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The family uses people, not for what they are, nor for what they are intended to be, but for what it wants them for- its own uses. It thinks of them not as what God has made them, but as the something which it has arranged that they shall be.
Florence Nightingale
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes how families often impose their own desires and expectations onto members instead of accepting them as individuals.

Florence Nightingale's quote highlights the tendency of families to utilize their members according to the family's own needs rather than recognizing and valuing them for who they truly are or what they could become. This speaks to the complex dynamics within family relationships, where individual identities may be overshadowed by the collective expectations of the family unit.

Themes

FamilyExpectationsIdentityRelationshipsIndividuality

In practice

Example use cases

Discussing during a family therapy session about individual needs and expectations.

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I am of certain convinced that the greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel.
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Quote by Florence Nightingale | QuoteProject