What have I to do with millions [of people]? The eighty I know despise me.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker feels alienated from the masses and even from those they know.
- In plain terms
- I am alone and disliked even by people I know.
- What can you take from it?
- Isolation can exist even among acquaintances.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do we feel misunderstood?
- How many friends are enough?
Another view
It offers a one-sided view of social dynamics.
More from Charlotte Bronte
I can so clearly distinguish between the criminal and his crime; I can so sincerely forgive the first while I abhor the last.
Permalink to quote #11 If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.
Permalink to quote #13 What a singularly deep impression her injustice seems to have made on your heart... Would you not be happier if you tried to forget her severity, together with…
Permalink to quote #10
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