You imagine the carefully pruned, shaped thing that is presented to you is truth. That is just what it isn't. The truth is improbable, the truth is fantastic; it's in what you think is a distorting mirror that you see the truth.
Jean RhysRead
If I was bound for hell, let it be hell. No more false heaven. No more damned magic.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a preference for authenticity over illusion, even if the outcome is harsh.
In this quote, Jean Rhys conveys a profound sense of disillusionment with false comforts and illusions of happiness. She acknowledges a willingness to embrace the harsh realities of life rather than settle for a deceptive facade, emphasizing the importance of living truthfully, even if it leads to a painful destination. This reflects a philosophical stance that values genuine experiences over comforting but false narratives.
Themes
AuthenticityTruthDisillusionmentRealityIllusion
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of pursuing honesty, one could reference this quote to emphasize that a painful truth is more valuable than a comfortable lie.
More from Jean Rhys
All quotes →The musty smell, the bugs, the lonliness, this room, which is part of the street outside-this is all I want from life.
Jean RhysRead
Yes, I am sad, sad as a circus-lioness, sad as an eagle without wings, sad as a violin with only one string and that one broken, sad as a woman who is growing old. Sad, sad, sad.
Jean RhysRead
My life, which seems so simple and monotonous, is really a complicated affair of cafés where they like me and cafés where they don't, streets that are friendly, streets that aren't, rooms where I might be happy, rooms where I shall never be, looking-glasses I look nice in, looking-glasses I don't, dresses that will be lucky, dresses that won't, and so on.
Jean RhysRead
I must write. If I stop writing my life will have been an abject failure. It is that already to other people. But it could be an abject failure to myself. I will not have earned death.
Jean RhysRead
Your red dress,’ she said, and laughed. But I looked at the dress on the floor and it was as if the fire had spread across the room. It was beautiful and it reminded me of something I must do. I will remember I thought. I will remember quite soon now.
Jean RhysRead
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