--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obey and hate yourself, survive. Disobey…" description: "\"“Obey and hate yourself, survive. Disobey, redeem yourself, perish.”\" — Elizabeth Kostova" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/elizabeth-kostova-6991_disobey_obey-and-hate-yourself-survive-disobey-r_1631585.png" --- # Obey and hate yourself, survive. Disobey, redeem yourself… ![“Obey and hate yourself, survive. Disobey, redeem yourself, perish.” quote by Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/elizabeth-kostova-6991_disobey_obey-and-hate-yourself-survive-disobey-r_1631585.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/elizabeth-kostova-6991_disobey_obey-and-hate-yourself-survive-disobey-r_1631585.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/elizabeth-kostova-6991_disobey_obey-and-hate-yourself-survive-disobey-r_1631585.png) > ““Obey and hate yourself, survive. Disobey, redeem yourself, perish.”” [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Obedience leads to self‑hatred and survival; rebellion brings redemption but also danger. **In simple terms:** Following rules harms self; defying them can save you but is risky. Key Takeaway Choose conscience over blind compliance. Themes obedience rebellion self‑respect Mood conflicted thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - workplace ethics - personal relationships - political activism - social movements Key Concepts moral philosophy psychology of authority Questions to Reflect On - When is it right to defy authority? - What costs accompany personal redemption? A Different Perspective Rebellion may cause unintended harm or failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobey/) [Hate Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate-survive-489694/) [Obey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obey/) [Obey Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obey-hate-489693/) [Survive Disobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive-disobey-489692/) ## Related quotes > [“The suicide committed by Sampson was partly determined by the craftiness of Delilah and partly decided by the disobedience of Sampson. Satan uses crafty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-suicide-committed-by-sampson-was-partly-determined-by-the/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I could not disobey the will of the Catalan parliament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carles-puigdemont/i-could-not-disobey-the-will-of-the-catalan-parliament/) [Carles Puigdemont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carles-puigdemont/) > [In our evil we rebel against God. We take the law of God, written in his Word and on our hearts, and we disobey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/in-our-evil-we-rebel-against-god-we-take-the-law-of-god-written-in/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I really believe that in the larger sense, not only today but at all times, you only find yourself when you disobey. Disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-really-believe-that-in-the-larger-sense-not-only-today-but-at-all/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [You can't disobey the rules every time you disapprove. However, when you're considering something that constitutes an extreme abridgement of your rights, conscience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/you-can-t-disobey-the-rules-every-time-you-disapprove-however-when/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) > [When justice happens to oppose prejudice, we are apt to believe it virtuous to disobey her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/when-justice-happens-to-oppose-prejudice-we-are-apt-to-believe-it/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [It is only when our characters and events begin to disobey us that they begin to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/it-is-only-when-our-characters-and-events-begin-to-disobey-us-that/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [In war the first principle is to disobey orders. Any fool can obey orders!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fisher-1st-baron-fisher/in-war-the-first-principle-is-to-disobey-orders-any-fool-can-obey/) [John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fisher-1st-baron-fisher/) > [“Behave," he gritted at her as if he was in control of this, of her, of his own wild response, "and this will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-crews/behave-he-gritted-at-her-as-if-he-was-in-control-of-this-of-her-of/) [Caitlin Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-crews/) > [If people disobey, don't ask what is wrong with them, ask what's wrong with their leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-people-disobey-don-t-ask-what-is-wrong-with-them-ask-what-s-wrong/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Come here.” She blanched, backing away instead. “Don’t disobey me. I’ve been more than cordial. I’ve been patient and mostly kind. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-winters/come-here-she-blanched-backing-away-instead-don-t-disobey-me-i-ve/) [Pepper Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-winters/) > [Go, send, or disobey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/go-send-or-disobey/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [You simply disobey. Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or what to say or how to behave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/you-simply-disobey-peaceably-yes-respectfully-of-course-nonviolently/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [If we're being told to do stupid or cruel things, then it is morally correct to disobey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/if-we-re-being-told-to-do-stupid-or-cruel-things-then-it-is-morally/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [“As the boy looked at it, my thing moved and he whispered "It is splendid! Do let me try its love-making" ... And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-m-christman/as-the-boy-looked-at-it-my-thing-moved-and-he-whispered-it-is/) [Henry M. Christman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-m-christman/) ## More by Elizabeth Kostova > [“These are works of history about your century, the twentieth. A fine century-I look forward to the rest of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/these-are-works-of-history-about-your-century-the-twentieth-a-fine/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Then he said a strange thing, but to himself. 