Was it always my nature to take a bad time and block out the good times, until any success became an accident and failure seemed the only truth?
Lillian HellmanRead
I'm too old to recover, too narrow to forgive myself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The speaker feels a sense of regret and self-blame due to their age and narrow mindset.
This quote expresses a poignant introspection about aging and the heaviness of past mistakes. The speaker's admission of being 'too old to recover' suggests a feeling of resignation to their life choices, while 'too narrow to forgive myself' points to a lack of self-compassion, indicating an internal struggle with guilt and the difficulty of letting go of past grievances.
Themes
RegretForgivenessAgingSelf-BlameIntrospection
In practice
Example use cases
During a reflective discussion on life choices at a gathering.
More from Lillian Hellman
All quotes βIf I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.
Lillian HellmanRead
It is best to act with confidence, no matter how little right you have to it.
Lillian HellmanRead
If you believe, as the Greeks did, that man is at the mercy of the gods, then you write tragedy. The end is inevitable from the beginning. But if you believe that man can solve his own problems and is at nobody's mercy, then you will probably write melodrama.
Lillian HellmanRead
Nobody knows what you want except you. And nobody will be as sorry as you if you don't get it. Wanting some other way to live is proof enough of deserving it. Having it is hard work, but not having it is sheer hell.
Lillian HellmanRead
Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.
Lillian HellmanRead
Similar quotes
Do not struggle against your thoughts; they are stronger than you are. If you want to be free of them, accept them.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Itβs a gift to joyfully recognize and accept our own smallness and ordinariness. Then you are free with nothing to live up to, nothing to prove, and nothing to protect. Such freedom is my best description of Christian maturity, because once you know that your βIβ is great and one with God, you can ironically be quite content with a small and ordinary βI.β No grandstanding is necessary. Any question of your own importance or dignity has already been resolved once and for all and forever.
Richard RohrRead
The unhappy derive comfort from the misfortunes of others.
AesopRead
To live in the present moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment, to appreciate the peace and beauty that are available now.
Nhat HanhRead
I thank God for my failures. Maybe not at the time but after some reflection. I never feel like a failure just because something I tried has failed.
Dolly PartonRead
Just be true to yourself, and listen as much as one is able to to other people whose opinions you respect and look up to but in the end it has to come from you. You canβt really worry too much by looking to the left and the right about what the competition is doing or what other people in your field are doing. It has to be a true vision.
Anna WintourRead