As he comes along the drive from the house with Mrs Whitefield he is sedulously making himself agreeable and entertaining, and thereby placing on her slender wit a burden it is unable to bear.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Trying too hard to please can overwhelm the other person with pressure.
- In plain terms
- Forcing charm burdens the person being charmed.
- What can you take from it?
- Don't overdo it when trying to be agreeable.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- When does charm become a burden?
- How do you gauge effort?
Another view
Some people genuinely enjoy enthusiastic attention.
More from George Bernard Shaw
In short, the way to avoid misunderstanding is for everybody to lie and slander and insinuate and pretend as hard as they can. That is what obeying your mother…
Permalink to quote #67 You can be as romantic as you please about love, Hector; but you mustn't be romantic about money.
Permalink to quote #69 ... the book about the bird and the bee is natural history. It's an awful lesson to mankind. You think that you are Ann's suitor; that you are the pursuer and …
Permalink to quote #66
Related quotes
All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.
F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald quote #1 'Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can.'
Arthur AsheArthur Ashe quote #1 Thank you, if you appreciate the tuning so much, I hope you will enjoy the playing more.
Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar quote #1