If I said I was madly in love with you, I'd be lying and what's more, you'd know it.
Margaret MitchellRead
You're like the thief who isn't the least bit sorry he stole, but is terribly, terribly sorry he's going to jail. - Rhett Butler
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the difference between feeling remorse for one's actions versus feeling regret for the consequences.
In this quote, Rhett Butler illustrates a common human tendency where individuals may not feel guilty for their wrongdoing but instead feel sorry for the repercussions they face. It speaks to a lack of genuine moral accountability, suggesting that true remorse should involve reflection on the harm caused to others rather than just concern for personal punishment.
Themes
RemorseConsequencesGuiltActionsAccountability
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about ethical behavior in business.
More from Margaret Mitchell
All quotes βIt's a curse - this not wanting to look on naked realities. Until the war, life was never more real to me than a shadow show on a curtain. And I preferred it so. I do not like the outlines of things to be too sharp. I like them gently blurred, a little hazy.
Margaret MitchellRead
Well, my dear, take heart. Some day, I will kiss you and you will like it. But not now, so I beg you not to be too impatient.
Margaret MitchellRead
men are so conceited theyβll believe anything that flatters them
Margaret MitchellRead
Oh, why was he so handsomely blond, so courteously aloof, so maddeningly boring with his talk about Europe and books and music and poetry and things that interested her not at all - and yet so desirable?
Margaret MitchellRead
All really nice girls wonder when men don't try to kiss them. They know they shouldn't want them to and they know they must act insulted if they do, but just the same, they wish the men would try.
Margaret MitchellRead
Similar quotes
I believe every person has a guardian spirit or angel. They assist us in the transition between life and death and they also help us pick our parents before we are born.
Elisabeth Kubler-RossRead
The rise and fall of civilizations in the long, broad course of history can be seen to have been largely a function of the integrity and cogency of their supporting canons of myth; for not authority but aspiration is the motivator, builder, and transformer of civilization.
Joseph CampbellRead
And although I have seen nothing but black crows in my life, it doesn't mean that there's no such thing as a white crow. Both for a philosopher and for a scientist it can be important not to reject the possibility of finding a white crow. You might almost say that hunting for 'the white crow' is science's principal task.
Jostein GaarderRead
That what appears to be egoism so often isn't.
David Foster WallaceRead
I hold that without truth and nonviolence there can be nothing but destruction of humanity.
Mahatma GandhiRead
The strongest argument against totalitarianism may be a recognition of a universal human nature; that all humans have innate desires for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The doctrine of the blank slate... is a totalitarian's dream.
Steven PinkerRead