--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It has always been hard for me to talk…" description: "\"“It has always been hard for me to talk about Julian without romanticizing him. In many ways, I loved him the most of all; and it is with him that I am..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/donna-tartt-391_delusion_it-has-always-been-hard-for-me-to-talk-a_2310359.jpg" --- # It has always been hard for me to talk about Julian… ![“It has always been hard for me to talk about Julian without romanticizing him. In many ways, I loved him the most of all; and it is with him that I am most tempted to embroider, to flatter, to basically reinvent. I think that is because Julian himself was constantly in the process of reinventing…” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/donna-tartt-391_delusion_it-has-always-been-hard-for-me-to-talk-a_2310359.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/donna-tartt-391_delusion_it-has-always-been-hard-for-me-to-talk-a_2310359.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91b/donna-tartt-391_delusion_it-has-always-been-hard-for-me-to-talk-a_2310359.jpg) > ““It has always been hard for me to talk about Julian without romanticizing him. In many ways, I loved him the most of all; and it is with him that I am most tempted to embroider, to flatter, to basically reinvent. I think that is because Julian himself was constantly in the process of reinventing the people and events around him, conferring kindness, or wisdom, or bravery, or charm, on actions which contained nothing of the sort. It was one of the reasons I loved him: for that flattering light in which he saw me, for the person I was when I was with him, for what it was he allowed me to be.”” [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. Julian’s constant reinvention inspired others to see themselves differently, granting kindness and confidence. **In simple terms:** Julian’s influence reshaped others’ self‑view. Key Takeaway Embrace mentors who reveal your best self. Themes influence mentorship self‑growth Mood reflective hopeful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - personal coaching - creative collaborations - leadership development Key Concepts psychology narrative identity Questions to Reflect On - Who in your life acts as a transformative mentor? - How can you become that mentor for others? A Different Perspective Reliance on such mentors can create dependency on external validation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Julian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/julian/) [Julian Constantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/julian-constantly-5485240/) [Julian Romanticizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/julian-romanticizing-5485238/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Platonic love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/platonic-love/) [Reinvention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reinvention/) [Talk Julian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-julian-5485239/) [Think Julian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-julian-4187067/) ## Related quotes > [Personally, I think Julian Assange is a hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/personally-i-think-julian-assange-is-a-hero/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) > [“Most Russian girls usually only go in for Platonic attachments with never a thought of marriage. And Platonic love is the most troublesome sort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/most-russian-girls-usually-only-go-in-for-platonic-attachments-with/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“As a consequence of Wittgenstein’s philosophy, the questions once asked by philosophy have now passed into the realms of poetry. The way poetry is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-strathern/as-a-consequence-of-wittgenstein-s-philosophy-the-questions-once/) [Paul Strathern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-strathern/) > [“Carnal love in all its forms, from the highest — true marriage or platonic love — to the most base, down to debauchery, has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/carnal-love-in-all-its-forms-from-the-highest-true-marriage-or/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“They call each other ‘E.’ Elvis picks wildflowers near the river and brings them to Emily. She explains half-rhymes to him. In heaven Emily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-ostrom/they-call-each-other-e-elvis-picks-wildflowers-near-the-river-and/) [Hans Ostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-ostrom/) > [Theres different kinds of love, and Id never experienced that kind of totally platonic love. All the love Ive experienced has always been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/theres-different-kinds-of-love-and-id-never-experienced-that-kind-of/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) > [I know nothing about platonic love except that it is not to be found in the works of Plato.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-jepson/i-know-nothing-about-platonic-love-except-that-it-is-not-to-be-found/) [Edgar Jepson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-jepson/) > [“I think love, both kinds of love, which you remember Plato defines in his "Symposium" - both kinds of love serve a touchstone for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-think-love-both-kinds-of-love-which-you-remember-plato-defines-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“It would seem probable that the attachment of such a one is of a tender and profound character; indeed, it is possible that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-carpenter/it-would-seem-probable-that-the-attachment-of-such-a-one-is-of-a/) [Edward Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-carpenter/) > [Russian ladies, for the most part, cherish only Platonic love, without mingling any thought of matrimony with it; and Platonic love is exceedingly embarrassing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-lermontov/russian-ladies-for-the-most-part-cherish-only-platonic-love-without/) [Mikhail Lermontov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-lermontov/) > [“For Plato, the quickening of the heart that occurred when a person saw his or her loved one was just a step in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-amidon/for-plato-the-quickening-of-the-heart-that-occurred-when-a-person-saw/) [Stephen Amidon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-amidon/) > [“For love is a celestial harmony Of likely hearts compos'd of stars' concent, Which join together in sweet sympathy, To work each other's joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/for-love-is-a-celestial-harmony-of-likely-hearts-compos-d-of-stars/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [“You're the gayest bitch I ever did love..