--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...It's not that she has not tried to…" description: "\"“...It's not that she has not tried to improve her condition before acknowledging its hopelessness. (Oh, come on, let's get the hell out of this, and g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/dorothy-parker-700_beautiful-woman_it-s-not-that-she-has-not-tried-to-impro_1879767.jpg" --- # ...It's not that she has not tried to improve her… ![“...It's not that she has not tried to improve her condition before acknowledging its hopelessness. (Oh, come on, let's get the hell out of this, and get into the first person.) I have sought, by study, to better my form and make myself Society's Darling. You see, I had been fed, in my youth, a lot…” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/dorothy-parker-700_beautiful-woman_it-s-not-that-she-has-not-tried-to-impro_1879767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/dorothy-parker-700_beautiful-woman_it-s-not-that-she-has-not-tried-to-impro_1879767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56e/dorothy-parker-700_beautiful-woman_it-s-not-that-she-has-not-tried-to-impro_1879767.jpg) > ““...It's not that she has not tried to improve her condition before acknowledging its hopelessness. (Oh, come on, let's get the hell out of this, and get into the first person.) I have sought, by study, to better my form and make myself Society's Darling. You see, I had been fed, in my youth, a lot of old wives' tales about the way men would instantly forsake a beautiful woman to flock about a brilliant one. It is but fair to say that, after getting out in the world, I had never seen this happen, but I thought that maybe I might be the girl to start the vogue. I would become brilliant. I would sparkle. I would hold whole dinner tables spellbound. I would have throngs fighting to come within hearing distance of me while the weakest, elbowed mercilessly to the outskirts, would cry "What did she say?" or "Oh, please ask her to tell it again." That's what I would do. Oh I could just hear myself." -Review of the books, Favorite Jokes of Famous People, by Bruce Barton; The Technique of the Love Affair by "A Gentlewoman." (Actually by Doris Langley Moore.) Review title: Wallflower's Lament; November 17, 1928.”” [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical lament about yearning for fame and validation while confronting societal expectations and personal insecurities. **In simple terms:** Desires fame but doubts its value. Key Takeaway Question the pursuit of fame. Themes ambition insecurity societal pressure Mood melancholic critical Type literary satire When to use this quote - social gatherings - career planning - personal reflection Key Concepts fame validation self‑image Questions to Reflect On - What truly fulfills you beyond applause? - How does societal pressure shape your goals? A Different Perspective May romanticize struggle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acknowledging Hopelessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acknowledging-hopelessness-2647011/) [Beautiful woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-woman/) [Dinner table](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner-table/) [Famous people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-people/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Love affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-affair/) [Technique Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique-love-2647012/) [Title Wallflower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/title-wallflower-2647010/) [Tried Improve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tried-improve-1413721/) [Wallflower Lament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wallflower-lament-2647009/) ## Related quotes > [“Miss Wilhelmina Radcliff was reluctantly coming to the unfortunate conclusion that there were absolutely no perks to be had when one obtained the unenviable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-turano/miss-wilhelmina-radcliff-was-reluctantly-coming-to-the-unfortunate/) [Jen Turano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-turano/) > [I have tried to improve on my death bowling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuvneshwar-kumar/i-have-tried-to-improve-on-my-death-bowling/) [Bhuvneshwar Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuvneshwar-kumar/) > [I have many regrets and things I wish I could go back and change, but I have also worked hard and tried to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-koum/i-have-many-regrets-and-things-i-wish-i-could-go-back-and-change-but/) [Jan Koum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-koum/) > [I've tried to improve - defending, attacking, pressing, trying to think before a game, to be more clever, do something before the defender can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-mata/i-ve-tried-to-improve-defending-attacking-pressing-trying-to-think/) [Juan Mata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-mata/) > [In my career I always tried to improve to become one of the great players, because I felt I had received a gift from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zico/in-my-career-i-always-tried-to-improve-to-become-one-of-the-great/) [Zico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zico/) > [“No one pressured me, especially famous people who thought their farts should be bottled into a custom-made perfume.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ward/no-one-pressured-me-especially-famous-people-who-thought-their-farts/) [Alice Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ward/) > [The attraction of being wild is living on the edge, living up to the reputations of the people you've been following or emulating. