--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can you suppose there's any harm in…" description: "\"Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful and being as cheerful as our poor circumstances will permit?\" — Charles Dickens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/charles-dickens-34_cheerful_can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-look_2472271.jpg" --- # Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful… ![“Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful and being as cheerful as our poor circumstances will permit?” quote by Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/charles-dickens-34_cheerful_can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-look_2472271.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/charles-dickens-34_cheerful_can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-look_2472271.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/charles-dickens-34_cheerful_can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-look_2472271.jpg) > “Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful and being as cheerful as our poor circumstances will permit?” [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One should try to be cheerful despite difficult circumstances, if possible. **In simple terms:** Seek cheerfulness in hardship. Key Takeaway Embrace optimism within limits. Themes optimism adversity mental health Mood hopeful reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily challenges - mental health coping - support groups Key Concepts resilience positive psychology Questions to Reflect On - When can you allow yourself to be joyful? - How does optimism affect your coping? A Different Perspective Cheerfulness may feel forced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Words of wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-of-wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Cheerful poor is rich with a smile, sulky rich is poor with a bullion of gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/cheerful-poor-is-rich-with-a-smile-sulky-rich-is-poor-with-a-bullion/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [If you can't be cheerful, be as cheerful as you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/if-you-can-t-be-cheerful-be-as-cheerful-as-you-can/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [The Führer is always quite cheerful, cheerful with all his heart, when he is having tea with his friends during the night, or when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-bormann/the-f-hrer-is-always-quite-cheerful-cheerful-with-all-his-heart-when/) [Martin Bormann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-bormann/) > [Developing a cheerful disposition can permit an atmosphere wherein one's spirit can be nurtured and encouraged to blossom and bear fruit. Being pessimistic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-winder/developing-a-cheerful-disposition-can-permit-an-atmosphere-wherein/) [Barbara W. Winder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-winder/) > [I'd lay down my life for her - Mas'r Davy - Oh! most content and cheerful! She's more to me - gent'lmen - than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-d-lay-down-my-life-for-her-mas-r-davy-oh-most-content-and-cheerful/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [One thing about this face was very strange and startling. You could not look upon it in its most cheerful mood without feeling that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/one-thing-about-this-face-was-very-strange-and-startling-you-could/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Many merry Christmases, many happy New Years. Unbroken friendships, great accumulations of cheerful recollections and affections on earth, and heaven for us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/many-merry-christmases-many-happy-new-years-unbroken-friendships/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [We owed so much to Herbert's ever cheerful industry and readiness, that I often wondered how I had conceived that old idea of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/we-owed-so-much-to-herbert-s-ever-cheerful-industry-and-readiness/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Old Marley was as dead as a doornail. Mind! I don't mean to say that, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/old-marley-was-as-dead-as-a-doornail-mind-i-don-t-mean-to-say-that-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) > [Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/pete-seeger-is-a-modest-unassuming-cheerful-and-kind-natured-man-he-s/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) ## More by Charles Dickens > [“All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences did I cheat myself. Surely a curious thing. That I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/all-other-swindlers-upon-earth-are-nothing-to-the-self-swindlers-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-can-be-no-disparity-in-marriage-like-unsuitability-of-mind-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [A new heart for a New Year, always!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/a-new-heart-for-a-new-year-always/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The suspense: the fearful, acute suspense: of standing idly by while the life of one we dearly love, is trembling in the balance; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-suspense-the-fearful-acute-suspense-of-standing-idly-by-while-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mrs. Joe was a very clean housekeeper, but had an exquisite art of making her cleanliness more uncomfortable and unacceptable than dirt itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mrs-joe-was-a-very-clean-housekeeper-but-had-an-exquisite-art-of/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-seems-a-magic-in-the-very-name-of-christmas/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Besides which, all that I could have said of the Story to any purpose, I had endeavoured to say in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/besides-which-all-that-i-could-have-said-of-the-story-to-any-purpose/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The