--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory…" description: "\"Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.\" — Donna Tartt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/donna-tartt-391_beauty_beauty-is-rarely-soft-or-consolatory-qui_2033588.jpg" --- # Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary… ![“Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/donna-tartt-391_beauty_beauty-is-rarely-soft-or-consolatory-qui_2033588.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/donna-tartt-391_beauty_beauty-is-rarely-soft-or-consolatory-qui_2033588.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/143/donna-tartt-391_beauty_beauty-is-rarely-soft-or-consolatory-qui_2033588.jpg) > “Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True beauty is striking and unsettling, not gentle or comforting. **In simple terms:** Beauty can be alarming, not soothing. Key Takeaway Appreciate bold beauty. Themes aesthetic philosophy beauty Mood provocative contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - art criticism - fashion design - personal reflection Key Concepts beauty discomfort truth Questions to Reflect On - What makes beauty unsettling? - Can discomfort enhance appreciation? A Different Perspective Seeking only gentle beauty may limit appreciation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ## Related quotes > [“Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/genuine-beauty-is-always-quite-alarming/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Death is the mother of beauty,” said Henry. “And what is beauty?” “Terror.” “Well said,” said Julian. “Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/death-is-the-mother-of-beauty-said-henry-and-what-is-beauty-terror-2/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Heaven forbid if beauty were to have substance. Genuine beauty is always meaningless, without virtue”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/heaven-forbid-if-beauty-were-to-have-substance-genuine-beauty-is/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [Beauty can be quite boring, especially if you're talking about beauty that doesn't last. And what lasts is exactly the thing that maybe wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/beauty-can-be-quite-boring-especially-if-you-re-talking-about-beauty/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [“I'm intrigued. If not by beauty, how then does one spot the garden-variety nobleman?" "Easily," she said. "One need only look for the promise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-callihan/i-m-intrigued-if-not-by-beauty-how-then-does-one-spot-the-garden/) [Kristen Callihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-callihan/) > [“Silk is a fine, delicate, soft, illuminating, beautiful substance. But you can never rip it! If a man takes this tender silk and attempts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/silk-is-a-fine-delicate-soft-illuminating-beautiful-substance-but-you/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [If you give us soft greens and soft fairways, we're going to tear it apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-thomas/if-you-give-us-soft-greens-and-soft-fairways-we-re-going-to-tear-it/) [Justin Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-thomas/) > [Serbian people are not soft, and if the coach wants me to play, then I will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dusan-tadic/serbian-people-are-not-soft-and-if-the-coach-wants-me-to-play-then-i/) [Dusan Tadic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dusan-tadic/) > [Either I'm too sensitive, or else I'm gettin' soft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/either-i-m-too-sensitive-or-else-i-m-gettin-soft/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [My hands were too soft.. I had to find some special occupation, some kind of work that would not force me to turn away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-hands-were-too-soft-i-had-to-find-some-special-occupation-some/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [If we dismiss childcare or work-life balance as soft, or Labour issues, then we dismiss the main concerns of millions of people, especially women.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/if-we-dismiss-childcare-or-work-life-balance-as-soft-or-labour-issues/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [My job is to catch the ball no matter how they throw it - hard, soft, medium. You've got to be able to catch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-brown/my-job-is-to-catch-the-ball-no-matter-how-they-throw-it-hard-soft/) [Antonio Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-brown/) > [I went through a period when I was perceived as being a soft touch, somebody who moves over, who is not hungry enough to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-coulthard/i-went-through-a-period-when-i-was-perceived-as-being-a-soft-touch/) [David Coulthard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-coulthard/) > [My problems are sort of more on a nuisance level. I can't stand scratchy clothes, I've got to have soft kinds of cotton against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/my-problems-are-sort-of-more-on-a-nuisance-level-i-can-t-stand/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. 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He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. 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