Motherhood is priced Of God, at price no man may dare To lessen or misunderstand.
Helen Hunt JacksonRead
Wounded vanity knows when it is mortally hurt; and limps off the field, piteous, all disguises thrown away. But pride carries its banner to the last; and fast as it is driven from one field unfurls it in another, never admitting that there is a shade less honor in the second field than in the first, or in the third than in the second.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the differences between wounded vanity and persistent pride, highlighting the struggle between self-awareness and self-deception.
Helen Hunt Jackson's quote illustrates how wounded vanity retreats from a situation when it feels defeated, while pride clings to its honor, seeking new arenas where it can maintain the facade of superiority, regardless of the diminished value of that pride. It shows the contrasts between genuine self-awareness, which acknowledges weaknesses, and pride that never accepts defeat, often leading to a cycle of illusion and denial.
Themes
PrideVanitySelf-DeceptionHonorSelf-Awareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of humility vs. pride in leadership.
More from Helen Hunt Jackson
All quotes →But all lost things are in the angels' keeping, Love; No past is dead for us, but only sleeping, Love; The years of Heaven with all earth's little pain Make Good Together there we can begin again, In babyhood.
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If I could write a story that would do for the Indian one-hundredth part what 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' did for the Negro, I would be thankful the rest of my life.
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