All charming people have something to conceal, usually their total dependence on the appreciation of others.
Cyril ConnollyRead
Imprisoned in every fat man a thin man is wildly signaling to be let out.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that beneath the surface of every person, there exists a different self that yearns for expression and freedom.
Cyril Connolly's quote highlights the internal struggle that many people face, particularly in terms of body image and identity. It metaphorically suggests that those who may appear to be one way, such as a 'fat man', may internally feel like a different, often more idealized version of themselves, yearning to break free from societal expectations and constraints. This quote encourages reflection on the complexities of human nature and the often hidden desires within individuals.
Themes
IdentitySelfExpressionFreedomBody Image
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about self-acceptance, one could use the quote to illustrate the struggle between outer appearance and inner desires.
More from Cyril Connolly
All quotes →When I contemplate the accumulation of guilt and remorse which, like a garbage-can, I carry through life, and which is fed not only by the lightest action but by the most harmless pleasure, I feel Man to be of all living things the most biologically incompetent and ill-organized. Why has he acquired a seventy years life-span only to poison it incurably by the mere being of himself? Why has he thrown Conscience, like a dead rat, to putrefy in the well?
Cyril ConnollyRead
A lazy person, whatever the talents with which he set out, will have condemned himself to second-hand thoughts and to second-rate friends.
Cyril ConnollyRead
The artist is a member of the leisured classes who cannot pay for his leisure.
Cyril ConnollyRead
We are all serving a life sentence in the dungeon of the self.
Cyril ConnollyRead
When we have ceased to love the stench of the human animal, either in others or in ourselves, then are we condemned to misery, and clear thinking can begin.
Cyril ConnollyRead
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