Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I bring the life of that unhappy Henry Jekyll to an end.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote signifies the conclusion of a troubled existence and the acceptance of one's true nature.
In this quote, the character Henry Jekyll comes to terms with the consequences of his actions and the duality of his identity. By laying down the pen, he metaphorically accepts the end of his struggle between his respectable persona and his darker side, emphasizing the theme of conflict within the human soul and the inevitable confrontation with one's own demons.
Themes
IdentityConfessionDualityLifeStruggle
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the complexities of human nature during a philosophy class.
More from Robert Louis Stevenson
All quotes βLike a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing, yet avoided.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . I should be inclined to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.
Robert Louis StevensonRead
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