--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a revolution, as in a novel, the most…" description: "\"In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.\" — Alexis de Tocqueville" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_books_in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-d_2739825.png" --- # In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to… ![“In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.” quote by Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_books_in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-d_2739825.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_books_in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-d_2739825.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_books_in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-d_2739825.png) > “In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.” [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most challenging aspect of change, whether political or narrative, is concluding it. **In simple terms:** Ends are hardest to create. Key Takeaway Focus on shaping a thoughtful conclusion. Themes change storytelling politics Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing a novel - planning a movement - designing a campaign - finalizing a project Key Concepts philosophy structure creative process Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help you craft a satisfying ending? - How does the ending influence the overall impact? A Different Perspective Conclusions may feel forced without organic development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Difficult Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-invent-3019751/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Invent End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent-end-3019750/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-difficult-2032153/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Revolution Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution-novel-3019749/) ## Related quotes > [To read a novel is a difficult and complex art. You must be capable not only of great fineness of perception, but of great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-read-a-novel-is-a-difficult-and-complex-art-you-must-be-capable/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I found my first novel difficult. I don't want to make it sound like it's any more difficult than driving a cab or going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-found-my-first-novel-difficult-i-don-t-want-to-make-it-sound-like/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [It's the technique, I think, of writing a novel that is difficult for a nonfiction writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/it-s-the-technique-i-think-of-writing-a-novel-that-is-difficult-for-a/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [It is much easier for me to define what makes a novel French or Russian, but defining the characteristics of an Australian novel are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dessaix/it-is-much-easier-for-me-to-define-what-makes-a-novel-french-or/) [Robert Dessaix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dessaix/) > [To read a novel is a difficult and complex art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-read-a-novel-is-a-difficult-and-complex-art/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Sometimes when a character in a novel is difficult for me to enter, I sue something in myself or in my own life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/sometimes-when-a-character-in-a-novel-is-difficult-for-me-to-enter-i/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [We have to be innovative, we have to be fresh, we have to be new. People are counting on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/we-have-to-be-innovative-we-have-to-be-fresh-we-have-to-be-new-people/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [Why is it that, when we want to think outside the proverbial box, we often put ourselves in one? We gather our team in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/why-is-it-that-when-we-want-to-think-outside-the-proverbial-box-we/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) > [I have tremendous admiration for companies with the kind of pioneering spirit and innovation eBay has demonstrated from day one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/i-have-tremendous-admiration-for-companies-with-the-kind-of/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [“Incrementalism never allows innovation to flourish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-ratna/incrementalism-never-allows-innovation-to-flourish/) [Abhishek Ratna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-ratna/) > [“In the innovation age customer experience is key. Your impression defines their expression”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fela-durotoye/in-the-innovation-age-customer-experience-is-key-your-impression/) [Fela Durotoye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fela-durotoye/) > [I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-believe-that-one-defines-oneself-by-reinvention/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Alexis de Tocqueville > [All around you everything is on the move,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/all-around-you-everything-is-on-the-move/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [No state of society or laws can render men so much alike but that education, fortune, and tastes will interpose some differences between them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/no-state-of-society-or-laws-can-render-men-so-much-alike-but-that/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I do not know if the people of the United States would vote for superior men if they ran for office, but there can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-do-not-know-if-the-people-of-the-united-states-would-vote-for/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-greatness-of-america-lies-not-in-being-more-enlightened-than-any/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I am unacquainted with His designs, but I shall not cease to believe in them because I cannot fathom them, and I had rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-am-unacquainted-with-his-designs-but-i-shall-not-cease-to-believe/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I questioned the faithful of all communions; I particularly sought the society of clergymen, who are the depositories of the various creeds and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-questioned-the-faithful-of-all-communions-i-particularly-sought-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/christianity-is-the-companion-of-liberty-in-all-its-conflicts-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The more alike men are, the weaker each feels in the face of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/the-more-alike-men-are-the-weaker-each-feels-in-the-face-of-all/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“There is a twofold liberty, natural (I mean as our nature is now corrupt) and civil or federal. The first is common to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/there-is-a-twofold-liberty-natural-i-mean-as-our-nature-is-now/) [Alexis De Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/upon-my-arrival-in-the-united-states-the-religious-aspect-of-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [On this waterlogged landscape…are scattered palaces and hovels…It is here that the human spirit becomes perfect, and at the same time brutalised, that civilisation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/on-this-waterlogged-landscape-are-scattered-palaces-and-hovels-it-is/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) [Explore all 438 Alexis de Tocqueville quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [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 have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexis de Tocqueville" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-difficult-part-to-invent-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-difficult-part-to-invent-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_books_in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-d_2739825.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_books_in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-d_2739825.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f4/alexis-de-tocqueville-625_books_in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-d_2739825.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part to invent is the end.” — Alexis de Tocqueville", "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": "Alexis de Tocqueville", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In a revolution, as in a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-difficult-part-to-invent-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/in-a-revolution-as-in-a-novel-the-most-difficult-part-to-invent-is/#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 } } ] } ```