--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: to be honest and yet popular is almost as…" description: "\"to be honest and yet popular is almost as difficult in literature as it is in life.\" — Ellen Glasgow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/ellen-glasgow-1897_being-honest_to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-a_1899717.png" --- # to be honest and yet popular is almost as difficult in… ![“to be honest and yet popular is almost as difficult in literature as it is in life.” quote by Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/ellen-glasgow-1897_being-honest_to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-a_1899717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/ellen-glasgow-1897_being-honest_to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-a_1899717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/ellen-glasgow-1897_being-honest_to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-a_1899717.png) > “to be honest and yet popular is almost as difficult in literature as it is in life.” [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being honest and popular is as challenging in literature as in life, highlighting the difficulty of balancing authenticity with appeal. **In simple terms:** Honesty and popularity are both hard to achieve. Key Takeaway Balance authenticity with audience appeal. Themes honesty popularity literature Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary social When to use this quote - writing for mass audience - maintaining personal voice - public speaking Key Concepts authenticity social dynamics creative tension Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay true while seeking approval? - What sacrifices are worth making for authenticity? A Different Perspective Popularity may require compromise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Books should confuse. Literature abhors the typical. Literature flows to the particular, the mundane, the greasiness of paper, the taste of warm beer, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rodriguez/books-should-confuse-literature-abhors-the-typical-literature-flows/) [Richard Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rodriguez/) > [“READING OF LITERATURE CAN GIVE LIFE TO THE "LIFE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-lakshmi-durga/reading-of-literature-can-give-life-to-the-life/) [M.Lakshmi Durga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-lakshmi-durga/) > [Literature has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I can't think back before a time that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-adornetto/literature-has-been-part-of-my-life-for-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i/) [Alexandra Adornetto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-adornetto/) > [Literature has become my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/literature-has-become-my-life/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [“You see the profound effect literature can have on life? Who says it's all a waste of time? If only I could produce one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-see-the-profound-effect-literature-can-have-on-life-who-says-it-s/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [The advantage of literature over life is that its characters are clearly defined, and act consistently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-k-jerome/the-advantage-of-literature-over-life-is-that-its-characters-are/) [Jerome K. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-k-jerome/) > [“Charlie, you know where I am, don't you? All right, Charlie, this isn't literature. This is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/charlie-you-know-where-i-am-don-t-you-all-right-charlie-this-isn-t/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [As it was, I realized choosing the study of Chinese literature as my life's work was probably a mistake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allin-cornell/as-it-was-i-realized-choosing-the-study-of-chinese-literature-as-my/) [Eric Allin Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allin-cornell/) > [“In literature, as in Life, one is often astonished by what is chosen by others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/in-literature-as-in-life-one-is-often-astonished-by-what-is-chosen-by/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [“Literary criticism, as I attempt to practice it, is in the first place 'literary', which is to say personal and passionate. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/literary-criticism-as-i-attempt-to-practice-it-is-in-the-first-place/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“You might like that one. But I’ll tell you the same thing I tell my students when they complain about the depressing nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/you-might-like-that-one-but-i-ll-tell-you-the-same-thing-i-tell-my/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [In literature and in life we ultimately pursue, not conclusions, but beginnings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-tanenhaus/in-literature-and-in-life-we-ultimately-pursue-not-conclusions-but/) [Sam Tanenhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-tanenhaus/) > [Life without literature is a life reduced to penury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-h-abrams/life-without-literature-is-a-life-reduced-to-penury/) [M. H. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-h-abrams/) > [Without literature, life is hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/without-literature-life-is-hell/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [At Harvard I was taking an African-American studies class, and we were reading about the tragic mulatto. Invariably, the tragic mulatto can't fit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/at-harvard-i-was-taking-an-african-american-studies-class-and-we-were/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) ## More by Ellen Glasgow > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I have watchedmany literary fashions shoot up and blossom, and then fade and drop… Yet with the many that I have seen comeand go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-watchedmany-literary-fashions-shoot-up-and-blossom-and-then/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [After a day of rain the sun came out suddenly at five o'clock and threw a golden bar into the deep Victorian gloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/after-a-day-of-rain-the-sun-came-out-suddenly-at-five-o-clock-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [What I hated even more than the conflict was the lurid spectacle of a world of unreason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-i-hated-even-more-than-the-conflict-was-the-lurid-spectacle-of-a/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Preserve, within a wild sanctuary, an inaccessible valley of reverie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/preserve-within-a-wild-sanctuary-an-inaccessible-valley-of-reverie/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I was always a feminist, for I liked intellectual revolt as much as I disliked physical violence. On the whole, I think women havelost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-was-always-a-feminist-for-i-liked-intellectual-revolt-as-much-as-i/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Although the primitive in art may be both interesting and impressive, as portrayed in American fiction it is conspicuous for dullness alone. Drab persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/although-the-primitive-in-art-may-be-both-interesting-and-impressive/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Do you know there is always a barrier between me and any man or woman who does not like dogs?