--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He believed me, and I was overwhelmed by…" description: "\"“He believed me, and I was overwhelmed by bitterness when I saw that he did. My tears stopped; I told myself that it was quite easy to deceive those wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/claire-de-duras-71285_deceive_he-believed-me-and-i-was-overwhelmed-by_695863.jpg" --- # He believed me, and I was overwhelmed by bitterness when I… ![“He believed me, and I was overwhelmed by bitterness when I saw that he did. My tears stopped; I told myself that it was quite easy to deceive those whose interest lay elsewhere.” quote by Claire de Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/claire-de-duras-71285_deceive_he-believed-me-and-i-was-overwhelmed-by_695863.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/claire-de-duras-71285_deceive_he-believed-me-and-i-was-overwhelmed-by_695863.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/claire-de-duras-71285_deceive_he-believed-me-and-i-was-overwhelmed-by_695863.jpg) > ““He believed me, and I was overwhelmed by bitterness when I saw that he did. My tears stopped; I told myself that it was quite easy to deceive those whose interest lay elsewhere.”” Claire de Duras ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Betrayal by a trusted person breeds bitterness, yet the narrator recognizes the ease of deceiving those distracted by other interests. **In simple terms:** Deception hurts when we trust others. Key Takeaway Guard against misplaced trust. Themes betrayal trust disillusionment Mood cautious melancholic Type literary psychological When to use this quote - romantic relationships - political intrigue Key Concepts deception emotional pain Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate someone’s attention is elsewhere? - How do you recover from betrayal? A Different Perspective Not all deception is malicious; sometimes it’s self‑preservation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [In matters of religion, it is very easy to deceive a man and very hard to undeceive him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayle/in-matters-of-religion-it-is-very-easy-to-deceive-a-man-and-very-hard/) [Pierre Bayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayle/) > [A country that does not know how to read and write is easy to deceive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/a-country-that-does-not-know-how-to-read-and-write-is-easy-to-deceive/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [It is as easy to deceive one's self without perceiving it, as it is difficult to deceive others without their finding out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-as-easy-to-deceive-one-s-self-without-perceiving-it-as-it-is/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Nothing is more easy than to deceive one's self, as our affections are subtle persuaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-more-easy-than-to-deceive-one-s-self-as-our-affections-are/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-so-easy-as-to-deceive-oneself-for-what-we-wish-we-readily/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [“His question reminded me of how easy he had been to deceive, so easy that he seemed to me almost a conniver at his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/his-question-reminded-me-of-how-easy-he-had-been-to-deceive-so-easy/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“When you slice the truth too thin, you deceive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-wilks/when-you-slice-the-truth-too-thin-you-deceive/) [Eileen Wilks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-wilks/) > [“In my opinion, a lie is a physical act, verbal statement, or omission, deliberately designed to deceive another of the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-craig/in-my-opinion-a-lie-is-a-physical-act-verbal-statement-or-omission/) [David Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-craig/) > [No, it's not that they're bad. It's that they're obliged to pretend they're good. They've been brought up to deceive and be cunning, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/no-it-s-not-that-they-re-bad-it-s-that-they-re-obliged-to-pretend/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [A woman one loves rarely suffices for all our needs, so we deceive her with another whom we do not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-woman-one-loves-rarely-suffices-for-all-our-needs-so-we-deceive-her/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“To recklessly excuse a failure is to believe that I’ve effectively erased it from the story of my life, when I’ve actually imprinted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-recklessly-excuse-a-failure-is-to-believe-that-i-ve-effectively/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Claire de Duras > [“I was not aware of being alone; I could not feel it. I needed those I loved, it did not occur to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-de-duras/i-was-not-aware-of-being-alone-i-could-not-feel-it-i-needed-those-i/) Claire de Duras > [“I was ungrateful to Providence by not being happy; and, yet, does happiness always result from the gifts of intelligence? I tend to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-de-duras/i-was-ungrateful-to-providence-by-not-being-happy-and-yet-does/) Claire de Duras > [“Ourika, beware; sometimes reserve leads to duplicity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-de-duras/ourika-beware-sometimes-reserve-leads-to-duplicity/) Claire de Duras Explore all 4 Claire de Duras quotes ## More Deceive quotes > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“To recklessly excuse a failure is to believe that I’ve effectively erased it from the story of my life, when I’ve actually imprinted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-recklessly-excuse-a-failure-is-to-believe-that-i-ve-effectively/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A woman one loves rarely suffices for all our needs, so we deceive her with another whom we do not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-woman-one-loves-rarely-suffices-for-all-our-needs-so-we-deceive-her/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-so-easy-as-to-deceive-oneself-for-what-we-wish-we-readily/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [No, it's not that they're bad. It's that they're obliged to pretend they're good. They've been brought up to deceive and be cunning, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/no-it-s-not-that-they-re-bad-it-s-that-they-re-obliged-to-pretend/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“In my opinion, a lie is a physical act, verbal statement, or omission, deliberately designed to deceive another of the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-craig/in-my-opinion-a-lie-is-a-physical-act-verbal-statement-or-omission/) [David Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-craig/) > [“When you slice the truth too thin, you deceive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-wilks/when-you-slice-the-truth-too-thin-you-deceive/) [Eileen Wilks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-wilks/) > [Those who try to achieve success without hard work ultimately deceive themselves-or worse-deceive others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/those-who-try-to-achieve-success-without-hard-work-ultimately-deceive/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [Even when they are trying to deceive the voters, the Democrats are incompetent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/even-when-they-are-trying-to-deceive-the-voters-the-democrats-are/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [Trust the story ... the storyteller may dissemble and deceive, the story can't: the story can only ever be itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-robertson/trust-the-story-the-storyteller-may-dissemble-and-deceive-the-story/) [James Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-robertson/) > [Oh, what a tangled web we weave...when first we practice to deceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave-when-first-we-practice-to-deceive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We often shed tears that deceive ourselves after deceiving others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-often-shed-tears-that-deceive-ourselves-after-deceiving-others/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) Browse all 340 Deceive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He believed me, and I was overwhelmed by bitterness when I saw that he did. 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