--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If misery spelled revolt, we should have…" description: "\"If misery spelled revolt, we should have had nothing but revolt from the beginning of time. On the contrary, it is quite rare.\" — Christina Stead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/christina-stead-2325_contrary_if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have_406948.png" --- # If misery spelled revolt, we should have had nothing but… ![“If misery spelled revolt, we should have had nothing but revolt from the beginning of time. On the contrary, it is quite rare.” quote by Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/christina-stead-2325_contrary_if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have_406948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/christina-stead-2325_contrary_if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have_406948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/christina-stead-2325_contrary_if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have_406948.png) > “If misery spelled revolt, we should have had nothing but revolt from the beginning of time. On the contrary, it is quite rare.” [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) ## 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 suggests that if misery inherently caused rebellion, constant revolt would have existed throughout history, yet such widespread revolt is actually uncommon. **In simple terms:** Misery doesn’t always lead to rebellion. Key Takeaway Recognize that suffering doesn’t guarantee upheaval. Themes human nature history rebellion Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - political movements - personal crises - social unrest Key Concepts social dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do some societies stay calm despite hardship? - What factors prevent rebellion? A Different Perspective Revolt can be suppressed by power structures or cultural norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Misery Spelled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery-spelled-3636631/) [Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolt/) [Revolt Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolt-revolt-2376793/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Should have](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should-have/) [Spelled Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spelled-revolt-3636632/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [To revolt within society in order to make it a little better, to bring about certain reforms, is like the revolt of prisoners to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/to-revolt-within-society-in-order-to-make-it-a-little-better-to-bring/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I was always a feminist, for I liked intellectual revolt as much as I disliked physical violence. On the whole, I think women havelost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-was-always-a-feminist-for-i-liked-intellectual-revolt-as-much-as-i/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [“Ja sam sve što kažete da jesam, i još gore od toga. I da nisam, ipak jesam. Šta imam od toga?! (Bol i revolt)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marko-eli/ja-sam-sve-to-ka-ete-da-jesam-i-jo-gore-od-toga-i-da-nisam-ipak-jesam/) [Marko Šelić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marko-eli/) > [The Romans have provided a lot of writers with a model for various interstellar empires, of course, and no wonder. The Roman Empire is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/the-romans-have-provided-a-lot-of-writers-with-a-model-for-various/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [You couldnt get a job playing in a club unless you played so much Top 40 and so many Beatles songs. I just went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-allman/you-couldnt-get-a-job-playing-in-a-club-unless-you-played-so-much-top/) [Gregg Allman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-allman/) > [One of the only coherent philosophical positions is thus revolt. It is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/one-of-the-only-coherent-philosophical-positions-is-thus-revolt-it-is/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Often known science will revolt against unknown science”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tirumala/often-known-science-will-revolt-against-unknown-science/) [Tirumala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tirumala/) > [America was born of revolt, flourished in dissent, became great through experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/america-was-born-of-revolt-flourished-in-dissent-became-great-through/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [Without discontentment, without revolt, you can never attain harmony. It is a necessary stage, which must be gone through by everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/without-discontentment-without-revolt-you-can-never-attain-harmony-it/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Every woman is a rebel, and usually in wild revolt against herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/every-woman-is-a-rebel-and-usually-in-wild-revolt-against-herself/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“There is a germ of revolt lying in the spirit of inquiry and critical curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-is-a-germ-of-revolt-lying-in-the-spirit-of-inquiry-and-critical/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women. May my eyes never see and my feet never take me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/comrades-there-is-no-true-social-revolution-without-the-liberation-of/) [Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/) > [Oppression that is clearly inexorable and invincible does not give rise to revolt but to submission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/oppression-that-is-clearly-inexorable-and-invincible-does-not-give/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## More by Christina Stead > [Charm is a cunning self-forgetfulness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/charm-is-a-cunning-self-forgetfulness/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“It is splendid—to be—loved! If we only—can—live up—to the thoughts—of us—by them—that love us!