QuoteProject
She didn't even have to smile, and she rarely did outside her house--it was the eyes, her dancer's carriage, the way she seemed to deliberate over the smallest movement of her body.
Alice Sebold
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote highlights the expressive beauty of a person's presence beyond facial expressions.

In this quote, Alice Sebold emphasizes that true beauty and emotional depth can be found in subtle gestures and the presence of an individual rather than in overt displays like smiling. The dancer's carriage and the deliberate movements suggest that grace and artistry come from an inner sense of self and awareness that captivates observers even without a traditional smile.

Themes

BeautyExpressionGraceMovementArtistry

In practice

Example use cases

During a performance review, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of subtlety in communication.

More from Alice Sebold

These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her poems. 'Inside, inside,' she would whisper quietly to herself when she felt the urge to tell.
Alice SeboldRead
After telling the hard facts to anyone from lover to friend, I have changed in their eyes. Often it is awe or admiration, sometimes it is repulsion, once or twice it has been fury hurled directly at me for reasons I remain unsure of.
Alice SeboldRead
The stains could be seen only in the sunlight, so Ruth was never really aware of them until later, when she would stop at an outdoor cafe for a cup of coffee, and look down at her skirt and see the dark traces of spilled vodka or whiskey. The alcohol had the effect of making the black cloth blacker. This amused her; she had noted in her journal: 'booze affects material as it does people'.
Alice SeboldRead
Murderers are not monsters, they're men. And that's the most frightening thing about them.
Alice SeboldRead
As she stood in the darkened room and watched my sister and father, I knew one of things that heaven meant. I had a choice, and it was not to divide my family in my heart.
Alice SeboldRead
She liked to imagine that when she passed the world looked after her, but she also knew how anonymous she was.
Alice SeboldRead

Similar quotes

The artist does not draw what he sees, but what he must make others see. Only when he no longer knows what he is doing does the painter do good things. A picture is first of all a product of the imagination of the artist; it must never be a copy. If then two or three natural accents can be added, obviously no harm is done. The air we see in the paintings of the old masters is never the air we breathe.
Edgar DegasRead
Sometimes you stumble across a few chords that put you in a reflective place.
David BowieRead
A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image.
Elaine De KooningRead
One is born to be a dancer. No teacher can work miracles, nor will years of training make a good dancer of an untalented pupil. One may be able to acquire a certain technical facility, but no one can ever 'acquire an exceptional talent.' I have never prided myself on having an unusually gifted pupil. A Pavlova is no one's pupil but God's.
George BalanchineRead
It seems to me it's a painter's duty to try to put an idea into his work.
Vincent Van GoghRead
Of all the artists who emerged in the '80s, I think perhaps Cindy Sherman is the most important.
Chuck CloseRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.