--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is so much obligatory generosity to…" description: "\"“There is so much obligatory generosity to being a good mother, a good wife, a good friend. Solitude is an acceptable form of selfishness.”\" — Anna Qui..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/anna-quindlen-467_friendship_there-is-so-much-obligatory-generosity-t_2484623.jpg" --- # There is so much obligatory generosity to being a good… ![“There is so much obligatory generosity to being a good mother, a good wife, a good friend. Solitude is an acceptable form of selfishness.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/anna-quindlen-467_friendship_there-is-so-much-obligatory-generosity-t_2484623.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/anna-quindlen-467_friendship_there-is-so-much-obligatory-generosity-t_2484623.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e23/anna-quindlen-467_friendship_there-is-so-much-obligatory-generosity-t_2484623.jpg) > ““There is so much obligatory generosity to being a good mother, a good wife, a good friend. Solitude is an acceptable form of selfishness.”” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that self‑care through solitude is a legitimate, even necessary, form of selfishness amid societal expectations. **In simple terms:** Being alone can be healthy selfishness. Key Takeaway Allow yourself alone time. Themes self‑care boundaries solitude Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - parenting - marriage - friendship - career planning Key Concepts Personal autonomy social expectations healthy selfishness Questions to Reflect On - When is solitude beneficial? - How do you balance duty and self? A Different Perspective Too much solitude can lead to isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Generosity Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity-good-901932/) [Good friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-friend/) [Good mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-mother/) [Good wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-wife/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Obligatory Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligatory-generosity-901933/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Solitude Acceptable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude-acceptable-901934/) ## Related quotes > [When you speak about generosity, about something good we have inside ourselves, you're speaking to the majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-jeunet/when-you-speak-about-generosity-about-something-good-we-have-inside/) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-jeunet/) > [If you could be a good daughter, surely you would be a good wife and definitely a good mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mielya-saladdin/if-you-could-be-a-good-daughter-surely-you-would-be-a-good-wife-and/) [Mielya Saladdin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mielya-saladdin/) > [Nobody objects to a woman being a good writer or sculptor or geneticist if at the same time she manages to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/nobody-objects-to-a-woman-being-a-good-writer-or-sculptor-or-2/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [I want to be a good wife, a good mother, a good person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peaches-geldof/i-want-to-be-a-good-wife-a-good-mother-a-good-person/) [Peaches Geldof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peaches-geldof/) > [I am proud that I am a good mother to my children, a good daughter to my mother, a good sister to my sis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynonna-judd/i-am-proud-that-i-am-a-good-mother-to-my-children-a-good-daughter-to/) [Wynonna Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynonna-judd/) > [A real woman is industrious,also she manages to be a good wife, good mother, good looking, good tempered, well groomed and un aggressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-nwakama/a-real-woman-is-industrious-also-she-manages-to-be-a-good-wife-good/) [Anne Nwakama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-nwakama/) > [“A woman desires to be a man's last romance, her baby's first love and a person who can live with dignity all her life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/purba-chakraborty/a-woman-desires-to-be-a-man-s-last-romance-her-baby-s-first-love-and/) [Purba Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/purba-chakraborty/) > [It is easier for a woman to be a good wife than a good mother. 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I think I always had that mentality of you can do everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitmore/my-mam-worked-for-41-years-she-was-a-single-working-mother-i-think-i/) [Laura Whitmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitmore/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [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/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. 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In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. 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I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Friends are like stars you can't always see them, but you know they're there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknwon/friends-are-like-stars-you-can-t-always-see-them-but-you-know-they-re/) [Unknwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknwon/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [If you love some one for who they are not for there body or how many friend so when you say I love you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-you-love-some-one-for-who-they-are-not-for-there-body-or-how-many/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [You smile upon your friend to-day, To-day his ills are over; You hearken to the lover's say, And happy is the lover. 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