--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And we'll want to call it envy, because…" description: "\"“And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.”\" — André Aciman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/andre-aciman-459_envy_and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-t_2812850.png" --- # And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret… ![“And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/andre-aciman-459_envy_and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-t_2812850.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/andre-aciman-459_envy_and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-t_2812850.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/andre-aciman-459_envy_and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-t_2812850.png) > ““And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker frames envy as a socially acceptable label, avoiding the harsher truth of regret that would cause emotional pain. **In simple terms:** We hide painful feelings behind milder terms. Key Takeaway Recognize and name true feelings. Themes emotion self‑deception identity Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - self‑reflection - grief processing Key Concepts psychology defense mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - What feelings are you labeling to avoid pain? - How does naming regret change its impact? A Different Perspective Denial can prevent healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Break Hearts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-hearts/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Envy Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy-regret-3531325/) [Jealousy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealousy/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Want Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-envy-922084/) ## Related quotes > [“Jealousy was essentially "I want what you have," while envy was "I want what you have, but I also want to take it away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-wolitzer/jealousy-was-essentially-i-want-what-you-have-while-envy-was-i-want/) [Meg Wolitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-wolitzer/) > [And on that evening when we grow older still we'll speak about these two young men as though they were two strangers we met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-on-that-evening-when-we-grow-older-still-we-ll-speak-about-these-2/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“And on that evening when we grow older still we'll speak about these two young men as though they were two strangers we met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-on-that-evening-when-we-grow-older-still-we-ll-speak-about-these/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“It's not my fairytale. It's not anything I ever wanted. It's the last thing I've ever wanted. I hate crowds. I don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mah-tippetts/it-s-not-my-fairytale-it-s-not-anything-i-ever-wanted-it-s-the-last/) [Emily Mah Tippetts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mah-tippetts/) > [Why wouldn't you want to be the envy of your neighbors by being so good and so generous and so smart in how you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dar-williams/why-wouldn-t-you-want-to-be-the-envy-of-your-neighbors-by-being-so/) [Dar Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dar-williams/) > [Every time that I think of the crucifixion of Christ, I commit the sin of envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/every-time-that-i-think-of-the-crucifixion-of-christ-i-commit-the-sin/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Jealousy & envy ,is what makes a hoe like u! hate a bad bitch like me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jealousy-envy-is-what-makes-a-hoe-like-u-hate-a-bad-bitch-like-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And often with our love we want merely to overleap envy. And often we attack and make ourselves enemies, to conceal that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/and-often-with-our-love-we-want-merely-to-overleap-envy-and-often-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Don't envy what people have, emulate what they did to have it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-fargo/don-t-envy-what-people-have-emulate-what-they-did-to-have-it/) [Tim Fargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-fargo/) > [What good is envy? It’s the one sin you can’t have any fun at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/what-good-is-envy-it-s-the-one-sin-you-can-t-have-any-fun-at/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Envy quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“I don't envy "busy." Busy means having a schedule, not living life. What I really covet is leisure and peace of mind. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/i-don-t-envy-busy-busy-means-having-a-schedule-not-living-life-what-i/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Is it not strange that the more someone has, the less he feels he has? Envy can never be sated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-wheeler/is-it-not-strange-that-the-more-someone-has-the-less-he-feels-he-has/) [Jeff Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-wheeler/) > [I avoid envy at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-winkleman/i-avoid-envy-at-all-costs/) [Claudia Winkleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-winkleman/) > [Sometimes I envy painters, it is wonderful to remain in front of a bouquet of flowers a whole morning, or even longer. A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“You don’t see someone flying and you begin to bite yourself for not being able to do that. You do what you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/you-don-t-see-someone-flying-and-you-begin-to-bite-yourself-for-not/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be sin to know, Can it be death? And do they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/knowledge-forbidden-suspicious-reasonless-why-should-their-lord-envy/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“Who would have thought you had so many supporters?" she whispered. "Not mine, my love. Yours. I had not a one till you started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-sinclair/who-would-have-thought-you-had-so-many-supporters-she-whispered-not/) [Michele Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-sinclair/) > [“Treachery is always a hairy caterpillar bred of a small butterfly called envy, no matter how lofty the principles involved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fazil-iskander/treachery-is-always-a-hairy-caterpillar-bred-of-a-small-butterfly/) [Fazil Iskander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fazil-iskander/) > [Yes, Clay Matthews has a long, golden, Fabio-esque flowing mane that most women would chick-slap someone for. And yes, the shiny, beautiful, dark locks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-foudy/yes-clay-matthews-has-a-long-golden-fabio-esque-flowing-mane-that/) [Julie Foudy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-foudy/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Browse all 2,111 Envy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Aciman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-to-call-it-regret-would-break/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Envy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-to-call-it-regret-would-break/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/andre-aciman-459_envy_and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-t_2812850.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/andre-aciman-459_envy_and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-t_2812850.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81c/andre-aciman-459_envy_and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-t_2812850.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And we'll want to call it envy, because to call it regret would break our hearts.” — André Aciman", "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": "André Aciman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And we'll want to call it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-to-call-it-regret-would-break/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/and-we-ll-want-to-call-it-envy-because-to-call-it-regret-would-break/#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 } } ] } ```