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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Similar quotes
The known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of inexplicability. Our business in every generation is to reclaim a little more land, to add something to the extent and the solidity of our possessions.
In matters of honesty, there are no shortcuts; no little white lies, or big black lies, only the simple, honest truth spoken in total candor... Being true is different than being honest.
Samsara is the mind turned outwardly, lost in its projections. Nirvana is the mind turned inwardly, recognizing its true nature.
What makes a Christian a Christian is not perfection but forgiveness.
Everything is full and pure at its source and precisely there, not outside.
I can tell you that God is alive because I talked to him this morning.