--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all want to be guilty, because guilt…" description: "\"We all want to be guilty, because guilt is power.\" — Alison Lurie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/alison-lurie-19529_guilt_we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-i_719384.png" --- # We all want to be guilty, because guilt is power. ![“We all want to be guilty, because guilt is power.” quote by Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/alison-lurie-19529_guilt_we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-i_719384.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/alison-lurie-19529_guilt_we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-i_719384.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/alison-lurie-19529_guilt_we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-i_719384.png) > “We all want to be guilty, because guilt is power.” [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People may desire guilt because it grants a sense of control or power over situations. **In simple terms:** Guilt can feel empowering. Key Takeaway Reflect on why you might seek guilt. Themes psychology power guilt control motivation identity Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary psychological When to use this quote - political activism - personal relationships - creative expression Key Concepts Existentialism social dynamics self‑perception Questions to Reflect On - What does guilt give you? - Can guilt be transformed into positive action? A Different Perspective Guilt can also be destructive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Guilt Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt-power-5658037/) [Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty/) [Guilty Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilty-guilt-1703640/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Guilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-guilty-5658038/) ## Related quotes > [It almost always happens that people enjoy a few moments and then afterwards feel very guilty. The guilt arises because of the ego. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/it-almost-always-happens-that-people-enjoy-a-few-moments-and-then/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“You just love them both and want them to get along. You’re guilty of nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-a-thompson-2/you-just-love-them-both-and-want-them-to-get-along-you-re-guilty-of/) [Shannon A Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-a-thompson-2/) > [Good subjects must feel guilty. The guilt begins as a feeling of failure. The good autocrat provides many opportunities for failure in the populace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/good-subjects-must-feel-guilty-the-guilt-begins-as-a-feeling-of/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [“My mother is now in the hospital 60 miles away, where they are treating her pneumonia. I refuse to feel guilty. Guilt is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/my-mother-is-now-in-the-hospital-60-miles-away-where-they-are/) [Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/) > [There are some things we should feel guilty about, but the guilt feelings should attach to the deed, not to the doer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/there-are-some-things-we-should-feel-guilty-about-but-the-guilt/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [The law is not known, since there is nothing in it to know. We come across it only through its action, and it acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/the-law-is-not-known-since-there-is-nothing-in-it-to-know-we-come/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [Focus on guilt will always breed fear, and focus on innocence will always breed love. Any time we project guilt onto someone else, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/focus-on-guilt-will-always-breed-fear-and-focus-on-innocence-will/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [A guilty system recognizes no innocents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/a-guilty-system-recognizes-no-innocents/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [The concept of guilt is found most powerfully developed even in the most primitive communal forms which we know... the man is guilty who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/the-concept-of-guilt-is-found-most-powerfully-developed-even-in-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [The way to stop feeling guilty is to read stuff - I'm not saying my book, but works by Bertrand Russell or Oscar Wilde,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hodgkinson/the-way-to-stop-feeling-guilty-is-to-read-stuff-i-m-not-saying-my/) [Tom Hodgkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hodgkinson/) > [The only things that I can tell you is that every case I have reviewed I have been comfortable with the innocence or guilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-only-things-that-i-can-tell-you-is-that-every-case-i-have/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Relationships don't thrive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/relationships-don-t-thrive-because-the-guilty-are-punished-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [LIVING WITH A GUILTY HEART,IS LIFE WITHOUT THE BAR'S.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicia-washington/living-with-a-guilty-heart-is-life-without-the-bar-s/) [Felicia Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicia-washington/) > [The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-truly-just-is-he-who-feels-half-guilty-of-your-misdeeds/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More by Alison Lurie > [America has a history of political isolation and economic self-sufficiency; its citizens have tended to regard the rest of the world as a disaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/america-has-a-history-of-political-isolation-and-economic-self/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [You get into the habit of being angry and hurt by life, and then when something good happens you can't accept it because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/you-get-into-the-habit-of-being-angry-and-hurt-by-life-and-then-when/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [With a pencil and paper, I could revise the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/with-a-pencil-and-paper-i-could-revise-the-world/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [We can lie in the language of dress or try ot tell the truth; but unless we are naked and bald, it is impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/we-can-lie-in-the-language-of-dress-or-try-ot-tell-the-truth-but/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [There is a peculiar burning odor in the room, like explosives. the kitchen fills with smoke and the hot, sweet, ashy smell of scorched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/there-is-a-peculiar-burning-odor-in-the-room-like-explosives-the/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Grosvenor and Burke suggest that continually, though silently, a school building