--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was he again -- I had never forgotten…" description: "\"“Was he again -- I had never forgotten that overheard phrase of Eve's -- being kind to be cruel? I only knew I had been given back enough to live on. A..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/dodie-smith-1724_kind-cruel_was-he-again-i-had-never-forgotten-that_2388996.png" --- # Was he again -- I had never forgotten that overheard… ![“Was he again -- I had never forgotten that overheard phrase of Eve's -- being kind to be cruel? I only knew I had been given back enough to live on. And dimly, dimly, I began to see a new Last Act to crown my play.” quote by Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/dodie-smith-1724_kind-cruel_was-he-again-i-had-never-forgotten-that_2388996.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/dodie-smith-1724_kind-cruel_was-he-again-i-had-never-forgotten-that_2388996.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a20/dodie-smith-1724_kind-cruel_was-he-again-i-had-never-forgotten-that_2388996.png) > ““Was he again -- I had never forgotten that overheard phrase of Eve's -- being kind to be cruel? I only knew I had been given back enough to live on. And dimly, dimly, I began to see a new Last Act to crown my play.”” [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on kindness, cruelty, and a renewed purpose after hardship. **In simple terms:** Finding purpose after suffering. Key Takeaway Embrace renewed purpose. Themes kindness cruelty renewal self‑discovery Mood reflective somber Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - overcoming loss - creative writing - life transitions - self‑reflection Key Concepts moral ambiguity personal growth Questions to Reflect On - Can cruelty be justified? - What does “new Last Act” mean? A Different Perspective Kindness can be weaponized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“I didn't like people knowing things about me. 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Takes too many risks.” “You almost sound concerned.” “You like him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/wretched-boy-you-like-him-i-said-in-disbelief-baghra-scowled-greedy/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“it takes grace to remain kind in cruel situations”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/it-takes-grace-to-remain-kind-in-cruel-situations/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [“Dragon kind was no less cruel than mankind. The Dragon, at least, acted from bestial need rather than bestial greed.” ~ A thought by Lessa ~”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/dragon-kind-was-no-less-cruel-than-mankind-the-dragon-at-least-acted/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) ## More by Dodie Smith > [“I glanced through another page in case I had missed something, and came to the description of Simon's face as he lay on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/i-glanced-through-another-page-in-case-i-had-missed-something-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“Now, paper and pencils," said Miss Marcy, clapping her hands. Writing paper is scarce in this house, and I had no intention of tearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/now-paper-and-pencils-said-miss-marcy-clapping-her-hands-writing/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [It's odd how different a house feels when one is alone in it. It makes it easier to think rather private thoughts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/it-s-odd-how-different-a-house-feels-when-one-is-alone-in-it-it-makes/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [The tea was a comfort - and by that time I more than needed comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-tea-was-a-comfort-and-by-that-time-i-more-than-needed-comfort/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [Like many other much-loved humans, they believed that they owned their dogs, instead of realizing that their dogs owned them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/like-many-other-much-loved-humans-they-believed-that-they-owned-their/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“And I suspect that, to the eyes of love, love shows. I knew about you as well as about myself, almost from the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/and-i-suspect-that-to-the-eyes-of-love-love-shows-i-knew-about-you-as/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“The thought was horrible, yet fascinating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/the-thought-was-horrible-yet-fascinating/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“What I'd really hate would be the settled feeling, with nothing but happiness to look forward to. 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Witt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-witt/) > [“it takes grace to remain kind in cruel situations”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/it-takes-grace-to-remain-kind-in-cruel-situations/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [“Wretched boy.” “You like him,” I said in disbelief. Baghra scowled. “Greedy. Arrogant. Takes too many risks.” “You almost sound concerned.” “You like him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/wretched-boy-you-like-him-i-said-in-disbelief-baghra-scowled-greedy/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [How much more courage it took to be kind than to be cruel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/how-much-more-courage-it-took-to-be-kind-than-to-be-cruel/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [“Why was America so kind and yet so cruel? 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [People interest me a lot: why we are kind, why we are cruel, how we learn the difference, what makes us act in ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/people-interest-me-a-lot-why-we-are-kind-why-we-are-cruel-how-we/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [Choosing to be kind rather than to be cruel benefits everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-gannon/choosing-to-be-kind-rather-than-to-be-cruel-benefits-everyone/) [Sharon Gannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-gannon/) > [“The world is vicious.' Thomas brushed a lock of hair back from my face, his gaze thoughtful. 'The world is neither kind nor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-maniscalco/the-world-is-vicious-thomas-brushed-a-lock-of-hair-back-from-my-face/) [Kerri Maniscalco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-maniscalco/) > [“Dragon kind was no less cruel than mankind. The Dragon, at least, acted from bestial need rather than bestial greed.” ~ A thought by Lessa ~”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey/dragon-kind-was-no-less-cruel-than-mankind-the-dragon-at-least-acted/) [Anne McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-mccaffrey/) Browse all 13 Kind Cruel quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Was he again -- I had never forgotten that overheard phrase of Eve's -- being kind to be cruel? I only knew I had been given back enough to live on. 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