--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She would have to be a saint because that…" description: "\"“She would have to be a saint because that was the occupation that included everything you could know; and yet she knew she would never be a saint… but..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-tha_2513763.png" --- # She would have to be a saint because that was the… ![“She would have to be a saint because that was the occupation that included everything you could know; and yet she knew she would 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/290/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-tha_2513763.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-tha_2513763.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-tha_2513763.png) > ““She would have to be a saint because that was the occupation that included everything you could know; and yet she knew she would 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. A saint is an impossible ideal; the character prefers martyrdom as a more attainable, dramatic role. **In simple terms:** Saints are unattainable; martyrdom seems possible. Key Takeaway Accept realistic limits. Themes faith idealism identity Mood melancholic intense Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - social expectation - moral dilemmas Key Concepts theology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What sacrifices are you willing to make? - Is martyrdom truly noble? A Different Perspective Idealism can ignore practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knew Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knew-saint-1182793/) [Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyr/) [Martyr Killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyr-killed-1182792/) [Martyrdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrdom/) [Saint Occupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint-occupation-1182795/) [Sainthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sainthood/) [Thought Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-martyr-1182794/) ## Related quotes > [She could never be a saint, but she thought she could be a martyr if they killed her quick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-could-never-be-a-saint-but-she-thought-she-could-be-a-martyr-if/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He folded back the hem of her housedress. Peeled the wet underpants from her skin and moved them down over her pale knees and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/he-folded-back-the-hem-of-her-housedress-peeled-the-wet-underpants-2/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“He folded back the hem of her housedress. Peeled the wet underpants from her skin and moved them down over her pale knees and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/he-folded-back-the-hem-of-her-housedress-peeled-the-wet-underpants/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [“She appeared to adore Thomas's repugnance to her and to draw it out of him every chance she got as if it added delectably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-appeared-to-adore-thomas-s-repugnance-to-her-and-to-draw-it-out/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Sainthood emerges when you can listen to someone's tale of woe and not respond with a description of your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mason/sainthood-emerges-when-you-can-listen-to-someone-s-tale-of-woe-and/) [Andrew Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mason/) > [We are such spendthrifts with our lives, the trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/we-are-such-spendthrifts-with-our-lives-the-trick-of-living-is-to/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [Public opinion aside, it will be up to the future pope to continue John Paul II's journey to sainthood. Many of the late pope's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-matthews/public-opinion-aside-it-will-be-up-to-the-future-pope-to-continue/) [Chris Matthews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-matthews/) > [Victimhood, in the intersectional way of seeing the world, is akin to sainthood; power and privilege are profane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bari-weiss/victimhood-in-the-intersectional-way-of-seeing-the-world-is-akin-to/) [Bari Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bari-weiss/) > [The main motive for nonattachment is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-main-motive-for-nonattachment-is-a-desire-to-escape-from-the-pain/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Laughter's the nearest we ever get, or should get, to sainthood. It's the state of grace that saves most of us from contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-osborne/laughter-s-the-nearest-we-ever-get-or-should-get-to-sainthood-it-s/) [John Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-osborne/) > [“Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is possible that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/many-people-genuinely-do-not-wish-to-be-saints-and-it-is-possible/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [There are few things more disturbing than to find, in somebody we detest, a moral quality which seems to us demonstrably superior to anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-hansford-johnson/there-are-few-things-more-disturbing-than-to-find-in-somebody-we/) [Pamela Hansford Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-hansford-johnson/) > [“I want to draw you a floorplan of my head and heart. I want to give directions, helpful hints. What you'll be looking for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-quin/i-want-to-draw-you-a-floorplan-of-my-head-and-heart-i-want-to-give/) [Sara Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-quin/) > [“The Lord preserve us from sainthood”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/the-lord-preserve-us-from-sainthood/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-and-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) ## 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 would have to be a saint because that was the occupation that included everything you could know; and yet she knew she would 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-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-that-was-the-occupation-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Martyr" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-that-was-the-occupation-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-tha_2513763.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-tha_2513763.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/flannery-o-connor-639_martyr_she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-tha_2513763.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She would have to be a saint because that was the occupation that included everything you could know; and…” — 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 would have to be a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-that-was-the-occupation-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-would-have-to-be-a-saint-because-that-was-the-occupation-that/#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 } } ] } ```