tells students who they are and how they should think about the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/grosvenor-and-burke-suggest-that-continually-though-silently-a-school/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Many Americans think of the rest of the world as a kind of Disneyland, a showplace for quaint fauna, flora and artifacts. They dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/many-americans-think-of-the-rest-of-the-world-as-a-kind-of-disneyland/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [The fashion industry is no more able to preserve a style that men and women have decided to abandon than to introduce one they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/the-fashion-industry-is-no-more-able-to-preserve-a-style-that-men-and/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [If nothing will finally survive of life besides what artists report of it, we have no right to report what we know to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/if-nothing-will-finally-survive-of-life-besides-what-artists-report/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Real literature, like travel, is always a surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/real-literature-like-travel-is-always-a-surprise/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [As one went to Europe to see the living past, so one must visit Southern California to observe the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/as-one-went-to-europe-to-see-the-living-past-so-one-must-visit/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [“In most novels it is taken for granted that people over fifty are as set in their ways as elderly apple trees, and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/in-most-novels-it-is-taken-for-granted-that-people-over-fifty-are-as/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Attempts to limit female mobility by hampering locomotion are ancient and almost universal. The foot-binding of upper-class Chinese girls and the Nigerian custom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/attempts-to-limit-female-mobility-by-hampering-locomotion-are-ancient/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [“Having a chronic illness, Molly thought, was like being invaded. Her grandmother back in Michigan used to tell about the day one of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/having-a-chronic-illness-molly-thought-was-like-being-invaded-her/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [Fashion is free speech, and one of the privileges, if not always one of the pleasures, of a free world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/fashion-is-free-speech-and-one-of-the-privileges-if-not-always-one-of/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) [Explore all 32 Alison Lurie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) ## More Guilt quotes > [Never fight on the wrong side; you might win but the burden of guilt is more than a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-salan/never-fight-on-the-wrong-side-you-might-win-but-the-burden-of-guilt/) [Lilian Salan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-salan/) > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . He went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was charged against Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/when-the-lord-jesus-christ-became-my-surety-he-went-to-calvary-s/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) > [“Even in the miserable guilt we feel over our beastlike insensitivity, the glory of God shines. If God were not gloriously desirable, why would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/even-in-the-miserable-guilt-we-feel-over-our-beastlike-insensitivity/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Regrets are just a way for the foolish and the guilty to pass the time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gensoumaden-saiyuki/regrets-are-just-a-way-for-the-foolish-and-the-guilty-to-pass-the-time/) [Gensoumaden Saiyuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gensoumaden-saiyuki/) > [(I)f we are going to be kind, let it be out of simple generosity, not because we fear guilt or retribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-f-we-are-going-to-be-kind-let-it-be-out-of-simple-generosity-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money should not be in the hands of individuals; otherwise it will create this problem of being burdened with guilt. And money can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/money-should-not-be-in-the-hands-of-individuals-otherwise-it-will/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Food ... love ... mother ... career ... Live every day to the fullest. Partake of the four basic guilt groups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/food-love-mother-career-live-every-day-to-the-fullest-partake-of-the/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [Anger was better than tears, better than grief, better than guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anger-was-better-than-tears-better-than-grief-better-than-guilt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Phil and Hannah had decided that Christian guilt was better than bad math”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhoda-janzen/phil-and-hannah-had-decided-that-christian-guilt-was-better-than-bad/) [rhoda janzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhoda-janzen/) > [No amount of guilt can solve the past & No amount of anxiety can change the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananymous/no-amount-of-guilt-can-solve-the-past-no-amount-of-anxiety-can-change/) [Ananymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananymous/) > [The essence of having fun is enjoying without guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-essence-of-having-fun-is-enjoying-without-guilt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) [Browse all 2,943 Guilt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We all want to be guilty, because guilt is power.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alison Lurie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-is-power/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Guilt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-is-power/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/alison-lurie-19529_guilt_we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-i_719384.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/alison-lurie-19529_guilt_we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-i_719384.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3c/alison-lurie-19529_guilt_we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-i_719384.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We all want to be guilty, because guilt is power.” — Alison Lurie", "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": "Alison Lurie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We all want to be guilty,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-is-power/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/we-all-want-to-be-guilty-because-guilt-is-power/#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 } } ] } ```