You imagine the carefully pruned, shaped thing that is presented to you is truth. That is just what it isn't. The truth is improbable, the truth is fantastic; it's in what you think is a distorting mirror that you see the truth.
If I was bound for hell, let it be hell. No more false heaven. No more damned magic.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a preference for authenticity over illusion, even if the outcome is harsh.
In this quote, Jean Rhys conveys a profound sense of disillusionment with false comforts and illusions of happiness. She acknowledges a willingness to embrace the harsh realities of life rather than settle for a deceptive facade, emphasizing the importance of living truthfully, even if it leads to a painful destination. This reflects a philosophical stance that values genuine experiences over comforting but false narratives.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of pursuing honesty, one could reference this quote to emphasize that a painful truth is more valuable than a comfortable lie.
More from Jean Rhys
All quotes →The musty smell, the bugs, the lonliness, this room, which is part of the street outside-this is all I want from life.
Yes, I am sad, sad as a circus-lioness, sad as an eagle without wings, sad as a violin with only one string and that one broken, sad as a woman who is growing old. Sad, sad, sad.
My life, which seems so simple and monotonous, is really a complicated affair of cafés where they like me and cafés where they don't, streets that are friendly, streets that aren't, rooms where I might be happy, rooms where I shall never be, looking-glasses I look nice in, looking-glasses I don't, dresses that will be lucky, dresses that won't, and so on.
I must write. If I stop writing my life will have been an abject failure. It is that already to other people. But it could be an abject failure to myself. I will not have earned death.
Your red dress,’ she said, and laughed. But I looked at the dress on the floor and it was as if the fire had spread across the room. It was beautiful and it reminded me of something I must do. I will remember I thought. I will remember quite soon now.
Similar quotes
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If you want your own way, God will let you have it. Hell is the enjoyment of one's own way forever.
So obscure are the greatest events, as some take for granted any hearsay, whatever its source, others turn truth into falsehood, and both errors find encouragement with posterity.
Property, the right to enjoy the fruits of one's labor, the right to work, to develop, to exercise one's faculties, according to one's own understanding, without the state intervening otherwise than by its protective action; this is what is meant by liberty
The scars and stains of racism are still deeply embedded in the American society.
Life is. I am. Anything might happen. And I believe I may invest my life with meaning. The uncertainty is a blessing in disguise. If I were absolutely certain about all things, I would spend my life in anxious misery, fearful of losing my way. But since everything and anything are always possible, the miraculous is always nearby and wonders shall never, ever cease.