wheels rolled on, and rolled down by the Monument, and by the Tower; and by the Docks; down by Ratcliffe, and by Rotherhithe;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-wheels-rolled-on-and-rolled-down-by-the-monument-and-by-the-tower/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“The three customers pulled off their hats to Madame Defarge, with three flourishes. She acknowledged their homage by bending her head, and giving them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-three-customers-pulled-off-their-hats-to-madame-defarge-with/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“What a situation!' cried Miss Squeers; '...What is the reason that men fall in love with me, whether I like it or not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/what-a-situation-cried-miss-squeers-what-is-the-reason-that-men-fall/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“Mr. Pickwick was a philosopher, but philosophers are only men in armour, after all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/mr-pickwick-was-a-philosopher-but-philosophers-are-only-men-in-armour/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Explore all 2,309 Charles Dickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More Cheerful quotes > [Cheerfulness in most cheerful people is the rich and satisfying result of strenuous discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/cheerfulness-in-most-cheerful-people-is-the-rich-and-satisfying/) [Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Pete Seeger is a modest, unassuming, cheerful, and kind-natured man. He's a good folk singer, if you can stand folk singing. And he's such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/pete-seeger-is-a-modest-unassuming-cheerful-and-kind-natured-man-he-s/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-washington/i-am-still-determined-to-be-cheerful-and-happy-in-whatever-situation/) [Martha Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-washington/) > [By experience; by a sense of human frailty; by a perception of "the soul of goodness in things evil;" by a cheerful trust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/by-experience-by-a-sense-of-human-frailty-by-a-perception-of-the-soul/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [Bright reds - scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry - are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-dior/bright-reds-scarlet-pillar-box-red-crimson-or-cherry-are-very/) [Christian Dior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-dior/) > [To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-auguste-renoir/to-my-mind-a-picture-should-be-something-pleasant-cheerful-and-pretty/) [Pierre-Auguste Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-auguste-renoir/) > [Well, we can ride together for a while longer. The highway south is farther along this way. I'll be glad of some cheerful company."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-we-can-ride-together-for-a-while-longer-the-highway-south-is/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [ It's sad if people think that's (homemaking) a dull existance, \[but\] you can't just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/it-s-sad-if-people-think-that-s-homemaking-a-dull-existance-but-you/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [When I was about 17, I had a row with my mother and left home for six months, renting a flat and working as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-robinson/when-i-was-about-17-i-had-a-row-with-my-mother-and-left-home-for-six/) [Anne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-robinson/) > [Children ask better questions than adults. "May I have a cookie?" "Why is the sky blue?" and "What does a cow say?" are far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/children-ask-better-questions-than-adults-may-i-have-a-cookie-why-is/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-was-broken-in-body-soul-and-spirit-my-natural-elasticity-was/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Love is a very contradiction of all the elements of our ordinary nature -- it makes the proud man meek -- the cheerful, sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/love-is-a-very-contradiction-of-all-the-elements-of-our-ordinary/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [To bear adversity with meek submission to the will of God; to endure chastisement with all long-suffering and joyfulness; to appear cheerful amid surrounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-angell-james/to-bear-adversity-with-meek-submission-to-the-will-of-god-to-endure/) [John Angell James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-angell-james/) [Browse all 600 Cheerful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful and being as cheerful as our poor circumstances will permit?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Dickens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-looking-as-cheerful-and-being-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cheerful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-looking-as-cheerful-and-being-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/charles-dickens-34_cheerful_can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-look_2472271.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/charles-dickens-34_cheerful_can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-look_2472271.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33f/charles-dickens-34_cheerful_can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-look_2472271.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can you suppose there's any harm in looking as cheerful and being as cheerful as our poor circumstances will…” — Charles Dickens", "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": "Charles Dickens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Can you suppose there's any harm...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-looking-as-cheerful-and-being-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/can-you-suppose-there-s-any-harm-in-looking-as-cheerful-and-being-as/#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 } } ] } ```