Justice Quote by Eleanor Catton
““I require of all my students… that they are downy and pubescent, pimpled with sullen mistrust, and boiling away with private fury and ardor and uncertainty and gloom. I require that they wait in the corridor for ten minutes at least before each lesson, tenderly nursing their injustices, picking miserably at their own unworthiness as one might finger a scab or caress a scar. If I am to teach your daughter, you darling hopeless and inadequate mother, she must be moody and bewildered and awkward and dissatisfied and wrong. When she realizes that he body is a secret, a dark and yawning secret of which she becomes more and more ashamed, come back to me. You must understand me on this point. I cannot teach children.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Luminaries, 2013
Describes a teacher’s demand for students to embrace discomfort and emotional turmoil as part of learning.
In simple terms: Students must endure inner conflict to grow.
Key Takeaway
Accept discomfort as a learning tool.
Themes
education
psychology
growth
Mood
critical
introspective
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- classroom dynamics
- personal counseling
- creative writing
- self‑reflection
Key Concepts
existential angst
identity formation
Questions to Reflect On
- How can educators balance challenge and support?
- What role does emotional pain play in learning?
A Different Perspective
Such intensity may overwhelm vulnerable learners.
![“This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day [as a Fairfax Justice of the Peace] since I have been at Home. I wish I knew where to get a good one myself; for I find cold Sheets extreamly disagreeable.” quote by George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b92/george-mason-8435_bedfellows_this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young_3953.jpg)
