashioned to fit the attitude of his consciousness where it lay suspended between life and death that face would have worn a snarl.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Golding"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit-the-attitude-of-his/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Death"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit-the-attitude-of-his/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/william-golding-1233_death_could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit_1290500.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/william-golding-1233_death_could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit_1290500.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88a/william-golding-1233_death_could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit_1290500.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“...could a face have been fashioned to fit the attitude of his consciousness where it lay suspended between…” — William Golding",
                "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": "William Golding",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“...could a face have been fashioned...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit-the-attitude-of-his/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/could-a-face-have-been-fashioned-to-fit-the-attitude-of-his/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
