--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men choose Hamlet because every man sees…" description: "\"Men choose Hamlet because every man sees himself as a disinherited monarch. Women choose Alice [in Wonderland] because every woman sees herself as the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/adam-gopnik-6789_crazy_men-choose-hamlet-because-every-man-sees_2877773.jpg" --- # Men choose Hamlet because every man sees himself as a… ![“Men choose Hamlet because every man sees himself as a disinherited monarch. Women choose Alice [in Wonderland] because every woman sees herself as the only reasonable creature among crazy people who think they are disinherited monarchs.” quote by Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/adam-gopnik-6789_crazy_men-choose-hamlet-because-every-man-sees_2877773.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/adam-gopnik-6789_crazy_men-choose-hamlet-because-every-man-sees_2877773.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/adam-gopnik-6789_crazy_men-choose-hamlet-because-every-man-sees_2877773.jpg) > “Men choose Hamlet because every man sees himself as a disinherited monarch. Women choose Alice \[in Wonderland\] because every woman sees herself as the only reasonable creature among crazy people who think they are disinherited monarchs.” [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how people project their own sense of alienation onto literary characters, seeing themselves as outsiders or rightful heirs in a chaotic world. **In simple terms:** People identify with characters who feel out of place or entitled. Key Takeaway Recognize projection in your own preferences. Themes identity literature gender projection alienation Mood reflective introspective Type analytical observational When to use this quote - reading clubs - personal reflection - therapy sessions - creative writing workshops Key Concepts psychology social archetype narrative identification Questions to Reflect On - Do you choose books that reflect your self‑image? - How does this affect your empathy for others? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex characters to fit personal narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choose Alice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-alice-3972033/) [Choose Hamlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-hamlet-3972032/) [Crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy/) [Crazy people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crazy-people/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Every man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-man/) [Every woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-woman/) [Hamlet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamlet/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-choose-336729/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Women Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-choose/) [Wonderland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderland/) ## Related quotes > [I like women who haven’t lived with too many men. I don’t expect virginity but I simply prefer women who haven’t been rubbed raw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-women-who-haven-t-lived-with-too-many-men-i-don-t-expect/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Men choose a religion, but a Christian is chosen by Jesus Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehdi-dibaj/men-choose-a-religion-but-a-christian-is-chosen-by-jesus-christ/) [Mehdi Dibaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehdi-dibaj/) > [Men go after me, and I choose among them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bess-myerson/men-go-after-me-and-i-choose-among-them/) [Bess Myerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bess-myerson/) > [When you propose ridiculous things to believe, too many men will choose to believe nothing at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/when-you-propose-ridiculous-things-to-believe-too-many-men-will/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“God creates men, but they choose each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-creates-men-but-they-choose-each-other/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-hales/wherefore-men-are-free-according-to-the-flesh-and-all-things-are/) [Robert D. Hales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-hales/) > [Any system which allows men to choose their own future will end by choosing safety and mediocrity, and in such a Reality the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/any-system-which-allows-men-to-choose-their-own-future-will-end-by/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [As a woman, you accept the situation, adapt to it, and do your best, whereas men would choose violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asne-seierstad/as-a-woman-you-accept-the-situation-adapt-to-it-and-do-your-best/) [Asne Seierstad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asne-seierstad/) > [To me, I'll always be the skinny, 5-foot-6 eighth-grader on the YMCA court, trying to get grown men to choose me for pickup games.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trae-young/to-me-i-ll-always-be-the-skinny-5-foot-6-eighth-grader-on-the-ymca/) [Trae Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trae-young/) > [When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-men-choose-not-to-believe-in-god-they-do-not-thereafter-believe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I pay all my own bills... 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To build a city, don't men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/man-doesn-t-change-he-keeps-his-habits-instinctively-all-those-people/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [. . . why some men choose to fill their brief allotment of time engaging the impossible, others in the manufacture of sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/why-some-men-choose-to-fill-their-brief-allotment-of-time-engaging/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) ## More by Adam Gopnik > [ Often the block \[in writing\] comes from the wall of words that keep out the simplicity of sense. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/often-the-block-in-writing-comes-from-the-wall-of-words-that-keep-out/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Drawing is one of those things which sit on the uneasy bending line between instinct and instruction, where seeming perversity eventually trumps pleasure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/drawing-is-one-of-those-things-which-sit-on-the-uneasy-bending-line/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Of all the unexpected things in contemporary literature, this is among the oddest: that kids have an inordinate appetite for very long, very tricky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/of-all-the-unexpected-things-in-contemporary-literature-this-is-among/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [“...we see life as deeply in our pleasures as in our pains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/we-see-life-as-deeply-in-our-pleasures-as-in-our-pains/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [ Leafing through Forbes or Fortune \[magazine\]s is like reading the operating manual of a strangely sanctimonious pirate ship ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/leafing-through-forbes-or-fortune-magazine-s-is-like-reading-the/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Writing well isn't just a question of winsome expression, but of having found something big and true to say and having found the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/writing-well-isn-t-just-a-question-of-winsome-expression-but-of/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [“There is, I believe now, a force in stories, words in motion, that either drives them forward past things into feelings or doesn't. 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But pressure and practice does lend a certain fluency, I think -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/writing-doesn-t-come-easily-to-anyone-i-think-certainly-not-to-me-but/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Art without accomplishment becomes a form of faith, sustained more by the intensity of its common practice than by the pleasure it gives to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/art-without-accomplishment-becomes-a-form-of-faith-sustained-more-by/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [ “\[A\]s military history reveals, a bad plan is often better than no plan, especially if the people on the other side think it’s a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/a-s-military-history-reveals-a-bad-plan-is-often-better-than-no-plan/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [I don't think there's any question journalists have become targets, but then I think that - that anyone who tries to practice liberty becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-question-journalists-have-become-targets/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [After all, spinning is its own reward. 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