--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a great deal of difference…" description: "\"“There is a great deal of difference between keeping one’s own secret and keeping a secret for another soul; so much so that I wish we had two worlds, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/eleanor-catton-2384_secret_there-is-a-great-deal-of-difference-betw_2617329.png" --- # There is a great deal of difference between keeping one’s… ![“There is a great deal of difference between keeping one’s own secret and keeping a secret for another soul; so much so that I wish we had two worlds, that is a word for a secret of one’s own making and a word for a secret that on did not make, and perhaps did not wish for, but has chosen to keep…” quote by Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/eleanor-catton-2384_secret_there-is-a-great-deal-of-difference-betw_2617329.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/eleanor-catton-2384_secret_there-is-a-great-deal-of-difference-betw_2617329.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bf/eleanor-catton-2384_secret_there-is-a-great-deal-of-difference-betw_2617329.png) > ““There is a great deal of difference between keeping one’s own secret and keeping a secret for another soul; so much so that I wish we had two worlds, that is a word for a secret of one’s own making and a word for a secret that on did not make, and perhaps did not wish for, but has chosen to keep, all the same.” Page 788”” [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Keeping a personal secret differs from holding someone else’s secret; the former is self‑created, the latter is imposed, highlighting moral complexity. **In simple terms:** Personal secrets are self‑made; others’ secrets are given. Key Takeaway Recognize the source of each secret you keep. Themes ethics privacy trust Mood thoughtful serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - conflict resolution - legal testimony Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Whose secret are you holding? - Do you feel responsible for secrets you didn’t create? A Different Perspective Secrets imposed by others can burden us beyond our control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Keeping A Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-a-secret/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [“I have always considered that there is a great deal of difference between keeping one's own secret, and keeping a secret for another soul;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-have-always-considered-that-there-is-a-great-deal-of-difference/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [As an actor, you want to know if you're keeping a secret or telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-riseborough/as-an-actor-you-want-to-know-if-you-re-keeping-a-secret-or-telling/) [Andrea Riseborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-riseborough/) > [“It’s hard keeping a secret… even when it’s your own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-hesse/it-s-hard-keeping-a-secret-even-when-it-s-your-own/) [Laura Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-hesse/) > [While privacy strengthens all our bonds, secrecy weakens and damages connection. Lerner points out that we do not usually "know the emotional costs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/while-privacy-strengthens-all-our-bonds-secrecy-weakens-and-damages/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Keeping a secret in the social media age often is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-mcintyre/keeping-a-secret-in-the-social-media-age-often-is-impossible/) [Drew McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-mcintyre/) > [“When it came to keeping a secret, that kid was a time bomb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-f-service/when-it-came-to-keeping-a-secret-that-kid-was-a-time-bomb/) [Pamela F. Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-f-service/) > [The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-best-way-of-keeping-a-secret-is-to-pretend-there-isn-t-one/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Somebody in this crowd might be saying something bad about me behind my back. I’ll do something, somewhere, out of pettiness soon. Somebody might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-sue/somebody-in-this-crowd-might-be-saying-something-bad-about-me-behind/) Natalie Sue > [Sometimes when we think we are keeping a secret, the secret is actually keeping us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-warren/sometimes-when-we-think-we-are-keeping-a-secret-the-secret-is/) [Frank Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-warren/) > [Making a series can sometimes feel like you're keeping a secret for months until it comes out; so when it finalizes in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-weston-jones/making-a-series-can-sometimes-feel-like-you-re-keeping-a-secret-for/) [Tom Weston-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-weston-jones/) > [“In the art of magic, keeping a secret is the greatest sleight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/in-the-art-of-magic-keeping-a-secret-is-the-greatest-sleight/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Sometimes keeping a secret seems like the right thing to do because telling the truth might hurt someone and makes it seem like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginny-l-yttrup/sometimes-keeping-a-secret-seems-like-the-right-thing-to-do-because/) [Ginny L. Yttrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginny-l-yttrup/) > [“The problem with keeping a secret is that you don't give someone a chance to come through for you, to prove to you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-may-warren/the-problem-with-keeping-a-secret-is-that-you-don-t-give-someone-a/) [Susan May Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-may-warren/) > [Do you want my one-word secret of happiness? It's growth - - mental, financial you name it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-want-my-one-word-secret-of-happiness-it-s-growth-mental/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The difficulty is the levels of secrecy we had to maintain around the project at all different times. We had to keep it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ziering/the-difficulty-is-the-levels-of-secrecy-we-had-to-maintain-around-the/) [Amy Ziering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ziering/) ## More by Eleanor Catton > [“We spend our entire lives thinking about death. Without that project to divert us, I expect we would all be dreadfully bored. We would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/we-spend-our-entire-lives-thinking-about-death-without-that-project/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [I often feel intellectually frustrated when I'm in a position where I'm not moving forward; when I'm not enquiring about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-often-feel-intellectually-frustrated-when-i-m-in-a-position-where-i/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“own reputation, by associating himself with a story of cuckoldry, blackmail, murder, and revenge, and nor did he spare a thought for how Balfour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/own-reputation-by-associating-himself-with-a-story-of-cuckoldry/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“In my experience people are rarely contented to end up where they started.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/in-my-experience-people-are-rarely-contented-to-end-up-where-they/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“His temperament was deeply nostalgic, not for for his own past, but for past ages; he was cynical of the present, fearful of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-temperament-was-deeply-nostalgic-not-for-for-his-own-past-but-for/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“What was glimpsed in Aquarius—what was envisioned, believed in, prophesied, predicted, doubted, and forewarned—is made, in Pisces, manifest. 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Theatre is a purified version of real life, an extraction, an essence of human behaviour that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/theatre-is-a-concentrate-of-life-as-normal-theatre-is-a-purified/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) [Explore all 168 Eleanor Catton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## More Secret quotes > [That's the great secret of creativity. 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