Go forward with joyful confidence.
George EliotRead
Can any man or woman choose duties? No more than they can choose their birthplace or their father and mother.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that individuals do not have the ultimate freedom to choose certain aspects of their lives, such as responsibilities, much like they cannot choose their family or birthplace.
George Eliot's quote highlights the notion that many elements of our existence, including our duties and responsibilities, are predetermined and beyond our control. Just as one cannot select their parents or place of birth, many obligations in life are imposed by circumstances, heritage, or society. This perspective invites reflection on the nature of personal choice and the inherent limitations we face in determining our paths.
Themes
DutiesBirthplaceResponsibilityFreedomChoice
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the limits of personal freedom in choosing life paths.
More from George Eliot
All quotes βYou must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well.
George EliotRead
She thought it was part of the hardship of her life that there was laid upon her the burthen of larger wants than others seemed to feel β that she had to endure this wide hopeless yearning for that something, whatever it was, that was greatest and best on this earth.
George EliotRead
Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.
George EliotRead
Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them: they can be injured by us, they can be wounded; they know all our penitence, all our aching sense that their place is empty, all the kisses we bestow on the smallest relic of their presence.
George EliotRead
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