--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some young man has wronged you, hasn't…" description: "\"“Some young man has wronged you, hasn't he?' From a person who renounced on principle the possibility of transcendental morality, she thought, it was a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_some-young-man-has-wronged-you-hasn-t-he_327315.jpg" --- # Some young man has wronged you, hasn't he?' From a person… ![“Some young man has wronged you, hasn't he?' From a person who renounced on principle the possibility of transcendental morality, she thought, it was an interesting choice of words. 'None of them's stuck around long enough to wrong me, Bruno.' He waved a hand dismissively. 'Romance is a fiction…” quote by Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_some-young-man-has-wronged-you-hasn-t-he_327315.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_some-young-man-has-wronged-you-hasn-t-he_327315.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd7/garth-risk-hallberg-7516_city-on-fire_some-young-man-has-wronged-you-hasn-t-he_327315.jpg) > ““Some young man has wronged you, hasn't he?' From a person who renounced on principle the possibility of transcendental morality, she thought, it was an interesting choice of words. 'None of them's stuck around long enough to wrong me, Bruno.' He waved a hand dismissively. 'Romance is a fiction anyway. A myth to sell greeting cards.' Still, he seemed ready, given a name and address, to go challenge the malefactor, like some feudal-era father defending his daughter's chastity. This was all in the eyes, of course. The rest of the face stayed perfectly composed.”” [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character dismisses romance as a commercial myth while confronting personal betrayal, highlighting cynicism and emotional restraint. **In simple terms:** Romance is seen as a myth; betrayal is faced with detached humor. Key Takeaway Recognize when cynicism masks deeper feelings. Themes cynicism betrayal romance identity humor Mood wry reflective detached Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationship conflict - self‑reflection - defending honor - public perception - inner composure Key Concepts existentialism social critique personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - Do you use humor to deflect pain? - How does cynicism affect intimacy? A Different Perspective The passage may romanticize detachment, overlooking genuine emotional processing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [City-on-fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-on-fire/) [Duel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duel/) [Garth-risk-hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garth-risk-hallberg/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) ## Related quotes > [“Most morality, thought Mma Ramotswe, was about doing the right thing because it had been identified as such by a long process of acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/most-morality-thought-mma-ramotswe-was-about-doing-the-right-thing/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [“Helmut thought himself above common morality. 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Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [War is nothing but a duel on a larger scale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/war-is-nothing-but-a-duel-on-a-larger-scale/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Marriage is a duel to the death which no man of honour should decline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/marriage-is-a-duel-to-the-death-which-no-man-of-honour-should-decline/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What do you want, MacGuffin, a duel?” “No.” Julian held out both hands, one palm flat, the other held over it in a fist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abigail-roux/what-do-you-want-macguffin-a-duel-no-julian-held-out-both-hands-one/) [Abigail Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abigail-roux/) > [I'm not going to accept your challenge. There will be no duel." "Why not? Because I'm a woman?" "No, because I've seen the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/i-m-not-going-to-accept-your-challenge-there-will-be-no-duel-why-not/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [“Today I have come for a duel. Let's see which is greater - your depth or the depth of my sorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-shirsat/today-i-have-come-for-a-duel-let-s-see-which-is-greater-your-depth-or/) Akshay Shirsat > [Even a bad shot is dignified when he accepts a duel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-a-bad-shot-is-dignified-when-he-accepts-a-duel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I formed, in early life, two purposes to which I have inflexibly adhered, under some very strong pressure from warm personal friends. 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Now they were fighting for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-kushner/the-time-of-testing-and-of-playing-was-over-this-was-the-final-duel/) [Ellen Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-kushner/) ## More by Garth Risk Hallberg > [“Despite which, Charlie seems doomed to stumble around in the dark, clutching pieces of a puzzle he still can't see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/despite-which-charlie-seems-doomed-to-stumble-around-in-the-dark/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“He’d wanted it to be about losing, about the things we’re born into loving and then lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/he-d-wanted-it-to-be-about-losing-about-the-things-we-re-born-into/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Though what could anyone really say these days with one hundred percent certainty?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/though-what-could-anyone-really-say-these-days-with-one-hundred/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Detonations crash in from nearby like walls she's a void at the center of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/detonations-crash-in-from-nearby-like-walls-she-s-a-void-at-the/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Because if every moment of a life is present in every other, so is every old self you've ever tried to outrun. 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Sharpens the mind's eye. Makes the color of a remembered pencil, or a tick of waxy red on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/darkness-just-loosens-the-mask-sharpens-the-mind-s-eye-makes-the/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Daddy just repeated the word, internship . As an alibi, it was a thing of beauty: its overtones of responsibility, of upward aspiration, were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/daddy-just-repeated-the-word-internship-as-an-alibi-it-was-a-thing-of/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“For a moment, he thought he sensed, beneath the visible world, some blind infrastructure connecting the two of them, or the three of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/for-a-moment-he-thought-he-sensed-beneath-the-visible-world-some/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“No one, in the end, made it out of this life alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/no-one-in-the-end-made-it-out-of-this-life-alive/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) [Explore all 90 Garth Risk Hallberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) ## More City-on-fire quotes > [“Despite which, Charlie seems doomed to stumble around in the dark, clutching pieces of a puzzle he still can't see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/despite-which-charlie-seems-doomed-to-stumble-around-in-the-dark/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Though what could anyone really say these days with one hundred percent certainty?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/though-what-could-anyone-really-say-these-days-with-one-hundred/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Detonations crash in from nearby like walls she's a void at the center of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/detonations-crash-in-from-nearby-like-walls-she-s-a-void-at-the/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Because if every moment of a life is present in every other, so is every old self you've ever tried to outrun. And then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/because-if-every-moment-of-a-life-is-present-in-every-other-so-is/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Between the whiskers scraggling down his neck and the now-crooked glasses, he could have been the Black Allen Ginsberg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/between-the-whiskers-scraggling-down-his-neck-and-the-now-crooked/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“But no, what interested him, psychologically speaking, was the sense of continuity itself, the mind's insistence that this was the same Regan he'd known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/but-no-what-interested-him-psychologically-speaking-was-the-sense-of/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“He lights a cigarette off a candle. These death-tubes, these little crutches or fuses: useful for getting through all sorts of things you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/he-lights-a-cigarette-off-a-candle-these-death-tubes-these-little/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Truly unconditional love was suffocating, in that it took so little notice of who you actually were.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/truly-unconditional-love-was-suffocating-in-that-it-took-so-little/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“And so she remained, like everything that mattered to me then, secret—to be pursued in the woods by moonlight, when I was supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/and-so-she-remained-like-everything-that-mattered-to-me-then-secret/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Now, though, there was a second part, an artifact of his recent illness, as if his melancholy had, in a universe adjacent to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/now-though-there-was-a-second-part-an-artifact-of-his-recent-illness/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [“Darkness just loosens the mask. 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Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/he-s-moving-with-such-purpose-that-william-is-scared-he-might-just/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) [Browse all 86 City-on-fire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/city-on-fire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Some young man has wronged you, hasn't he?' From a person who renounced on principle the possibility of transcendental morality, she thought, it was an interesting choice of words. 'None of them's stuck around long enough to wrong me, Bruno.' He waved a hand dismissively. 'Romance is a fiction anyway. A myth to sell greeting cards.' Still, he seemed ready, given a name and address, to go challenge the malefactor, like some feudal-era father defending his daughter's chastity. This was all in the eyes, of course. 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