--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gordon Brown is a character from a tragic…" description: "\"Gordon Brown is a character from a tragic opera, twisted by ambition and a Presbyterian sense of fateful destiny. He has waited 13 years, mostly in Ton..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/a-a-gill-3415_character_gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragi_2464796.png" --- # Gordon Brown is a character from a tragic opera, twisted… ![“Gordon Brown is a character from a tragic opera, twisted by ambition and a Presbyterian sense of fateful destiny. He has waited 13 years, mostly in Tony Blair's shadow, for this poisoned chalice and has a pessimist's luck.” quote by A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/a-a-gill-3415_character_gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragi_2464796.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/a-a-gill-3415_character_gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragi_2464796.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/a-a-gill-3415_character_gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragi_2464796.png) > “Gordon Brown is a character from a tragic opera, twisted by ambition and a Presbyterian sense of fateful destiny. He has waited 13 years, mostly in Tony Blair's shadow, for this poisoned chalice and has a pessimist's luck.” [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He is portrayed as a tragic figure whose ambition and fatalistic worldview trap him in a shadowy, doomed role. **In simple terms:** Ambition and destiny can imprison a person. Key Takeaway Beware of letting ambition dictate fate. Themes ambition tragedy politics Mood cynical reflective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - political careers - leadership contests - personal ambition - public scrutiny Key Concepts fatalism power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Do you see yourself as a victim of fate? - Can ambition be redirected positively? A Different Perspective His pessimism may ignore agency and change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blair Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blair-shadow-695545/) [Brown Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brown-character-695544/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-tragic-665729/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gordon-brown-299221/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [Whereas the comic confronts simply logical contradictions, the tragic confronts a moral predicament. Not minor matters of true andfalse but crucial questions of right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-taylor-collins-swabey/whereas-the-comic-confronts-simply-logical-contradictions-the-tragic/) [Marie Taylor Collins Swabey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-taylor-collins-swabey/) > [Dan Brown is a character from 'Foucault's Pendulum!' I invented him. He shares my characters' fascinations - the world conspiracy of Rosicrucians, Masons, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/dan-brown-is-a-character-from-foucault-s-pendulum-i-invented-him-he/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [ As Tony \[Blair\] said in his book, Gordon \[Brown\] was brilliant and impossible. If he'd just been one of those things, the options are… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-campbell/as-tony-blair-said-in-his-book-gordon-brown-was-brilliant-and/) [Alastair Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-campbell/) > [Imagine a State occasion where the Queen is wearing trainers with her tiara because she thinks it will make people like her better, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-york/imagine-a-state-occasion-where-the-queen-is-wearing-trainers-with-her/) [Peter York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-york/) > [Personally, I have detested Gordon Brown since the moment in 2001 when he tried to make cheap capital out of the Laura Spence affair;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/personally-i-have-detested-gordon-brown-since-the-moment-in-2001-when/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [You cannot ever imagine confusing George W Bush with an athlete, or Gordon Brown, or David Cameron.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james/you-cannot-ever-imagine-confusing-george-w-bush-with-an-athlete-or/) [David James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james/) > [Gordon Brown promised to abolish boom and bust. He has kept half his promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hague/gordon-brown-promised-to-abolish-boom-and-bust-he-has-kept-half-his/) [William Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hague/) > [Our Prime Minister, Gordon Brown has given the Government's support to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. It is difficult to imagine a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-o-brien/our-prime-minister-gordon-brown-has-given-the-government-s-support-to/) [Keith O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-o-brien/) > [Yes is the answer to that question. I've enjoyed being in government... if it would be useful for me to serve I would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-clarke/yes-is-the-answer-to-that-question-i-ve-enjoyed-being-in-government/) [Charles Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-clarke/) > [When you look at the things people are really fed up with, like the collapse of the pension system, like the failure to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-osborne/when-you-look-at-the-things-people-are-really-fed-up-with-like-the/) [George Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-osborne/) > [Gordon Brown now bestrides politics and the media like the Colossus of Dunfermline. Whatever happened to Tony Blair?