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-attraction-of-being-wild-is-living-on-the-edge-living-up-to-the/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [Famous people are deceptive. Deep down, they're just regular people. Like Larry King. We've been friends for forty years. He's one of the few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/famous-people-are-deceptive-deep-down-they-re-just-regular-people/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [What makes Facebook so great is the fact that you can make up absolutely random quotes and then attribute them to famous people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/what-makes-facebook-so-great-is-the-fact-that-you-can-make-up/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I've walked with very famous people down red carpets over to the crowd of thousands of people, and you'll reach out to shake their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/i-ve-walked-with-very-famous-people-down-red-carpets-over-to-the/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Anything that's of any use, famous people get hold of it and take it for themselves and it gets a bad rap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/anything-that-s-of-any-use-famous-people-get-hold-of-it-and-take-it/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [“This is a book about questioning what others believe to be true, not accepting ideas just because famous people say they are right. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-aronson/this-is-a-book-about-questioning-what-others-believe-to-be-true-not/) [Marc Aronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-aronson/) > [Most famous people get younger and younger. I sometimes ask myself that question: 'How come I'm the only person who's getting older?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-beckham/most-famous-people-get-younger-and-younger-i-sometimes-ask-myself/) [Victoria Beckham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-beckham/) > [I get very nervous around famous people and I get nervous around beautiful women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liev-schreiber/i-get-very-nervous-around-famous-people-and-i-get-nervous-around/) [Liev Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liev-schreiber/) > [I grew up in celebrity world, so I know what famous people are like, and I've never looked up to them in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-allen/i-grew-up-in-celebrity-world-so-i-know-what-famous-people-are-like/) [Lily Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-allen/) ## More by Dorothy Parker > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/writing-is-the-art-of-applying-the-ass-to-the-seat/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Hollywood is the one place on earth where you could die of encouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/hollywood-is-the-one-place-on-earth-where-you-could-die-of/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [“The two most beautiful words in the English language are 'check enclosed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-two-most-beautiful-words-in-the-english-language-are-check/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Sometimes I think Ill give up trying, and just go completely Russian and sit on a stove and moan all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/sometimes-i-think-ill-give-up-trying-and-just-go-completely-russian/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [I was always sweet, at first. Oh, it's so easy to be sweet to people before you love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/i-was-always-sweet-at-first-oh-it-s-so-easy-to-be-sweet-to-people/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Now to me, Edith looks like something that would eat her young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/now-to-me-edith-looks-like-something-that-would-eat-her-young/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Misfortune, and recited misfortune especially, can be prolonged to the point where it ceases to excite pity and arouses only irritation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/misfortune-and-recited-misfortune-especially-can-be-prolonged-to-the/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [The sun's gone dim, and the moon's gone black. For I loved him, and he didn't love back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/the-sun-s-gone-dim-and-the-moon-s-gone-black-for-i-loved-him-and-he/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-a-hell-of-a-distance-between-wisecracking-and-wit-wit-has/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song, A medley of extemporanea; And love is a thing that can never go wrong; And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/oh-life-is-a-glorious-cycle-of-song-a-medley-of-extemporanea-and-love/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Enjoyed it! One more drink and I'd have been under the host.