--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She could never be a saint, but she…" description: "\"She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.\" — Flannery O'Connor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thoug_223739.png" --- # She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a… ![“She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thoug_223739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thoug_223739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thoug_223739.png) > “She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.” [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator sees martyrdom as an escape from suffering, yet acknowledges the impossibility of true saintliness. **In simple terms:** She believes suffering can be escaped through sacrifice. Key Takeaway Consider the cost of seeking martyrdom. Themes sacrifice identity despair Mood somber introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal loss - ethical dilemmas - religious crisis - social pressure Key Concepts Martyrdom existential angst Questions to Reflect On - Is martyrdom a healthy response to pain? - What alternatives exist to self‑destruction? A Different Perspective Romanticizing martyrdom can ignore personal responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Killed Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killed-quick-2279168/) [Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyr/) [Martyr Killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyr-killed-1182792/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) [Saint Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint-thought-2279169/) [Thought Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-martyr-1182794/) ## Related quotes > [“She would have to be a saint because that was the occupation that included everything you could know; and yet she knew she would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-that-was-the-occupation-that/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I'm trying to be kind, you know, for I admired your parents. Fine people, and your father was a fair-minded man to every faith.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/i-m-trying-to-be-kind-you-know-for-i-admired-your-parents-fine-people/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [ “I am killed them quick, but they are killing me slow. \[Jim Browner in 'The Adventure of the Cardboard Box'\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-arthur-conan-doyle/i-am-killed-them-quick-but-they-are-killing-me-slow-jim-browner-in/) [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-arthur-conan-doyle/) > [... we commemorate each of the saints with hymns and appropriate songs of praise, how much more should we celebrate the memory of Peter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-palamas/we-commemorate-each-of-the-saints-with-hymns-and-appropriate-songs-of/) [Gregory Palamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-palamas/) > [“Adolf Hitler was a Jeanne d'Arc, a saint. He was a martyr.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/adolf-hitler-was-a-jeanne-d-arc-a-saint-he-was-a-martyr/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [All of us have a secret desire to be seen as saints, heroes, martyrs. We are afraid to be children, to be ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/all-of-us-have-a-secret-desire-to-be-seen-as-saints-heroes-martyrs-we/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“The first that dies is a martyr, and dies for his religion; and of such it may more truly be said than of soldiers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/the-first-that-dies-is-a-martyr-and-dies-for-his-religion-and-of-such/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [Acquiring a repertoire in these days, when the vocal literature is so immense, so overwhelming, that the student with sense will devote all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-gluck/acquiring-a-repertoire-in-these-days-when-the-vocal-literature-is-so/) [Alma Gluck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-gluck/) > [It is not a process of bargaining or give-and-take. The peace process is not about giving concessions. We will not allow any step which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/it-is-not-a-process-of-bargaining-or-give-and-take-the-peace-process/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [What can my enemies do to me? My paradise is in my heart, it is with me wherever I go. To imprison me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/what-can-my-enemies-do-to-me-my-paradise-is-in-my-heart-it-is-with-me/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) > [Martyrdom has always been a proof of the intensity, never of the correctness of a belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schnitzler/martyrdom-has-always-been-a-proof-of-the-intensity-never-of-the/) [Arthur Schnitzler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schnitzler/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [The oppressed martyrs of our culture have shed blood that nourish the red tulips of our nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmud-tarzi/the-oppressed-martyrs-of-our-culture-have-shed-blood-that-nourish-the/) [Mahmud Tarzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmud-tarzi/) > [When Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, it was not the blood of a martyr; or the blood of one man for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/when-jesus-christ-shed-his-blood-on-the-cross-it-was-not-the-blood-of/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) ## More by Flannery O'Connor > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don’t know how to cure the source-itis except to tell you that I can discover a good many possible sources myself for Wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-know-how-to-cure-the-source-itis-except-to-tell-you-that-i/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He felt his hunger no longer as a pain but as a tide. He felt it rising in himself through time and darkness, rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/he-felt-his-hunger-no-longer-as-a-pain-but-as-a-tide-he-felt-it/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/where-you-come-from-is-gone-where-you-thought-you-were-going-to-never/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“There