--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She took a sort of abject pride in her…" description: "\"She took a sort of abject pride in her mecilessness toward herself.\" — David Foster Wallace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/david-foster-wallace-161_pride_she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-m_1118765.jpg" --- # She took a sort of abject pride in her mecilessness toward… ![“She took a sort of abject pride in her mecilessness toward herself.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/david-foster-wallace-161_pride_she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-m_1118765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/david-foster-wallace-161_pride_she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-m_1118765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/david-foster-wallace-161_pride_she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-m_1118765.jpg) > “She took a sort of abject pride in her mecilessness toward herself.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She feels a twisted self‑respect in her own lack of self‑compassion, highlighting self‑destructive pride. **In simple terms:** She is proud of being unkind to herself. Key Takeaway Recognize and soften self‑criticism. Themes self‑esteem pride self‑compassion psychology Mood reflective somber Type personal psychological When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy - creative writing - self‑help Key Concepts existentialism self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑criticism affect your growth? - What would compassion look like for you? A Different Perspective Self‑pride can mask deeper insecurity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abject/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) ## Related quotes > [ “‎"The only abject failure my mind can think of is ones failure to spend Eternity in God's Heaven" ~R. Alan Woods \[2012\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/the-only-abject-failure-my-mind-can-think-of-is-ones-failure-to-spend/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [Good diet and exercise are key, but abject fear has its own rewards. And arriving on the first day for rehearsals for 'Spamalot' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeev-bhaskar/good-diet-and-exercise-are-key-but-abject-fear-has-its-own-rewards/) [Sanjeev Bhaskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeev-bhaskar/) > [With everything that is complex, we learn. If you don't learn, then it's an utter and abject failure. If you do learn, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/with-everything-that-is-complex-we-learn-if-you-don-t-learn-then-it-s/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Memphis is the place where rock was born and Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. It's full of contradictions, abject poverty, and riches that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/memphis-is-the-place-where-rock-was-born-and-martin-luther-king-jr/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [Revenge, we find, the abject pleasure of an abject mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/revenge-we-find-the-abject-pleasure-of-an-abject-mind/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [“Louis-Ferdinand Céline, a great writer and son of a bitch. Just an abject human being. It’s incredible that the coldest moments of his abjection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/louis-ferdinand-c-line-a-great-writer-and-son-of-a-bitch-just-an/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [The U.S. has a law on the books called the debt limit, but the name is misleading. The debt limit started in 1917 for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malpass/the-u-s-has-a-law-on-the-books-called-the-debt-limit-but-the-name-is/) [David Malpass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malpass/) > [He who knows himself well is mean and abject in his own sight, and takes no delight in the vain praise of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/he-who-knows-himself-well-is-mean-and-abject-in-his-own-sight-and/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [Politicians - power itself - are abject because they merely embody the profound contempt people have for their own lives. One should be grateful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/politicians-power-itself-are-abject-because-they-merely-embody-the/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [I had been an abject fan of Robert Stone since the early eighties, when I borrowed a copy of 'A Flag for Sunrise' to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/i-had-been-an-abject-fan-of-robert-stone-since-the-early-eighties/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) > [“Do you not realize that your kids are going to make mistakes, and a lot of them? Do you not realize the damage you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/do-you-not-realize-that-your-kids-are-going-to-make-mistakes-and-a/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [“That was a day that taught me the meaning of abject failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/that-was-a-day-that-taught-me-the-meaning-of-abject-failure/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) > [I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/i-came-from-abject-poverty-there-was-nowhere-to-go-but-up/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very clearly the immense gifts and intelligence of some of the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/there-s-some-way-in-which-we-would-prefer-not-to-see-very-clearly-the/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [One is guilty of all abjection that one does not help to relieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/one-is-guilty-of-all-abjection-that-one-does-not-help-to-relieve/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Abject quotes > [ “‎"The only abject failure my mind can think of is ones failure to spend Eternity in God's Heaven" ~R. Alan Woods \[2012\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/the-only-abject-failure-my-mind-can-think-of-is-ones-failure-to-spend/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [There's some way in which we would prefer not to see very clearly the immense gifts and intelligence of some of the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/there-s-some-way-in-which-we-would-prefer-not-to-see-very-clearly-the/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/i-came-from-abject-poverty-there-was-nowhere-to-go-but-up/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [“That was a day that taught me the meaning of abject failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/that-was-a-day-that-taught-me-the-meaning-of-abject-failure/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) > [“Do you not realize that your kids are going to make mistakes, and a lot of them? Do you not realize the damage you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/do-you-not-realize-that-your-kids-are-going-to-make-mistakes-and-a/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [I had been an abject fan of Robert Stone since the early eighties, when I borrowed a copy of 'A Flag for Sunrise' to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-smartt-bell/i-had-been-an-abject-fan-of-robert-stone-since-the-early-eighties/) [Madison Smartt Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-smartt-bell/) > [Politicians - power itself - are abject because they merely embody the profound contempt people have for their own lives. One should be grateful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/politicians-power-itself-are-abject-because-they-merely-embody-the/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [He who knows himself well is mean and abject in his own sight, and takes no delight in the vain praise of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/he-who-knows-himself-well-is-mean-and-abject-in-his-own-sight-and/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [The U.S. has a law on the books called the debt limit, but the name is misleading. The debt limit started in 1917 for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malpass/the-u-s-has-a-law-on-the-books-called-the-debt-limit-but-the-name-is/) [David Malpass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malpass/) > [“Louis-Ferdinand Céline, a great writer and son of a bitch. Just an abject human being. It’s incredible that the coldest moments of his abjection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/louis-ferdinand-c-line-a-great-writer-and-son-of-a-bitch-just-an/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Revenge, we find, the abject pleasure of an abject mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/revenge-we-find-the-abject-pleasure-of-an-abject-mind/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [Memphis is the place where rock was born and Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed. It's full of contradictions, abject poverty, and riches that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/memphis-is-the-place-where-rock-was-born-and-martin-luther-king-jr/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [With everything that is complex, we learn. If you don't learn, then it's an utter and abject failure. If you do learn, and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/with-everything-that-is-complex-we-learn-if-you-don-t-learn-then-it-s/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Good diet and exercise are key, but abject fear has its own rewards. And arriving on the first day for rehearsals for 'Spamalot' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeev-bhaskar/good-diet-and-exercise-are-key-but-abject-fear-has-its-own-rewards/) [Sanjeev Bhaskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeev-bhaskar/) > [One is guilty of all abjection that one does not help to relieve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/one-is-guilty-of-all-abjection-that-one-does-not-help-to-relieve/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) [Browse all 23 Abject quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abject/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "She took a sort of abject pride in her mecilessness toward herself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-mecilessness-toward-herself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abject" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-mecilessness-toward-herself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/david-foster-wallace-161_pride_she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-m_1118765.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/david-foster-wallace-161_pride_she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-m_1118765.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/david-foster-wallace-161_pride_she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-m_1118765.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She took a sort of abject pride in her mecilessness toward herself.” — David Foster Wallace", "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": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "She took a sort of abject...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-mecilessness-toward-herself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-took-a-sort-of-abject-pride-in-her-mecilessness-toward-herself/#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 } } ] } ```