--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's something stubborn about…" description: "\"There's something stubborn about families, unhappy ones in particular: they outlive themselves, and then they live on.\" — Daphne Merkin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/daphne-merkin-31698_about-family_there-s-something-stubborn-about-familie_1818313.png" --- # There's something stubborn about families, unhappy ones in… ![“There's something stubborn about families, unhappy ones in particular: they outlive themselves, and then they live on.” quote by Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/daphne-merkin-31698_about-family_there-s-something-stubborn-about-familie_1818313.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/daphne-merkin-31698_about-family_there-s-something-stubborn-about-familie_1818313.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d39/daphne-merkin-31698_about-family_there-s-something-stubborn-about-familie_1818313.png) > “There's something stubborn about families, unhappy ones in particular: they outlive themselves, and then they live on.” [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Families persist beyond individual members, continuing emotional legacies that outlive their origins. **In simple terms:** Family bonds survive even when members suffer. Key Takeaway Recognize and address generational patterns. Themes family legacy psychology intergenerational trauma Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - family gatherings - therapy sessions - generational storytelling - inheritance disputes Key Concepts attachment theory family systems emotional inheritance Questions to Reflect On - What patterns repeat in your family history? - How can you break harmful cycles? A Different Perspective The statement may romanticize suffering, overlooking the need for change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-family/) [Families](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/families/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) ## Related quotes > [As the poet says, all happy couples are alike, it's the unhappy ones who create the stories. I'm no longer a story. Happiness has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/as-the-poet-says-all-happy-couples-are-alike-it-s-the-unhappy-ones/) [Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/) > [“It is both an irony and an indictment of the feminine mystique that it often forced the unhappy ones, the ugly ducklings, to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-both-an-irony-and-an-indictment-of-the-feminine-mystique-that/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“She and I are two unhappy ones who keep together and carry our burdens together, and in this way unhappiness is changed to joy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/she-and-i-are-two-unhappy-ones-who-keep-together-and-carry-our/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“Those who remember are usually the unhappy ones. Only those who are able to forget, find the most joy in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/those-who-remember-are-usually-the-unhappy-ones-only-those-who-are/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [I write about families. That is who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-write-about-families-that-is-who-we-are/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I think my core values are all about family and just at the end of the day, coming home and knowing that I'm happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/i-think-my-core-values-are-all-about-family-and-just-at-the-end-of/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [I'm halfway through a novel set in two time frames - Austin in the 1960's and Alpine (Texas) in present day. It started out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-crook/i-m-halfway-through-a-novel-set-in-two-time-frames-austin-in-the-1960/) [Elizabeth Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-crook/) > [You could say that this book is ripped from the headlines, but that wouldn't be fair. 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Even though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-gilmore/idea-of-the-generations-continuing-is-really-important-and-that-s/) [Jennifer Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-gilmore/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More by Daphne Merkin > [It might pay to be resilient, if this was all being vulnerable and skinless got you. People didn’t stop and cluck over damage done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/it-might-pay-to-be-resilient-if-this-was-all-being-vulnerable-and/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [“Spring and Fall” …cannot be said to be about depression - but of course, to someone who is depressed, everything is about depression. …For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/spring-and-fall-cannot-be-said-to-be-about-depression-but-of-course/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [“It was one thing to be depressed in your twenties or thirties, when the aspect of youth gave it an undeniable poignancy, a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/it-was-one-thing-to-be-depressed-in-your-twenties-or-thirties-when/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [Much as I try to disguise myself, there is never a time when I'm not aware of being overweight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/much-as-i-try-to-disguise-myself-there-is-never-a-time-when-i-m-not/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [I think the experience of depression that I most think remains true throughout the years is it's very isolating. 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That's one way I walk through life. Do they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/i-always-look-to-people-and-think-whether-they-seem-well-loved-or-not/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [No bill of sexual rights can hold its own against the lawless, untamable landscape of the erotic imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/no-bill-of-sexual-rights-can-hold-its-own-against-the-lawless/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [I see depression as an exponentially developed version of a human condition. Meaning I always think in the end it's humanizing. People who never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/i-see-depression-as-an-exponentially-developed-version-of-a-human/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [It was through reading that I discovered the crucial, even sacrosanct place the rituals of drinking held in the American imagination - the ingenious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/it-was-through-reading-that-i-discovered-the-crucial-even-sacrosanct/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [My mother is the source of my unease in the world and thus the only person who can make me feel at home in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/my-mother-is-the-source-of-my-unease-in-the-world-and-thus-the-only/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) > [Everything felt fragile and freshly come upon, but for now, at least, my depression had stepped back, giving me room to move forward. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-merkin/everything-felt-fragile-and-freshly-come-upon-but-for-now-at-least-my/) [Daphne Merkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) [Explore all 16 Daphne Merkin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-merkin/) ## More About family quotes > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Idea of the generations continuing is really important. And that's interesting to me. I write about families; I'm interested in families. Even though I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-gilmore/idea-of-the-generations-continuing-is-really-important-and-that-s/) [Jennifer Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-gilmore/) > [Something about family and trying to relate it to the movie with, 'Oh, if I was to have a child how many kids do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-aniston/something-about-family-and-trying-to-relate-it-to-the-movie-with-oh/) [Jennifer Aniston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-aniston/) > [I write poetry to figure things out. It's what I use as a navigating tool in my life, so when there's something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-kay/i-write-poetry-to-figure-things-out-it-s-what-i-use-as-a-navigating/) [Sarah Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-kay/) > [I'm working on poems about work, I guess. Or related to work. Which sounds dull as drywall but I'm having great fun working the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-mann/i-m-working-on-poems-about-work-i-guess-or-related-to-work-which/) [Randall Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-mann/) > [ The next most dangerous thing \[after nuclear proliferation\] is probably... global warming, and then, right behind that are overpopulation -- we need to get… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-next-most-dangerous-thing-after-nuclear-proliferation-is-probably/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [The most valuable lesson I've ever learned in my life is that life is about family and friends, not about material things or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/the-most-valuable-lesson-i-ve-ever-learned-in-my-life-is-that-life-is/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [You could say that this book is ripped from the headlines, but that wouldn't be fair. Bret Anthony Johnston's riveting novel picks up where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/you-could-say-that-this-book-is-ripped-from-the-headlines-but-that/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I'm halfway through a novel set in two time frames - Austin in the 1960's and Alpine (Texas) in present day. It started out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-crook/i-m-halfway-through-a-novel-set-in-two-time-frames-austin-in-the-1960/) [Elizabeth Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-crook/) > [I think my core values are all about family and just at the end of the day, coming home and knowing that I'm happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayley-williams/i-think-my-core-values-are-all-about-family-and-just-at-the-end-of/) [Hayley Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayley-williams/) > [I write about families. That is who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-write-about-families-that-is-who-we-are/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I love presents, But since I've gotten older, I haven't really wanted anything. Christmas is about family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-latimore/i-love-presents-but-since-i-ve-gotten-older-i-haven-t-really-wanted/) [Jacob Latimore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-latimore/) > [Hillary Clinton is only talking about families who come here in violation of the law. We will treat everyone living or residing in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/hillary-clinton-is-only-talking-about-families-who-come-here-in/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Jesus is challenging that when addressing "who is your neighbor" and he has a lot of hard things to say about family, "unless you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/jesus-is-challenging-that-when-addressing-who-is-your-neighbor-and-he/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Food is also about pleasure, about community, about family and spirituality, about our relationship to the natural world, and about expressing our identity. 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