are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/there-are-all-kinds-of-truth-but-behind-all-of-them-there-is-only-one/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Mrs. May winced. She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/mrs-may-winced-she-thought-the-word-jesus-should-be-kept-inside-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in-terms-of-plot-character-and/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. Their father had gone to a one-room schoolhouse through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-had-observed-that-the-more-education-they-got-the-less-they-could/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [One of the awful things about writing when you are a Christian is that for you the ultimate reality is the Incarnation, the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/one-of-the-awful-things-about-writing-when-you-are-a-christian-is/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Hazel Motes sat at a forward angel on the green plush train seat, looking one minute at the window as if he might want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/hazel-motes-sat-at-a-forward-angel-on-the-green-plush-train-seat/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) [Explore all 432 Flannery O'Connor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## More Martyr quotes > [When Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, it was not the blood of a martyr; or the blood of one man for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/when-jesus-christ-shed-his-blood-on-the-cross-it-was-not-the-blood-of/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The oppressed martyrs of our culture have shed blood that nourish the red tulips of our nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmud-tarzi/the-oppressed-martyrs-of-our-culture-have-shed-blood-that-nourish-the/) [Mahmud Tarzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmud-tarzi/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Martyrdom has always been a proof of the intensity, never of the correctness of a belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schnitzler/martyrdom-has-always-been-a-proof-of-the-intensity-never-of-the/) [Arthur Schnitzler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schnitzler/) > [What can my enemies do to me? My paradise is in my heart, it is with me wherever I go. To imprison me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/what-can-my-enemies-do-to-me-my-paradise-is-in-my-heart-it-is-with-me/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) > [It is not a process of bargaining or give-and-take. The peace process is not about giving concessions. We will not allow any step which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/recep-tayyip-erdogan/it-is-not-a-process-of-bargaining-or-give-and-take-the-peace-process/) [Recep Tayyip Erdogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/recep-tayyip-erdogan/) > [Acquiring a repertoire in these days, when the vocal literature is so immense, so overwhelming, that the student with sense will devote all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alma-gluck/acquiring-a-repertoire-in-these-days-when-the-vocal-literature-is-so/) [Alma Gluck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alma-gluck/) > [“The first that dies is a martyr, and dies for his religion; and of such it may more truly be said than of soldiers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/the-first-that-dies-is-a-martyr-and-dies-for-his-religion-and-of-such/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [All of us have a secret desire to be seen as saints, heroes, martyrs. We are afraid to be children, to be ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/all-of-us-have-a-secret-desire-to-be-seen-as-saints-heroes-martyrs-we/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [Russian people, like their Chinese comrades, are well aware of what is going on. And there are tens of millions of their martyrs who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-vltchek/russian-people-like-their-chinese-comrades-are-well-aware-of-what-is/) [Andre Vltchek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-vltchek/) > [For me getting paid for art is a class issue. I don't have the luxury not to care. It's great if your parents buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-georges/for-me-getting-paid-for-art-is-a-class-issue-i-don-t-have-the-luxury/) [Nicole Georges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-georges/) > [I have been astonished that men could die martyrs for their religion - I have shudder'd at it. I shudder no more. I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/i-have-been-astonished-that-men-could-die-martyrs-for-their-religion/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [The king has been very good to me. He promoted me from a simple maid to be a marchioness. Then he raised me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-boleyn/the-king-has-been-very-good-to-me-he-promoted-me-from-a-simple-maid/) [Anne Boleyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-boleyn/) > [In the long, fierce struggle for freedom of opinion, the press, like the Church, counted its martyrs by thousands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/in-the-long-fierce-struggle-for-freedom-of-opinion-the-press-like-the/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) [Browse all 469 Martyr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyr/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Flannery O'Connor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thought-she-could-be-a-martyr-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Martyr" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thought-she-could-be-a-martyr-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thoug_223739.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thoug_223739.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thoug_223739.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.” — Flannery O'Connor", "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": "Flannery O'Connor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "She could never be a saint,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thought-she-could-be-a-martyr-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thought-she-could-be-a-martyr-if/#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 } } ] } ```