--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Was that hard-hearted? Well, so what if…" description: "\"“Was that hard-hearted? Well, so what if it was. She'd been through enough to harden anyone. It was none of her choosing; all she'd done was clung on t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/emma-donoghue-1499_antihero_was-that-hard-hearted-well-so-what-if-it_1049945.png" --- # Was that hard-hearted? Well, so what if it was. She'd been… ![“Was that hard-hearted? Well, so what if it was. She'd been through enough to harden anyone. It was none of her choosing; all she'd done was clung on to her life like a spar from a shipwreck. Better to be hardened than crushed to nothing.” quote by Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/emma-donoghue-1499_antihero_was-that-hard-hearted-well-so-what-if-it_1049945.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/emma-donoghue-1499_antihero_was-that-hard-hearted-well-so-what-if-it_1049945.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/231/emma-donoghue-1499_antihero_was-that-hard-hearted-well-so-what-if-it_1049945.png) > ““Was that hard-hearted? Well, so what if it was. She'd been through enough to harden anyone. It was none of her choosing; all she'd done was clung on to her life like a spar from a shipwreck. Better to be hardened than crushed to nothing.”” [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hardship can toughen a person, but it may also protect them from being broken. **In simple terms:** Hardship can make you resilient. Key Takeaway Embrace resilience, avoid being crushed. Themes resilience hardship survival Mood somber determined Type literary psychological When to use this quote - war trauma - personal loss - stressful work - relationship conflict Key Concepts psychological defense emotional armor self-preservation Questions to Reflect On - When does resilience become emotional distance? - Can vulnerability be a strength? A Different Perspective Hardening can also isolate you. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antihero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antihero/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Are soft-hearted people handicapped in business? You have heard a businessman say of someone else, He's all right, but he's too soft-hearted… To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/are-soft-hearted-people-handicapped-in-business-you-have-heard-a/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [I'm drawn to the classic antihero, the guy who's probably made a bunch of mistakes and really has the capacity to go either way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-sutter/i-m-drawn-to-the-classic-antihero-the-guy-who-s-probably-made-a-bunch/) [Kurt Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-sutter/) > [“I take it back," he said grumpily. "I don't like feisty women. More trouble than they're worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-x-song/i-take-it-back-he-said-grumpily-i-don-t-like-feisty-women-more/) K.X. Song > [I play antihero; I play hero... I'm not image-struck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raveena-tandon/i-play-antihero-i-play-hero-i-m-not-image-struck/) [Raveena Tandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raveena-tandon/) > [“A Jewish woman in exile in the 1930s is an antihero.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-ria-a/a-jewish-woman-in-exile-in-the-1930s-is-an-antihero/) Núria Añó > [I'm not the hero, Mac. Never have been. Never will be. Let us be perfectly clear: I'm not the antihero, either, so quit waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-m-not-the-hero-mac-never-have-been-never-will-be-let-us-be/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Like Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley, Barish’s de Man is an antihero who attracts us against our better judgment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/like-patricia-highsmith-s-ripley-barish-s-de-man-is-an-antihero-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always been drawn to the more antihero superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-fleischer/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-the-more-antihero-superheroes/) [Ruben Fleischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-fleischer/) > [“Such a dark green, his eyes. They reminded her of the forest, of all the dangers lying dormant behind that verdant cloak of leaves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/such-a-dark-green-his-eyes-they-reminded-her-of-the-forest-of-all-the/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“...in my own perilous position, and above all, in the remarkable game that I saw Silver now engaged upon-keeping the mutineers together with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-my-own-perilous-position-and-above-all-in-the-remarkable-game-that/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [O King, believe not this hard-hearted man!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-king-believe-not-this-hard-hearted-man/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If we're not careful, this archetype of the dark, brooding, broken antihero gets held up on a pedestal for the wrong reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rege-jean-page/if-we-re-not-careful-this-archetype-of-the-dark-brooding-broken/) [Rege-Jean Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rege-jean-page/) > [Happiness is often hard-hearted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/happiness-is-often-hard-hearted/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Hard-hearted shouldn't need senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/hard-hearted-shouldn-t-need-senses/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Nobody wants to play the antihero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushrat-bharucha/nobody-wants-to-play-the-antihero/) [Nushrat Bharucha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushrat-bharucha/) ## More by Emma Donoghue > [Before I had kids, I thought you should never lie to a kid. But now I've had them, I realize you almost lie to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/before-i-had-kids-i-thought-you-should-never-lie-to-a-kid-but-now-i/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [People don't always want to be with people. It gets tiring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/people-don-t-always-want-to-be-with-people-it-gets-tiring/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [What writing ROOM taught me was that I know exactly how to be the perfect mother, but I'm not willing to do it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/what-writing-room-taught-me-was-that-i-know-exactly-how-to-be-the/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [With my first book, I was hired to write a draft of the script. I was so young and less confident. They put me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/with-my-first-book-i-was-hired-to-write-a-draft-of-the-script-i-was/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“Who knows what we all are before anything happens?