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cayden-fontaine/you-re-the-gayest-bitch-i-ever-did-love/) [Cayden Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cayden-fontaine/) > [“Platonic or Divine Love: The boy is so handsome! God has created him so beautifully! Vulgar or Earthly Love: The girl is so hot!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/md-ziaul-haque/platonic-or-divine-love-the-boy-is-so-handsome-god-has-created-him-so/) [Md. Ziaul Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/md-ziaul-haque/) > [“The platonic love I feel for my cousin, made me write this diary ...” Leione”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pet-torres/the-platonic-love-i-feel-for-my-cousin-made-me-write-this-diary-leione/) [Pet Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pet-torres/) ## 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. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always remember, the person we’re really working for is the person who’s restoring the piece a hundred years from now. 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 Delusion quotes > [Getting rid of a delusion makes us wiser than getting hold of a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-borne/getting-rid-of-a-delusion-makes-us-wiser-than-getting-hold-of-a-truth/) [Ludwig Borne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-borne/) > [If the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labour, entertainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/if-the-idea-of-having-to-change-ourselves-makes-us-uncomfortable-we/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [The Science Delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality in principle leaving only the details to be filled in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-science-delusion-is-the-belief-that-science-already-understands/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“we shouldn’t surrender our real world perception to a false reality too much or we may suffer the inevitable consequences of deluded thinking. Technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-p-neary/we-shouldn-t-surrender-our-real-world-perception-to-a-false-reality/) [M.P. Neary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-p-neary/) > [Atheism Explained is a gem. It is clear, informative, well-argued, provocative, often witty, and unfailingly interesting. David Ramsay Steele ranges over so many issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-shearmur/atheism-explained-is-a-gem-it-is-clear-informative-well-argued/) [Jeremy Shearmur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-shearmur/) > [It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. Considerably more than three parts of the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-booth/it-is-a-great-delusion-to-suppose-that-flesh-meat-of-any-kind-is/) [Catherine Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-booth/) > [The religions of mankind must be classed among the mass-delusions of this kind. No one, needless to say, who shares a delusion ever recognizes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-religions-of-mankind-must-be-classed-among-the-mass-delusions-of/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I suffer from the delusion that every product of my imagination is not only possible, but always on the cusp of becoming real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-parker/i-suffer-from-the-delusion-that-every-product-of-my-imagination-is/) [Sean Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-parker/) > [I have a theory about marriage, Monsieur Boustouler. And it's that nearly always you will know within two weeks if it's going to work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-theory-about-marriage-monsieur-boustouler-and-it-s-that/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Someone who has the delusion Glass, is made of, does not literally believe herself to be made of glass but rather feels fragile and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/someone-who-has-the-delusion-glass-is-made-of-does-not-literally/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [Paranoia is a state of heightened awareness. Most people are persecuted beyond their wildest delusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-steiner/paranoia-is-a-state-of-heightened-awareness-most-people-are/) [Claude Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-steiner/) > [Women are women, and so are men, and the delusion that we are spiritually separate from or are about to spiritually separate from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anohni/women-are-women-and-so-are-men-and-the-delusion-that-we-are/) [Anohni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anohni/) > [I'd actually love to think that I could trust Kerry on national security. But the only way I could do that, at this point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-reynolds/i-d-actually-love-to-think-that-i-could-trust-kerry-on-national/) [Glenn Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-reynolds/) [Browse all 1,172 Delusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It has always been hard for me to talk about Julian without romanticizing him. In many ways, I loved him the most of all; and it is with him that I am most tempted to embroider, to flatter, to basically reinvent. I think that is because Julian himself was constantly in the process of reinventing the people and events around him, conferring kindness, or wisdom, or bravery, or charm, on actions which contained nothing of the sort. 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