“ She smiled at him, making sure that the smile gathered up everything inside her and directed it toward him, making him a profound promise of herself for so little, for the beat of a response, the assurance of a complimentary vibration in him. ”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender Is the Night (1934). copy citation
| Author | F. Scott Fitzgerald |
|---|---|
| Source | Tender Is the Night |
| Topic | promise smiling vibration |
| Date | 1934 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0301261h.html |
Context
“"What's the matter, you don't like it?"
"Of course I do."
"Our cook at home taught it to me: "A woman never knows What a good man she's got Till after she turns him down . . ." "You like it?"
She smiled at him, making sure that the smile gathered up everything inside her and directed it toward him, making him a profound promise of herself for so little, for the beat of a response, the assurance of a complimentary vibration in him. Minute by minute the sweetness drained down into her out of the willow trees, out of the dark world.
She stood up too, and stumbling over the phonograph, was momentarily against him, leaning into the hollow of his rounded shoulder.” source
"Of course I do."
"Our cook at home taught it to me: "A woman never knows What a good man she's got Till after she turns him down . . ." "You like it?"
She smiled at him, making sure that the smile gathered up everything inside her and directed it toward him, making him a profound promise of herself for so little, for the beat of a response, the assurance of a complimentary vibration in him. Minute by minute the sweetness drained down into her out of the willow trees, out of the dark world.
She stood up too, and stumbling over the phonograph, was momentarily against him, leaning into the hollow of his rounded shoulder.” source
Meaning and analysis
