--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It doesn't matter who my father was; it…" description: "\"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/anne-sexton-645_father_it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-m_1559337.png" --- # It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I… ![“It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/anne-sexton-645_father_it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-m_1559337.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/anne-sexton-645_father_it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-m_1559337.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/anne-sexton-645_father_it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-m_1559337.png) > “It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## 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 emphasizes that personal memory of a father matters more than his actual identity. **In simple terms:** Memory of father shapes identity. Key Takeaway Value personal recollections over facts. Themes family memory identity parental influence Mood reflective nostalgic Type psychological familial literary When to use this quote - therapy - memoir writing - genealogy research Key Concepts subjective memory psychology of grief family narratives Questions to Reflect On - How does memory shape our sense of self? - What role do narratives play in family identity? 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Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. 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They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anne Sexton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-matters-who-i-remember-he-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-matters-who-i-remember-he-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/anne-sexton-645_father_it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-m_1559337.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/anne-sexton-645_father_it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-m_1559337.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/anne-sexton-645_father_it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-m_1559337.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.” — Anne Sexton", "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": "Anne Sexton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It doesn't matter who my father...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-matters-who-i-remember-he-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/it-doesn-t-matter-who-my-father-was-it-matters-who-i-remember-he-was/#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 } } ] } ```