'They lived, didn't they?' And I said yes, that when one reads old letters one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/then-he-said-a-strange-thing-but-to-himself-they-lived-didn-t-they/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [I was filled with angst in college, that I struggled with the question of my future, the meaning of my life - spoiled sheltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-was-filled-with-angst-in-college-that-i-struggled-with-the-question/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [We Gypsies know that where Jews are killed, Gypsies are always murthered too. And then a lot of other people, usually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/we-gypsies-know-that-where-jews-are-killed-gypsies-are-always/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [I love to cook and I've cooked a lot of Bulgarian food over the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-love-to-cook-and-i-ve-cooked-a-lot-of-bulgarian-food-over-the-years/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [If there is any good in life, in history, in my own past, I invoke it now. I invoke it with all the passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/if-there-is-any-good-in-life-in-history-in-my-own-past-i-invoke-it/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [What comes to your mind when you think of the word Transylvania, if you ponder it at all? What comes to my mind are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/what-comes-to-your-mind-when-you-think-of-the-word-transylvania-if/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Bulgarians eat tarator every single day in summer. They think of it as salad although we'd call it a soup. You can make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/bulgarians-eat-tarator-every-single-day-in-summer-they-think-of-it-as/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Festina Lente (Hurry in slowly)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/festina-lente-hurry-in-slowly/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“I preferred solitude anyway; it was the medium in which I had been raised, in which I swam comfortably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/i-preferred-solitude-anyway-it-was-the-medium-in-which-i-had-been/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [The thing that most haunted me that day, however...was the fact that these things had - apparently - actually occurred...For all his attention to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/the-thing-that-most-haunted-me-that-day-however-was-the-fact-that/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Then draw everything. Do a hundred drawings a day,' he said fiercely. 'And remember that it's a hellish life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/then-draw-everything-do-a-hundred-drawings-a-day-he-said-fiercely-and/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“Doesn't every love express itself this way, with the seeds of both its flowering and its ruin in the very first words, the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/doesn-t-every-love-express-itself-this-way-with-the-seeds-of-both-its/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [He brought his great hand to rest on an early edition of Bram Stoker's novel and smiled, but said nothing. Then he moved quietly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/he-brought-his-great-hand-to-rest-on-an-early-edition-of-bram-stoker/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Faith is simply whatever is real to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/faith-is-simply-whatever-is-real-to-us/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) [Explore all 92 Elizabeth Kostova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) ## More Disobey quotes > [“As the boy looked at it, my thing moved and he whispered "It is splendid! Do let me try its love-making" ... And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-m-christman/as-the-boy-looked-at-it-my-thing-moved-and-he-whispered-it-is/) [Henry M. Christman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-m-christman/) > [If we're being told to do stupid or cruel things, then it is morally correct to disobey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/if-we-re-being-told-to-do-stupid-or-cruel-things-then-it-is-morally/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [You simply disobey. Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or what to say or how to behave,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/you-simply-disobey-peaceably-yes-respectfully-of-course-nonviolently/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [Go, send, or disobey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/go-send-or-disobey/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“Come here.” She blanched, backing away instead. “Don’t disobey me. I’ve been more than cordial. I’ve been patient and mostly kind. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-winters/come-here-she-blanched-backing-away-instead-don-t-disobey-me-i-ve/) [Pepper Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-winters/) > [If people disobey, don't ask what is wrong with them, ask what's wrong with their leaders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/if-people-disobey-don-t-ask-what-is-wrong-with-them-ask-what-s-wrong/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [“Behave," he gritted at her as if he was in control of this, of her, of his own wild response, "and this will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-crews/behave-he-gritted-at-her-as-if-he-was-in-control-of-this-of-her-of/) [Caitlin Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-crews/) > [In war the first principle is to disobey orders. Any fool can obey orders!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fisher-1st-baron-fisher/in-war-the-first-principle-is-to-disobey-orders-any-fool-can-obey/) [John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fisher-1st-baron-fisher/) > [It is only when our characters and events begin to disobey us that they begin to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/it-is-only-when-our-characters-and-events-begin-to-disobey-us-that/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [When justice happens to oppose prejudice, we are apt to believe it virtuous to disobey her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-radcliffe/when-justice-happens-to-oppose-prejudice-we-are-apt-to-believe-it/) [Ann Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-radcliffe/) > [You can't disobey the rules every time you disapprove. However, when you're considering something that constitutes an extreme abridgement of your rights, conscience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/you-can-t-disobey-the-rules-every-time-you-disapprove-however-when/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) > [I really believe that in the larger sense, not only today but at all times, you only find yourself when you disobey. Disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-really-believe-that-in-the-larger-sense-not-only-today-but-at-all/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [In our evil we rebel against God. We take the law of God, written in his Word and on our hearts, and we disobey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/in-our-evil-we-rebel-against-god-we-take-the-law-of-god-written-in/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I could not disobey the will of the Catalan parliament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carles-puigdemont/i-could-not-disobey-the-will-of-the-catalan-parliament/) [Carles Puigdemont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carles-puigdemont/) > [“We all realize at some point we are not as good as we think we are. We disobey. We fail those we love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-besteman/we-all-realize-at-some-point-we-are-not-as-good-as-we-think-we-are-we/) [Marvin J. Besteman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-besteman/) [Browse all 55 Disobey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobey/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Obey and hate yourself, survive. 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