--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't see how a man is to be good for…" description: "\"I don't see how a man is to be good for much unless he has some one woman to love him dearly.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_be-good_i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for_3132288.png" --- # I don't see how a man is to be good for much unless he has… ![“I don't see how a man is to be good for much unless he has some one woman to love him dearly.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_be-good_i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for_3132288.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_be-good_i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for_3132288.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_be-good_i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for_3132288.png) > “I don't see how a man is to be good for much unless he has some one woman to love him dearly.” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love provides moral purpose; without it, life feels meaningless. **In simple terms:** Love gives meaning. Key Takeaway Seek deep, caring relationships. Themes love purpose morality Mood hopeful empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - loneliness - marriage - parenthood Key Concepts human connection existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What relationships give your life purpose? - How can you nurture love responsibly? A Different Perspective Love alone cannot solve all problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Be good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-good/) [Good Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-unless-599058/) [Love Dearly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-dearly-453605/) [Man Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-good/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [One woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-woman/) [Unless Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unless-woman-1148161/) [Woman love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-love/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [love is in the eyes, and one woman knows when another woman is in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/love-is-in-the-eyes-and-one-woman-knows-when-another-woman-is-in-love/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [Unless a woman has a decided pleasure and facility in teaching, an honest knowledge of everything she professes to impart, a liking for children,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/unless-a-woman-has-a-decided-pleasure-and-facility-in-teaching-an/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [No man is a man unless to his woman he is a pioneer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/no-man-is-a-man-unless-to-his-woman-he-is-a-pioneer/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [There is nothing more aggravating than a man who won't talk back - unless it is a woman who won't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-more-aggravating-than-a-man-who-won-t-talk-back/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never try to outsmart a woman, unless you are another woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lyon-phelps/never-try-to-outsmart-a-woman-unless-you-are-another-woman/) [William Lyon Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lyon-phelps/) > [A man can not reach greatness, unless the woman herself leads him. 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I love him so much and so dearly, that when I sometimes think my life may be but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/and-yet-i-love-him-i-love-him-so-much-and-so-dearly-that-when-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [May we know You more clearly, love You more dearly, and follow You more nearly, day by day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-of-chichester/may-we-know-you-more-clearly-love-you-more-dearly-and-follow-you-more/) [Richard of Chichester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-of-chichester/) > [I have three godkids that are just so gorgeous; I love them dearly, and they keep me going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-have-three-godkids-that-are-just-so-gorgeous-i-love-them-dearly-and/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [I've learned that their are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-ve-learned-that-their-are-people-who-love-you-dearly-but-just-don-t/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Mother,” Hyacinth said with a great show of solicitude, “you know I love you dearly—” “Why is it,” Violet pondered, “that I have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/mother-hyacinth-said-with-a-great-show-of-solicitude-you-know-i-love/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [When you're too close to people, when you spend too much time with them and love them too dearly, sometimes you can't see them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/when-you-re-too-close-to-people-when-you-spend-too-much-time-with/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [Life's a mystery at times. Love dearly from the heart all those that love you and love more those that hate you. Each and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-s-a-mystery-at-times-love-dearly-from-the-heart-all-those-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Sane people did what their neighbours did, so that if any lunatics were at large, one might know and avoid them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/sane-people-did-what-their-neighbours-did-so-that-if-any-lunatics/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [even those who call themselves 'intimate' know very little about each other - hardly ever know just how a sorrow is felt, and hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/even-those-who-call-themselves-intimate-know-very-little-about-each/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Explore all 1,492 George Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## More Be good quotes > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Peace is the result of love, and if love were easy we'd all be good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-mccarthy/peace-is-the-result-of-love-and-if-love-were-easy-we-d-all-be-good-at/) [Colman McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-mccarthy/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Most of us want to live in harmony and peace and be good to others. Right now, however, the world is in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hany-abu-assad/most-of-us-want-to-live-in-harmony-and-peace-and-be-good-to-others/) [Hany Abu-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hany-abu-assad/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/the-producers-felt-that-24-would-be-good-for-the-audience-to-really/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [There's such cultural rot taking place, such a disintegration throughout our culture. Values, morality, you name it. Standards have been relaxed, and people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-s-such-cultural-rot-taking-place-such-a-disintegration/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The difference in being good at some thing and being great at something is usually found in the little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-anderson/the-difference-in-being-good-at-some-thing-and-being-great-at/) [Randy Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-anderson/) > [It doesn't matter if your lead character is good or bad. 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Why do you suppose His world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/living-in-the-middle-of-beauty-like-this-we-ve-no-call-to-have-puny/) [Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/) [Browse all 1,747 Be good quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-good/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't see how a man is to be good for much unless he has some one woman to love him dearly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for-much-unless-he-has-some-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be good" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for-much-unless-he-has-some-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_be-good_i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for_3132288.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_be-good_i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for_3132288.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/436/george-eliot-84_be-good_i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for_3132288.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't see how a man is to be good for much unless he has some one woman to love him dearly.” — George Eliot", "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": "George Eliot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't see how a man...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for-much-unless-he-has-some-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-don-t-see-how-a-man-is-to-be-good-for-much-unless-he-has-some-one/#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 } } ] } ```