--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not difficult to stand above the…" description: "\"“It is not difficult to stand above the conventions when we leave no hostages among them; men can always be more unconventional than women, and a bache..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/e-m-forster-2-1148_conventions_it-is-not-difficult-to-stand-above-the-c_550022.jpg" --- # It is not difficult to stand above the conventions when we… ![“It is not difficult to stand above the conventions when we leave no hostages among them; men can always be more unconventional than women, and a bachelor of independent means need encounter no difficulties at all.” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/e-m-forster-2-1148_conventions_it-is-not-difficult-to-stand-above-the-c_550022.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/e-m-forster-2-1148_conventions_it-is-not-difficult-to-stand-above-the-c_550022.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b5/e-m-forster-2-1148_conventions_it-is-not-difficult-to-stand-above-the-c_550022.jpg) > ““It is not difficult to stand above the conventions when we leave no hostages among them; men can always be more unconventional than women, and a bachelor of independent means need encounter no difficulties at all.”” [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Independence from social expectations frees one from constraints, allowing unconventional choices without difficulty. **In simple terms:** Being free from norms lets you act uniquely without trouble. Key Takeaway Embrace independence to defy conventions. Themes freedom individualism social norms gender roles Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career decisions - artistic expression - personal relationships - financial independence Key Concepts existentialism social critique autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does independence affect your responsibility to others? - When is it wise to follow conventions? A Different Perspective May ignore practical consequences of ignoring societal expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bachelor Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bachelor-independent-4580972/) [Conventions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventions/) [Independence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independence/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Men Unconventional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-unconventional-4580973/) [Unconventional Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconventional-women-4580974/) [Unconventionality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconventionality/) [Women Bachelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-bachelor-4090897/) ## Related quotes > [It is not difficult to be unconventional in the eyes of the world when your unconventionality is but the convention of your set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/it-is-not-difficult-to-be-unconventional-in-the-eyes-of-the-world/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-think-of-them-for-the-2/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [As of the mid-90s, over 50 percent of women have a bachelor's and master's degree, compared to about 35 percent and 30 percent, respectively, in 1920.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-diamandis/as-of-the-mid-90s-over-50-percent-of-women-have-a-bachelor-s-and/) [Peter Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-diamandis/) > [We're really up against it, we poor women: A bachelor's a hard thing to convert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-re-really-up-against-it-we-poor-women-a-bachelor-s-a-hard-thing-to/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“A person willing to fly in the face of reason, authority, and common sense must be a person of considerable self-assurance. Since he occurs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-person-willing-to-fly-in-the-face-of-reason-authority-and-common/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Unconventionality is no longer a taboo. It is being applauded and celebrated by both the classes and the masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherlyn-chopra/unconventionality-is-no-longer-a-taboo-it-is-being-applauded-and/) [Sherlyn Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherlyn-chopra/) > [If it weren't for the unconventionality of my desires, my mind might never have been forced to reckon with my body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/if-it-weren-t-for-the-unconventionality-of-my-desires-my-mind-might/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham-2/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-think-of-them-for-the-3/) [W Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham-2/) > [“When people say they do not care what others think of them, for the most part they deceive themselves. Generally they mean only that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham-2/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-think-of-them-for-the/) [W Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham-2/) > [The truth is, I often like women. I like their unconventionality. I like their completeness. I like their anonymity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-truth-is-i-often-like-women-i-like-their-unconventionality-i-like/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The conventional accept and are frequently charmed by a certain unconventionality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-conventional-accept-and-are-frequently-charmed-by-a-certain/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Nobody can live in society without conventions. The reason why sensible people are as conventional as they can bear to be is that conventionality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/nobody-can-live-in-society-without-conventions-the-reason-why/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [ \[The Massachusetts constitution\] resembles the federal Constitution of 1787 more closely than any of the other revolutionary state constitutions. It was also drawn up… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-s-wood/the-massachusetts-constitution-resembles-the-federal-constitution-of/) [Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-s-wood/) > [ \[James\] Madison pointed out in the discussion of the constitutional debates - the constitutional convention - that democracy would be a danger. He used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/james-madison-pointed-out-in-the-discussion-of-the-constitutional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [All progress in literary style lies in the heroic resolve to cast aside accretions and exuberances, all the conventions of a past age that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/all-progress-in-literary-style-lies-in-the-heroic-resolve-to-cast/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) ## More by E.M. Forster > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Oh, what's the use of your fairmindedness if you never decide for yourself? Anyone gets hold of you and makes you do what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/oh-what-s-the-use-of-your-fairmindedness-if-you-never-decide-for/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?’ ‘Share? Do you mean unite? If both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-mean-that-a-frenchman-could-share-with-a-friend-and-yet-not-go-to/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Margaret realized the chaotic nature of our daily life, and its difference from the orderly sequence that has been fabricated by historians. Actual life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/margaret-realized-the-chaotic-nature-of-our-daily-life-and-its/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He whispered: ‘Is it this? Is this possible? I’ll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-whispered-is-it-this-is-this-possible-i-ll-put-a-marvel-to-you/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/perhaps-anything-that-he-did-would-have-pleased-lucy-but-his/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,' she said. 'This craze for motion has only set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/because-a-thing-is-going-strong-now-it-need-not-go-strong-for-ever/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“England was alive, throbbing through all her estuaries, crying for joy through the mouths of all her gulls, and the north wind, with contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/england-was-alive-throbbing-through-all-her-estuaries-crying-for-joy/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) [Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More Conventions quotes > [All progress in literary style lies in the heroic resolve to cast aside accretions and exuberances, all the conventions of a past age that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/havelock-ellis/all-progress-in-literary-style-lies-in-the-heroic-resolve-to-cast/) [Havelock Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/havelock-ellis/) > [ \[James\] Madison pointed out in the discussion of the constitutional debates - the constitutional convention - that democracy would be a danger. He used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/james-madison-pointed-out-in-the-discussion-of-the-constitutional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ \[The Massachusetts constitution\] resembles the federal Constitution of 1787 more closely than any of the other revolutionary state constitutions. It was also drawn up… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-s-wood/the-massachusetts-constitution-resembles-the-federal-constitution-of/) [Gordon S. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-s-wood/) > [Nobody can live in society without conventions. The reason why sensible people are as conventional as they can bear to be is that conventionality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/nobody-can-live-in-society-without-conventions-the-reason-why/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I joked at our National Convention that our party was nominating a candidate for president who was charismatic, larger than life, memorable, so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/i-joked-at-our-national-convention-that-our-party-was-nominating-a/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [The President? Hmmm, I wonder who that might be? Could it be, perhaps, the sitting two-term incumbent of the same party holding its convention?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fallows/the-president-hmmm-i-wonder-who-that-might-be-could-it-be-perhaps-the/) [James Fallows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fallows/) > [The sophists were as a rule men who had traveled widely and seen different forms of government. Both conventions and local laws in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-sophists-were-as-a-rule-men-who-had-traveled-widely-and-seen/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [As so often, a political event involving Donald Trump looks like swinging wildly between melodrama and farce. The Republican National Convention in Cleveland has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-colvin/as-so-often-a-political-event-involving-donald-trump-looks-like/) [Mark Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-colvin/) > [Once we realized that there were these 25 invariable types - the class politician, the frigid popular girl, the kid who tags along behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/once-we-realized-that-there-were-these-25-invariable-types-the-class/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [On the surface the avant garde as a whole seems united primarily in terms of what they are against: the rejection of social institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-innes/on-the-surface-the-avant-garde-as-a-whole-seems-united-primarily-in/) [C. D. Innes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-innes/) > [My characters are all kind of geek archetypes of people I've encountered at gaming and comic book conventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/my-characters-are-all-kind-of-geek-archetypes-of-people-i-ve/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [Based on the considerations of history, ancient history, and international axioms, the logic of following up a citizen with his shadow for the purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/based-on-the-considerations-of-history-ancient-history-and/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [The psychotherapist ... tries to help the individual to be himself and to go it alone without giving unnecessary offense to his community, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-psychotherapist-tries-to-help-the-individual-to-be-himself-and-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [ Everything \[Ted\] Cruz was doing was legal, it was aboveboard, but it was portrayed as Cruz is the villain, and here's \[Donald\] Trump and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/everything-ted-cruz-was-doing-was-legal-it-was-aboveboard-but-it-was/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [2004 was a great year for Boston! The Patriots won the Super Bowl! Boston hosted its first national political convention! And - the Red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-menino/2004-was-a-great-year-for-boston-the-patriots-won-the-super-bowl/) [Thomas Menino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-menino/) [Browse all 853 Conventions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conventions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is not difficult to stand above the conventions when we leave no hostages among them; men can always be more unconventional than women, and a bachelor of independent means need encounter no difficulties at all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E.M. 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