--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The people who take society as an escape…" description: "\"“The people who take society as an escape from work are putting it to its proper use; but when it becomes the thing worked for it distorts all the rela..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/edith-wharton-512_life_the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape_1867606.png" --- # The people who take society as an escape from work are… ![“The people who take society as an escape from work are putting it to its proper use; but when it becomes the thing worked for it distorts all the relations of life.” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/edith-wharton-512_life_the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape_1867606.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/edith-wharton-512_life_the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape_1867606.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/edith-wharton-512_life_the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape_1867606.png) > ““The people who take society as an escape from work are putting it to its proper use; but when it becomes the thing worked for it distorts all the relations of life.”” [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Using society as a refuge from work is proper, but making it the goal distorts life’s relationships. **In simple terms:** Society should serve work, not replace it. Key Takeaway Balance work and social life. Themes society work balance Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - career planning - community involvement - leisure activities - volunteering Key Concepts social dynamics purpose meaning Questions to Reflect On - What role does society play in your life? - How do you keep work and social life healthy? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on social status can undermine personal fulfillment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Social class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-class/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“Avoid those who seek friends in order to maintain a certain social status or to open doors they would not otherwise be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/avoid-those-who-seek-friends-in-order-to-maintain-a-certain-social/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [How could a society escape destruction if, when political ties are relaxed, moral ties are not tightened, and what can be done with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/how-could-a-society-escape-destruction-if-when-political-ties-are/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Meditation is not to get out of society, to escape from society, but to prepare for a reentery into society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/meditation-is-not-to-get-out-of-society-to-escape-from-society-but-to/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [There's no real escape from the work, but in some ways, if you're as obsessive as I am, it's a sweet little thing we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/there-s-no-real-escape-from-the-work-but-in-some-ways-if-you-re-as/) [Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/) > [Occasionally, I just need to escape from my work or be reminded of the comparative bliss of my own life, so I pick up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-macaulay/occasionally-i-just-need-to-escape-from-my-work-or-be-reminded-of-the/) [David Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-macaulay/) > [Don't have work-life balance - at least in the sense of trying to escape from work so you can have a life. 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You learn how to respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-mungiu/you-need-people-in-a-society-to-have-reached-a-certain-standard-of/) Cristian Mungiu ## More by Edith Wharton > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. 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I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The people who take society as an escape from work are putting it to its proper use; but when it becomes the thing worked for it distorts all the relations of life.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edith Wharton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape-from-work-are-putting-it-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape-from-work-are-putting-it-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/edith-wharton-512_life_the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape_1867606.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/edith-wharton-512_life_the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape_1867606.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/edith-wharton-512_life_the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape_1867606.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The people who take society as an escape from work are putting it to its proper use; but when it becomes the…” — Edith Wharton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edith Wharton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The people who take society as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape-from-work-are-putting-it-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-people-who-take-society-as-an-escape-from-work-are-putting-it-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```