Acquaintances Quote by George Eliot
““As for other acquaintances – there is a chill air surrounding those who are down in the world and people are glad to get away from them, as from a cold room: human beings, mere men and women, without furniture, without anything to offer you, who have ceased to count as anybody, present an embarrassing negation of reasons for wishing to see them, or of subjects on which to converse with them. At that distant day, there was a dreary isolation in the civilised Christian society of these realms for families that had dropped below their original level, unless they belonged to a sectarian church, which gets some warmth of brotherhood by walling in the sacred fire.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1871
A critique of social isolation among the lower classes, likening them to a cold, empty room lacking warmth or purpose.
In simple terms: People on the margins feel isolated and unwanted.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and reach out to those who feel excluded.
Themes
social class
isolation
human dignity
Mood
empathetic
concerned
Type
social
ethical
When to use this quote
- community outreach
- social work
- policy making
- personal empathy
Key Concepts
Marginalization
social critique
Questions to Reflect On
- How can society create inclusive spaces?
- What responsibilities do we have toward the marginalized?
A Different Perspective
May overgeneralize experiences of the poor.
![“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range of music, and will not vibrate in the least under a touch that fills others with tremulous rapture or quivering agony.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9be/george-eliot-84_agony_w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves_12409.jpg)