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-mitchell/gordon-brown-now-bestrides-politics-and-the-media-like-the-colossus/) [Austin Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-mitchell/) > [As for Gordon Brown - I've described him and Blair as two cheeks of the same arse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/as-for-gordon-brown-i-ve-described-him-and-blair-as-two-cheeks-of-the/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [Gordon Brown is and always will be committed to the interests of big business, so there's no way I want to be involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/gordon-brown-is-and-always-will-be-committed-to-the-interests-of-big/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [As a Scot Gordon Brown will find it hard to convince people in England he should be prime minister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/as-a-scot-gordon-brown-will-find-it-hard-to-convince-people-in/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [Football is becoming all about money. I would like to be in a lift with Gordon Brown and say, 'Please do something about football.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delia-smith/football-is-becoming-all-about-money-i-would-like-to-be-in-a-lift/) [Delia Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delia-smith/) ## More by A. A. Gill > [It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-the-spanish-met-the-aztecs-it/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [If New York is a wise guy, Paris a coquette, Rome a gigolo and Berlin a wicked uncle, then London is an old lady…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/if-new-york-is-a-wise-guy-paris-a-coquette-rome-a-gigolo-and-berlin-a/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Frightened is the natural state for all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/frightened-is-the-natural-state-for-all-men/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [So, being a good man is not an exam or a qualification, it changes, and it incorporates being a good friend, a good father,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/so-being-a-good-man-is-not-an-exam-or-a-qualification-it-changes-and/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Women's handbags are incredibly heavy. You rarely get to pick one up and, when you do, you wonder why anyone carries so much stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/women-s-handbags-are-incredibly-heavy-you-rarely-get-to-pick-one-up/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Gifts are an important and necessary part of our collective lives. We need to give and we need to allow others to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/gifts-are-an-important-and-necessary-part-of-our-collective-lives-we/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Have you ever wondered why the rich and privileged care about, or even bother with, the gift bag? Because they don't need this stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/have-you-ever-wondered-why-the-rich-and-privileged-care-about-or-even/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [London is a city of ghosts; you feel them here. Not just of people, but eras. The ghost of empire, or the blitz, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/london-is-a-city-of-ghosts-you-feel-them-here-not-just-of-people-but/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Television gives us the gift to see ourselves as we'd like to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/television-gives-us-the-gift-to-see-ourselves-as-we-d-like-to-be-seen/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [I walk up a dune to a beach and look out to sea, but it's 100km away. The ships lie askew in their dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/i-walk-up-a-dune-to-a-beach-and-look-out-to-sea-but-it-s-100km-away/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Being able to afford everything you desire is not, by any means, the worst thing that can happen to you. But, depressingly, and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/being-able-to-afford-everything-you-desire-is-not-by-any-means-the/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [If the world were to end tomorrow and we could choose to save only one thing as the explanation and memorial to who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/if-the-world-were-to-end-tomorrow-and-we-could-choose-to-save-only/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [You see, the problem with Dave Cameron is that people know who he is. The less people know about him, the more he's likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/you-see-the-problem-with-dave-cameron-is-that-people-know-who-he-is/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [Personal adornment is the only cultural form that everybody in the world takes part in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/personal-adornment-is-the-only-cultural-form-that-everybody-in-the/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [The part that makes you unique is the bit people will like or fear, fall in love with, or try to avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/the-part-that-makes-you-unique-is-the-bit-people-will-like-or-fear/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) [Explore all 131 A. A. Gill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Gordon Brown is a character from a tragic opera, twisted by ambition and a Presbyterian sense of fateful destiny. He has waited 13 years, mostly in Tony Blair's shadow, for this poisoned chalice and has a pessimist's luck.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. A. Gill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragic-opera-twisted-by-ambition/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragic-opera-twisted-by-ambition/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/a-a-gill-3415_character_gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragi_2464796.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/a-a-gill-3415_character_gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragi_2464796.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44f/a-a-gill-3415_character_gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragi_2464796.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Gordon Brown is a character from a tragic opera, twisted by ambition and a Presbyterian sense of fateful…” — A. A. Gill", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "A. A. Gill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Gordon Brown is a character from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragic-opera-twisted-by-ambition/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/gordon-brown-is-a-character-from-a-tragic-opera-twisted-by-ambition/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```