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/who-knows-what-we-all-are-before-anything-happens/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [...real loneliness is having no one to miss. Think yourself lucky you've known something worth missing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/real-loneliness-is-having-no-one-to-miss-think-yourself-lucky-you-ve/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“It's you that matters though, just you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/it-s-you-that-matters-though-just-you/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [At the door, there was one of those moment when two people realize that they like each other more than they know each other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/at-the-door-there-was-one-of-those-moment-when-two-people-realize/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“When I was as young as you are now I learned how to save my own life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/when-i-was-as-young-as-you-are-now-i-learned-how-to-save-my-own-life/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“In Room me and Ma had time for everything. I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/in-room-me-and-ma-had-time-for-everything-i-guess-the-time-gets/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [I am clumsy, a late and nervous driver, and despise all sports except a little gentle dancing or yoga.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/i-am-clumsy-a-late-and-nervous-driver-and-despise-all-sports-except-a/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“I looked in my mirror and saw, not myself, but every place I'd never been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/i-looked-in-my-mirror-and-saw-not-myself-but-every-place-i-d-never/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [“I tell you frankly, Mrs. Damer, the more I see of different nations, the less sure I feel about the pre-eminence of my own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/i-tell-you-frankly-mrs-damer-the-more-i-see-of-different-nations-the/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [Actually,the nightmarish thought occurred to me that with electronic delivery of books becoming a norm, soon writers may be expected to provide several versions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/actually-the-nightmarish-thought-occurred-to-me-that-with-electronic/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [Writing is nearly always a matter of finding whatever your brain needs to trick it into being creative, and in my case, a tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/writing-is-nearly-always-a-matter-of-finding-whatever-your-brain/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) [Explore all 232 Emma Donoghue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) ## More Antihero quotes > [If we're not careful, this archetype of the dark, brooding, broken antihero gets held up on a pedestal for the wrong reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rege-jean-page/if-we-re-not-careful-this-archetype-of-the-dark-brooding-broken/) [Rege-Jean Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rege-jean-page/) > [“...in my own perilous position, and above all, in the remarkable game that I saw Silver now engaged upon-keeping the mutineers together with one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-my-own-perilous-position-and-above-all-in-the-remarkable-game-that/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Such a dark green, his eyes. They reminded her of the forest, of all the dangers lying dormant behind that verdant cloak of leaves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/such-a-dark-green-his-eyes-they-reminded-her-of-the-forest-of-all-the/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [I've always been drawn to the more antihero superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-fleischer/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-the-more-antihero-superheroes/) [Ruben Fleischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-fleischer/) > [“Like Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley, Barish’s de Man is an antihero who attracts us against our better judgment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/like-patricia-highsmith-s-ripley-barish-s-de-man-is-an-antihero-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not the hero, Mac. Never have been. Never will be. Let us be perfectly clear: I'm not the antihero, either, so quit waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-m-not-the-hero-mac-never-have-been-never-will-be-let-us-be/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“A Jewish woman in exile in the 1930s is an antihero.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-ria-a/a-jewish-woman-in-exile-in-the-1930s-is-an-antihero/) Núria Añó > [I play antihero; I play hero... I'm not image-struck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raveena-tandon/i-play-antihero-i-play-hero-i-m-not-image-struck/) [Raveena Tandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raveena-tandon/) > [“I take it back," he said grumpily. "I don't like feisty women. More trouble than they're worth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-x-song/i-take-it-back-he-said-grumpily-i-don-t-like-feisty-women-more/) K.X. Song > [I'm drawn to the classic antihero, the guy who's probably made a bunch of mistakes and really has the capacity to go either way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-sutter/i-m-drawn-to-the-classic-antihero-the-guy-who-s-probably-made-a-bunch/) [Kurt Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-sutter/) > [Nobody wants to play the antihero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushrat-bharucha/nobody-wants-to-play-the-antihero/) [Nushrat Bharucha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushrat-bharucha/) [Browse all 12 Antihero quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antihero/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Was that hard-hearted? Well, so what if it was. She'd been through enough to harden anyone. It was none of her choosing; all she'd done was clung on to her life like a spar from a shipwreck. 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