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/it-is-splendid-to-be-loved-if-we-only-can-live-up-to-the-thoughts-of/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“I’m afraid to write to your father: he criticizes my spelling,” sneered Henny. “And it appears I know nothing about geography. Hang his stuck-up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/i-m-afraid-to-write-to-your-father-he-criticizes-my-spelling-sneered/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“you do not know what she did not only to me but to the little children. She has tortured them, turned them against me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/you-do-not-know-what-she-did-not-only-to-me-but-to-the-little/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [To me, all the juice of a book is in an unpublished manuscript, and the published book is like a dead tree - just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/to-me-all-the-juice-of-a-book-is-in-an-unpublished-manuscript-and-the/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“Hair under the arms, for example, he said, should never be removed, for nature had put it there, and evidently it had some use.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/hair-under-the-arms-for-example-he-said-should-never-be-removed-for/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [About myself - no. I'm unimportant, an observer, a wandering animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/about-myself-no-i-m-unimportant-an-observer-a-wandering-animal/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“A month before our marriage, I knew it would be a well-nigh hopeless union, yet so great is a young man’s idea of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/a-month-before-our-marriage-i-knew-it-would-be-a-well-nigh-hopeless/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“For a moment, after years of scamping, she felt the dread power of wifehood; they were locked in each other’s grasp till the end—the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/for-a-moment-after-years-of-scamping-she-felt-the-dread-power-of/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [Socialist writers are made of sterner stuff than those who only let their characters steeplechase through trouble in order to comeout first in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/socialist-writers-are-made-of-sterner-stuff-than-those-who-only-let/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“Don’t call humans rats—rats are superior.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/don-t-call-humans-rats-rats-are-superior/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“Whatever men say, women know;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/whatever-men-say-women-know/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [“she is never more herself than when she destroys herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/she-is-never-more-herself-than-when-she-destroys-herself/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [Each Australian is a Ulysses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/each-australian-is-a-ulysses/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [A dominant race did not lie, because it had the whip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/a-dominant-race-did-not-lie-because-it-had-the-whip/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) [Explore all 171 Christina Stead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) ## More Contrary quotes > [To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [Alcohol doesn't console, it doesn't fill up anyone's psychological gaps, all it replaces is the lack of God. It doesn't comfort man. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/alcohol-doesn-t-console-it-doesn-t-fill-up-anyone-s-psychological/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [No truly conscious human being sabotages himself - it's impossible, because it's contrary to Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/no-truly-conscious-human-being-sabotages-himself-it-s-impossible/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-you-abide-in-the-love-of-christ-rooted-in-the-faith-you-will/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [There is no real elevation of mind in a contempt of little things; it is, on the contrary, from too narrow views that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-no-real-elevation-of-mind-in-a-contempt-of-little-things-it/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I am not Christ or a philanthropist, old lady, I am all the contrary of a Christ I fight for the things I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/i-am-not-christ-or-a-philanthropist-old-lady-i-am-all-the-contrary-of/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [“Do they think that they have given us great pleasure by telling us that they hold our soul to be no more than wind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/do-they-think-that-they-have-given-us-great-pleasure-by-telling-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poemen/god-has-given-this-way-of-life-to-israel-to-abstain-from-everything/) [Poemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poemen/) > [ We have reached a situation where a theory has been accepted as fact by some, and possible contrary evidence is shunted aside. \[This is\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shapiro/we-have-reached-a-situation-where-a-theory-has-been-accepted-as-fact/) [Robert Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shapiro/) > [Christianity, righty understood, is utterly unlike religion that man invents. It is so completely contrary to the way man does things that it must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-halverson/christianity-righty-understood-is-utterly-unlike-religion-that-man/) [Richard Halverson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-halverson/) [Browse all 1,589 Contrary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If misery spelled revolt, we should have had nothing but revolt from the beginning of time. On the contrary, it is quite rare.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christina Stead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have-had-nothing-but-revolt-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contrary" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have-had-nothing-but-revolt-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/christina-stead-2325_contrary_if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have_406948.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/christina-stead-2325_contrary_if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have_406948.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/christina-stead-2325_contrary_if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have_406948.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If misery spelled revolt, we should have had nothing but revolt from the beginning of time. On the contrary…” — Christina Stead", "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": "Christina Stead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If misery spelled revolt, we should...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have-had-nothing-but-revolt-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/if-misery-spelled-revolt-we-should-have-had-nothing-but-revolt-from/#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 } } ] } ```