"Genius of a kind has always been with me; an empty heart that has taken on a certain wooden quality; an excellent, strong woman's body and a pitiably starved soul"

Mary MacLane's quote reveals a poignant self-awareness and introspective review that digs deep into the duality of her presence. The "genius of a kind" she refers to recommends an inherent intellectual or creative capability, an unique point of view that sets her apart from the common. It's as if she acknowledges a particular brilliance within her, a remarkable quality that possibly isolates her, making her feel different from those around her. Yet alongside this recommendation, she makes a plain discovery about the condition of her body and soul.

When MacLane speaks of an "empty heart that has taken on a certain wooden quality", she appears to convey a sense of emotional desolation or numbness. The images of a "wood quality" indicates rigidness, lifelessness, a barrier to feeling deeply or linking totally with others. It recommends that her heart, once perhaps dynamic and alive, has actually been solidified by experience, changed into something unyielding and removed. This may be a sign of previous harms or dissatisfactions that have led her to fortify her psychological core as a method of self-preservation.

The juxtaposition of having "an outstanding, strong woman's body" versus a "pitiably starved soul" highlights another intriguing contrast. Her strong physical existence might be translated as a potential-- maybe even a power-- that goes unfulfilled or unsupported by her inner life. In spite of her physical robustness, her soul is referred to as "pitiably starved", recommending overlook or deprivation of spiritual or psychological nutrition. This metaphor speaks to an internal void or lack, an aspect of herself that stays unfulfilled regardless of outward looks. It means a life that might be abundant in potential and capability but bad in those aspects that provide real satisfaction and happiness.

Through this layered self-portrait, MacLane eloquently catches a complex internal battle where intellect, feeling, physicality, and spiritual yearning exist side-by-side in a state of tension and imbalance. Her words welcome readers to reflect on the diverse nature of identity and the frequently undetectable battles waged within the self.