QuoteProject
There is such a thing as too much beauty in a woman and it is often a burden as crippling as homeliness and far more dangerous. It takes much luck and integrity to survive the gift of perfect beauty, and its impermanence is its most cunning betrayal.
Pat Conroy
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Excessive beauty in a woman can be burdensome and difficult to navigate, often leading to challenges despite societal admiration.

This quote by Pat Conroy suggests that while beauty can be seen as a gift, it can also carry a heavy burden for women. The pressures and expectations associated with physical appearance can be as crippling as the stigma of being unattractive. Conroy highlights the transient nature of beauty, indicating that its impermanence is a betrayal that can lead to significant emotional challenges, underscoring the complex relationship society has with beauty.

Themes

BeautyBurdenIntegrityImpermanenceDanger

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about societal standards, you might say, 'As Pat Conroy pointed out, there is such a thing as too much beauty.'

More from Pat Conroy

It enclosed us in its laceries as we watched the moon spill across the Atlantic like wine from an overturned glass. With the light all around us, we felt secret in that moon-infused water like pearls forming in the soft tissues of oysters.
Pat ConroyRead
A recipe is a story that ends with a good meal.
Pat ConroyRead
Every woman I had ever met who walked through the world appraised and classified by an extraordinary physicality had also received the keys to an unbearable solitude. It was the coefficient of their beauty, the price they had to pay.
Pat ConroyRead
Teach them the quiet words of kindness, to live beyond themselves. Urge them toward excellence, drive them toward gentleness, pull them deep into yourself, pull them upward toward manhood, but softly like an angel arranging clouds. Let your spirit move through them softly.
Pat ConroyRead
I loved my parents... but that can never change the fact that my father's violence ruined my childhood.
Pat ConroyRead
The most powerful words in English are 'Tell me a story,' words that are intimately related to the complexity of history, the origins of language, the continuity of the species, the taproot of our humanity, our singularity, and art itself.
Pat ConroyRead

Similar quotes

I _x000D_ would close down all those teenage magazines that encourage young _x000D_ girls to diet. Who says that to be pretty you have to be thin? Some _x000D_ people look better thin and some don't. There is almost a standard being _x000D_ created where only thin is acceptable. The influence of those _x000D_ magazines on girls as young as 13 is horrific.
Penelope CruzRead
The right hairstyle can make a plain woman beautiful and a beautiful woman unforgettable.
Sophia LorenRead
I feel that beauty and femininity are ageless
Marilyn MonroeRead
When I was young and beautiful, I never appeared on the cover of a magazine.
Simone SignoretRead
It used to bother me - having bigger, fuller brows. I even plucked them once so I'd fit in, but I hated them and couldn't wait for them to grow back. Now I embrace them. I realized the quirky things that make you different are what make you beautiful.
Lily CollinsRead
True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
Audrey HepburnRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.