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/enjoyed-it-one-more-drink-and-i-d-have-been-under-the-host/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [This living, this living, this living Was never a project of mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/this-living-this-living-this-living-was-never-a-project-of-mine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [Flowers are heaven's masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/flowers-are-heaven-s-masterpiece/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It costs me never a stab nor squirm / To tread by chance upon a worm. / Aha, my little dear, / I say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/it-costs-me-never-a-stab-nor-squirm-to-tread-by-chance-upon-a-worm/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) [Explore all 398 Dorothy Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) ## More Beautiful woman quotes > [A beautiful woman must expect to be more accountable for her steps, than one less attractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/a-beautiful-woman-must-expect-to-be-more-accountable-for-her-steps/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [In New York, you are constantly faced with this very urgent decision that you have to make, about every twenty minutes...you have to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/in-new-york-you-are-constantly-faced-with-this-very-urgent-decision/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) > [There is nothing touches our imagination so much as a beautiful woman in a plain dress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-nothing-touches-our-imagination-so-much-as-a-beautiful-woman/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [A beautiful woman, if poor, should use double circumspection; for her beauty will tempt others, her poverty herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/a-beautiful-woman-if-poor-should-use-double-circumspection-for-her/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“Muriel sprinkled salt over her haddock mousse. ‘It is not easy to be specific, but both morally and hygienically there is . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-ibbotson/muriel-sprinkled-salt-over-her-haddock-mousse-it-is-not-easy-to-be/) [Eva Ibbotson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-ibbotson/) > [“She told me once that when she was with me she felt like the beautiful woman she never thought she'd be. I can't imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-finn/she-told-me-once-that-when-she-was-with-me-she-felt-like-the/) [Elizabeth Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-finn/) > [No matter how beautiful a woman might be, you're always threatened by certain... You're always threatened by](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/no-matter-how-beautiful-a-woman-might-be-you-re-always-threatened-by/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I was in the South of France, in Saint-Tropez and I met her when it was totally unexpected. I was very lucky because she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bert-stern/i-was-in-the-south-of-france-in-saint-tropez-and-i-met-her-when-it/) [Bert Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bert-stern/) > [Being jealous of a beautiful woman is not going to make you more beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zsa-zsa-gabor/being-jealous-of-a-beautiful-woman-is-not-going-to-make-you-more/) [Zsa Zsa Gabor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zsa-zsa-gabor/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A beautiful woman that can go out and then come home alone and lay in bed alone, is a woman with standards and self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-beautiful-woman-that-can-go-out-and-then-come-home-alone-and-lay-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Behind every successful man, there's a beautiful woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hammody-ali/behind-every-successful-man-there-s-a-beautiful-woman/) [Hammody Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hammody-ali/) > [You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and that's not saying much for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/you-re-the-most-beautiful-woman-i-ve-ever-seen-and-that-s-not-saying/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [A beautiful woman looking at her image in the mirror may very well believe the image is herself. An ugly woman knows it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/a-beautiful-woman-looking-at-her-image-in-the-mirror-may-very-well/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“For here he was, barely able to tread water, some gargantuan lizard in the water with him, and the most beautiful woman in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-d-burns/for-here-he-was-barely-able-to-tread-water-some-gargantuan-lizard-in/) [Vernon D. Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-d-burns/) [Browse all 599 Beautiful woman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-woman/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...It's not that she has not tried to improve her condition before acknowledging its hopelessness. (Oh, come on, let's get the hell out of this, and get into the first person.) I have sought, by study, to better my form and make myself Society's Darling. You see, I had been fed, in my youth, a lot of old wives' tales about the way men would instantly forsake a beautiful woman to flock about a brilliant one. It is but fair to say that, after getting out in the world, I had never seen this happen, but I thought that maybe I might be the girl to start the vogue. I would become brilliant. I would sparkle. I would hold whole dinner tables spellbound. I would have throngs fighting to come within hearing distance of me while the weakest, elbowed mercilessly to the outskirts, would cry \"What did she say?\" or \"Oh, please ask her to tell it again.\" That's what I would do. Oh I could just hear myself.\" -Review of the books, Favorite Jokes of Famous People, by Bruce Barton; The Technique of the Love Affair by \"A Gentlewoman.\" (Actually by Doris Langley Moore.) 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