--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good and evil are a great deal more…" description: "\"“Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl.”\" — Erin Morgenstern" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/erin-morgenstern-806_evil_good-and-evil-are-a-great-deal-more-comp_2301188.png" --- # Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a… ![“Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl.” quote by Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/erin-morgenstern-806_evil_good-and-evil-are-a-great-deal-more-comp_2301188.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/erin-morgenstern-806_evil_good-and-evil-are-a-great-deal-more-comp_2301188.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c4/erin-morgenstern-806_evil_good-and-evil-are-a-great-deal-more-comp_2301188.png) > ““Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl.”” [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Moral narratives are often oversimplified; true good and evil intertwine in complex, unexpected ways. **In simple terms:** Good and evil are not simple opposites. Key Takeaway Recognize nuance in people and stories. Themes morality complexity storytelling Mood thoughtful curious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading fiction - analyzing myths - personal reflection Key Concepts ethical ambiguity character depth Questions to Reflect On - How do you see complexity in everyday conflicts? - Can you identify a 'villain' who also shows virtue? A Different Perspective Simplicity can miss deeper truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [Little girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-girl/) ## Related quotes > [Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon . . . is not the dragon the hero…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/good-and-evil-are-a-great-deal-more-complex-than-a-princess-and-a/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Stories have changed, my dear boy,” the man in the grey suit says, his voice almost imperceptibly sad. “There are no more battles between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/stories-have-changed-my-dear-boy-the-man-in-the-grey-suit-says-his/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“I admire Tolkien greatly. His books had enormous influence on me. And the trope that he sort of established—the idea of the Dark Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/i-admire-tolkien-greatly-his-books-had-enormous-influence-on-me-and/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/good-and-evil-are-a-great-deal-more-complex-than-a-princess-and-a-3/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [It is the law of our humanity that man must know good through evil. No great principle ever triumphed but through much evil. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/it-is-the-law-of-our-humanity-that-man-must-know-good-through-evil-no/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [I hold with Henry George, that at the back of every great social evil will be found a great political wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/i-hold-with-henry-george-that-at-the-back-of-every-great-social-evil/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [“Now, as Crowley would be the first to protest, most demons weren’t deep down evil. In the great cosmic game they felt they occupied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/now-as-crowley-would-be-the-first-to-protest-most-demons-weren-t-deep/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Aren't there gradations of evil? Is evil a great perilous gulf into which one falls with the first sin, plummeting to the depth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/aren-t-there-gradations-of-evil-is-evil-a-great-perilous-gulf-into/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [... good and evil are so interwoven in life that every good, traced up far enough, is found to involve evil. This is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/good-and-evil-are-so-interwoven-in-life-that-every-good-traced-up-far/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [No evil is great if it is the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-nepos/no-evil-is-great-if-it-is-the-last/) [Cornelius Nepos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-nepos/) > [Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil. Our great hope lies in developing what is good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/little-progress-can-be-made-by-merely-attempting-to-repress-what-is/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [God will not damn a lunatic's soul. He knows that the powers of evil are too great for those of us with weak minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-fort/god-will-not-damn-a-lunatic-s-soul-he-knows-that-the-powers-of-evil/) [Garrett Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-fort/) > [That evil can never be great which is the last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelius-nepos/that-evil-can-never-be-great-which-is-the-last/) [Cornelius Nepos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelius-nepos/) > [The forces that tend for evil are great and terrible, but the forces of truth and love and courage and honesty and generosity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-forces-that-tend-for-evil-are-great-and-terrible-but-the-forces/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Erin Morgenstern > [They are enthusiasts, devotees. Addicts. Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent. They seek each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/they-are-enthusiasts-devotees-addicts-something-about-the-circus/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“The Burgess sisters arrive together. Tara and Lainie do a little bit of everything. Sometimes dancers, sometimes actresses. Once they were librarians, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/the-burgess-sisters-arrive-together-tara-and-lainie-do-a-little-bit/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Bedtime stories Eventide Rhapsodies Anthologies of Memory Please enter cautiously and feel free to open what is closed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/bedtime-stories-eventide-rhapsodies-anthologies-of-memory-please/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“When all of this is over, no matter which one of us wins, I will not let you go so easily. Agreed?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/when-all-of-this-is-over-no-matter-which-one-of-us-wins-i-will-not/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Even the ground beneath his feet feels unsatisfying to his boots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/even-the-ground-beneath-his-feet-feels-unsatisfying-to-his-boots/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Why haven’t you asked me how I do my tricks?” Celia asks, once they have reached the point where she is certain he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/why-haven-t-you-asked-me-how-i-do-my-tricks-celia-asks-once-they-have/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [And there are really never endings, happy or otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/and-there-are-really-never-endings-happy-or-otherwise/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I binge write. I think it's because I started seriously writing by participating in National Novel Writing Month, an online-based challenge to write 50,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-binge-write-i-think-it-s-because-i-started-seriously-writing-by/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I have absurdly vivid dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-have-absurdly-vivid-dreams/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [I made a wish on this tree years ago," Marco says. "What did you wish for?" Bailey asks. Marco leans forward and whispers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/i-made-a-wish-on-this-tree-years-ago-marco-says-what-did-you-wish-for/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“He reads histories and mythologies and fairy tales, wondering why it seems that only girls are ever swept away from their mundane lives on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/he-reads-histories-and-mythologies-and-fairy-tales-wondering-why-it/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“Behind him, the sheep, left to their own devices, decide to wander through the open gate into the field beyond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/behind-him-the-sheep-left-to-their-own-devices-decide-to-wander/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Marco moves to close the distance between them, kissing away her tears before catching her lip with his own. As he kisses her, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/marco-moves-to-close-the-distance-between-them-kissing-away-her-tears/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [“«Importa más ser que parecer.»”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/importa-m-s-ser-que-parecer/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [And before he can tell her to tell Widget goodbye for him if need be, she leans forward and kisses him, not on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/and-before-he-can-tell-her-to-tell-widget-goodbye-for-him-if-need-be/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) [Explore all 339 Erin Morgenstern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. 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