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/do-you-know-there-is-always-a-barrier-between-me-and-any-man-or-woman/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [You look as if you lived on duty and it hadn't;t agreed with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/you-look-as-if-you-lived-on-duty-and-it-hadn-t-t-agreed-with-you/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [there are times when life surprises one, and anything may happen, even what one had hoped for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/there-are-times-when-life-surprises-one-and-anything-may-happen-even/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Life may take away happiness. But it can't take away having had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/life-may-take-away-happiness-but-it-can-t-take-away-having-had-it/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [So long as one is able to pose one has still much to learn about suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/so-long-as-one-is-able-to-pose-one-has-still-much-to-learn-about/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [...I had grown up in a world that was dominated by immature age. Not by vigorous immaturity, but by immaturity that was old and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-had-grown-up-in-a-world-that-was-dominated-by-immature-age-not-by/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I hated the things they believe in, the things they so innocently and charmingly pretended. I hated the sanctimonious piety that let people hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-hated-the-things-they-believe-in-the-things-they-so-innocently-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) [Explore all 200 Ellen Glasgow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## More Being honest quotes > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Let's be honest, if the Democrats didn't support ignoring our nation's immigration laws, there is no way they could win the presidency or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/let-s-be-honest-if-the-democrats-didn-t-support-ignoring-our-nation-s/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [I think what saved me is me being honest. I think I somewhow had the courage to do something and say something that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/i-think-what-saved-me-is-me-being-honest-i-think-i-somewhow-had-the/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [An actor has to evaluate his own abilities and be honest with himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/an-actor-has-to-evaluate-his-own-abilities-and-be-honest-with-himself/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [The cultural integration of psychedelics won't happen overnight, and the question of young people is perhaps the most difficult involved. The first step is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-doblin/the-cultural-integration-of-psychedelics-won-t-happen-overnight-and/) [Rick Doblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-doblin/) > [I'm a person of change and I must be honest to my artistry and my creativity. That's part of the word 'jazz'... it's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-ferguson/i-m-a-person-of-change-and-i-must-be-honest-to-my-artistry-and-my/) Maynard Ferguson > [I'm going to be honest, I would love for Flava Flav to be president. It would bring a lot of excitement to the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/i-m-going-to-be-honest-i-would-love-for-flava-flav-to-be-president-it/) [DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/) > [The buildings that were in question, they said in the same report, which was - actually, it wasn't even a bad story, to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-buildings-that-were-in-question-they-said-in-the-same-report/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I guess it has to be healthy, you have to be honest with yourself and I think that's when ego is okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/i-guess-it-has-to-be-healthy-you-have-to-be-honest-with-yourself-and/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [ The opening for solid waste is very small \[in the space ship\]. It's not toilet-bowl size. And aim is critical. To be honest with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mullane/the-opening-for-solid-waste-is-very-small-in-the-space-ship-it-s-not/) [Mike Mullane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mullane/) > [We had 90 percent rates, but nobody paid them. And so you had all these exemptions, exclusions, shelters, all this kind of stuff. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-had-90-percent-rates-but-nobody-paid-them-and-so-you-had-all-these/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [We live in a world in which the only utopian visions arrive in commercial breaks: magical visions of an impossibly hospitable world, peopled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/we-live-in-a-world-in-which-the-only-utopian-visions-arrive-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Browse all 1,333 Being honest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "to be honest and yet popular is almost as difficult in literature as it is in life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Glasgow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-as-difficult-in-literature-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being honest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-as-difficult-in-literature-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/ellen-glasgow-1897_being-honest_to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-a_1899717.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/ellen-glasgow-1897_being-honest_to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-a_1899717.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce9/ellen-glasgow-1897_being-honest_to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-a_1899717.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“to be honest and yet popular is almost as difficult in literature as it is in life.” — Ellen Glasgow", "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": "Ellen Glasgow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "to be honest and yet popular...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-as-difficult-in-literature-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/to-be-honest-and-yet-popular-is-almost-as-difficult-in-literature-as/#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 } } ] } ```