---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men are misers, and women prodigal, in…"
description: "\"Men are misers, and women prodigal, in affection.\" — Alphonse de Lamartine"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/alphonse-de-lamartine-3047_affection_men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-aff_1103740.png"
---

#  Men are misers, and women prodigal, in affection.

![“Men are misers, and women prodigal, in affection.” quote by Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/alphonse-de-lamartine-3047_affection_men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-aff_1103740.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/alphonse-de-lamartine-3047_affection_men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-aff_1103740.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/alphonse-de-lamartine-3047_affection_men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-aff_1103740.png)

> “Men are misers, and women prodigal, in affection.”

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

## 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 observes that men tend to be stingy with love while women are more extravagant, highlighting gendered emotional habits.

**In simple terms:** Men hold back affection; women give freely.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and balance how you give and receive love.

Themes

gender roles emotions relationships

Mood

reflective thoughtful analytical

Type

observational insightful

When to use this quote

- romantic partnerships
- family dynamics
- friendship
- dating
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

psychology social norms affection

Questions to Reflect On

- How do your own love habits compare?
- Can stereotypes limit emotional expression?

A Different Perspective

Not all individuals fit these patterns; cultural context matters.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Misers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-misers-2904940/) [Misers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misers/) [Misers Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misers-women-2904941/) [Prodigal Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigal-affection-2904938/) [Prodigals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigals/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Women Prodigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-prodigal-2904939/)

## Related quotes

> [If the prodigal quits life in debt to others, the miser quits it still deeper in debt to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/if-the-prodigal-quits-life-in-debt-to-others-the-miser-quits-it-still/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [To be a Prodigal's favourite,-then, worse truth, A Miser's pensioner,-behold our lot!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/to-be-a-prodigal-s-favourite-then-worse-truth-a-miser-s-pensioner/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [When I caution you against becoming a miser, I do not therefore advise you to become a prodigal or a spendthrift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/when-i-caution-you-against-becoming-a-miser-i-do-not-therefore-advise/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [For the army is a school in which the miser becomes generous, and the generous prodigal; miserly soldiers are like monsters, but very rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/for-the-army-is-a-school-in-which-the-miser-becomes-generous-and-the/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [Tis strange the miser should his cares employTo gain those riches he can ne'er enjoy;Is it less strange the prodigal should wasteHis wealth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/tis-strange-the-miser-should-his-cares-employto-gain-those-riches-he/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [There is no tongue that flatters like a lover's; and yet, in the exaggeration of his feelings, flattery seems to him commonplace. Strange and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/there-is-no-tongue-that-flatters-like-a-lover-s-and-yet-in-the/)

[Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/)

> [In Prodigal Son, Christine Sutton has penned a tight, brutally honest portrait of a psychopath reminiscent of Theodore Sturgeon's 'Some of Your Blood'. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe/in-prodigal-son-christine-sutton-has-penned-a-tight-brutally-honest/)

[Joe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe/)

> [I never understood redemption when I was young. Even before I was an atheist, I always thought with the prodigal son, "well, why's he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/i-never-understood-redemption-when-i-was-young-even-before-i-was-an/)

[Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/)

> [It is for us to begin. If we take one step towards the Lord, he takes ten towards us -- he who saw the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tito-colliander/it-is-for-us-to-begin-if-we-take-one-step-towards-the-lord-he-takes/)

[Tito Colliander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tito-colliander/)

> [Sometimes we are inclined to think that a very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/sometimes-we-are-inclined-to-think-that-a-very-great-portion-of/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [If men with fleshly mortals must be fed, and chew with bleeding teeth the breathing bread; what else is this but to devour our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/if-men-with-fleshly-mortals-must-be-fed-and-chew-with-bleeding-teeth/)

[Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/)

> [Covetous men need money least, yet they most affect it; but prodigals, who need it most have the least regard for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-wilson/covetous-men-need-money-least-yet-they-most-affect-it-but-prodigals/)

[Alexander Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-wilson/)

> [We have been the most prodigal of people with land, and for years we wasted it with impunity. There was so much of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-whyte/we-have-been-the-most-prodigal-of-people-with-land-and-for-years-we/)

[William H. Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-whyte/)

> [The greatest part of mankind labor under one delirium or another; and Don Quixote differed from the rest, not in madness, but the species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/the-greatest-part-of-mankind-labor-under-one-delirium-or-another-and/)

[Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/)

> [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/)

[Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/)

## More by Alphonse de Lamartine

> [Grief and sadness knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger than common joys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/grief-and-sadness-knits-two-hearts-in-closer-bonds-than-happiness/)

[Alphonse De Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Habit with it's iron sinews, clasps us and leads us day by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/habit-with-it-s-iron-sinews-clasps-us-and-leads-us-day-by-day/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [History is neither more nor less than biography on a large scale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/history-is-neither-more-nor-less-than-biography-on-a-large-scale/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Silence,--the applause of real and durable impressions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/silence-the-applause-of-real-and-durable-impressions/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Let us enjoy the fugitive hour. Man has no harbor, time has no shore; it rushes on, and carries us with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/let-us-enjoy-the-fugitive-hour-man-has-no-harbor-time-has-no-shore-it/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Void of freedom, what would virtue be?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/void-of-freedom-what-would-virtue-be/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [I am persuaded that if the brutes even--if the dog, the horse, the ox, the elephant, the bird, could speak, they would confess, that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/i-am-persuaded-that-if-the-brutes-even-if-the-dog-the-horse-the-ox/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [The most effective coquetry is innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/the-most-effective-coquetry-is-innocence/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [There is a woman at the begining of all great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/there-is-a-woman-at-the-begining-of-all-great-things/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Enthusiasm springs from the imagination, and self-sacrifice from the heart. Women are, therefore, more naturally heroic than men. All nations have in their annals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/enthusiasm-springs-from-the-imagination-and-self-sacrifice-from-the/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [True love is the ripe fruit of a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/true-love-is-the-ripe-fruit-of-a-lifetime/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [At twenty every one is republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/at-twenty-every-one-is-republican/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [We are earth's children, and life is the same in sap as in blood; all that the earth, our mother, feels and expresses to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/we-are-earth-s-children-and-life-is-the-same-in-sap-as-in-blood-all/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Let us savour the swift delights of the most beautiful of our days!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/let-us-savour-the-swift-delights-of-the-most-beautiful-of-our-days/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

> [Shall not this bygone Eden that we knew In our Eternal Life have shape and hue? For where Time is not shall not all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/shall-not-this-bygone-eden-that-we-knew-in-our-eternal-life-have/)

[Alphonse de Lamartine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

[Explore all 134 Alphonse de Lamartine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/)

## More Affection quotes

> [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/)

[Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/)

> [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/)

[Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/)

> [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/)

[Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/)

> [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/)

[Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/)

> [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/)

[Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/)

> [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/)

[Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/)

> [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/)

[David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/)

> [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

> [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/)

[Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/)

> [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/)

[John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/)

> [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

[Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Men are misers, and women prodigal, in affection.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alphonse de Lamartine"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-affection/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Affection"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-affection/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/alphonse-de-lamartine-3047_affection_men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-aff_1103740.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/alphonse-de-lamartine-3047_affection_men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-aff_1103740.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d7/alphonse-de-lamartine-3047_affection_men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-aff_1103740.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Men are misers, and women prodigal, in affection.” — Alphonse de Lamartine",
                "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": "Alphonse de Lamartine",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-de-lamartine/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Men are misers, and women prodigal,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-affection/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-de-lamartine/men-are-misers-and-women-prodigal-in-affection/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
