--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In books there were people who were…" description: "\"“In books there were people who were always agreeable or tender, and delighted to do things that made one happy, and who did not show their kindness by..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/george-eliot-84_books_in-books-there-were-people-who-were-alwa_1730461.jpg" --- # In books there were people who were always agreeable or… ![“In books there were people who were always agreeable or tender, and delighted to do things that made one happy, and who did not show their kindness by finding fault. The world outside the books was not a happy one, Maggie felt: it seemed to be a world where people behaved the best to those they…” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/george-eliot-84_books_in-books-there-were-people-who-were-alwa_1730461.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/george-eliot-84_books_in-books-there-were-people-who-were-alwa_1730461.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/george-eliot-84_books_in-books-there-were-people-who-were-alwa_1730461.jpg) > ““In books there were people who were always agreeable or tender, and delighted to do things that made one happy, and who did not show their kindness by finding fault. The world outside the books was not a happy one, Maggie felt: it seemed to be a world where people behaved the best to those they did not pretend to love and that did not belong to them. And if life had no love in it, what else was there for Maggie? Nothing but poverty and the companionship of her mother’s narrow griefs—perhaps of her father’s heart-cutting childish dependence. There is no hopelessness so sad as that of early youth, when the soul is made up of wants, and has no long memories, no super-added life in the life of others; though we who look on think lightly of such premature despair, as if our vision of the future lightened the blind sufferer’s present.”” [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. The passage reflects a young woman's disillusionment with reality versus the idealized kindness found in books, highlighting early life's desperation and lack of lasting love. **In simple terms:** Maggie feels trapped between bookish hope and harsh reality, leading to despair. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between ideal and reality, seek authentic connections. Themes disillusionment youth despair hope reality Mood melancholic reflective hopeful Type literary philosophical emotional When to use this quote - young adult confronting adult world - reading for escape - family grief - search for love - navigating societal expectations Key Concepts existential longing social critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can one balance literary idealism with real-world relationships? - What steps help transform youthful yearning into mature purpose? A Different Perspective Idealized expectations may ignore practical complexities, causing deeper disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Finding fault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-fault/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) ## Related quotes > [“The world outside the books was not a happy one, Maggie felt; it seemed to be a world where people behaved the best to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-world-outside-the-books-was-not-a-happy-one-maggie-felt-it-seemed/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“At this moment (letting a breeze ripple through her fingers like warm water), Maggie felt that the entire business of time's passing was more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/at-this-moment-letting-a-breeze-ripple-through-her-fingers-like-warm/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“He reached over and pulled her to him, and she didn't stiffen but relaxed in the hug as his arms encircled her small waist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-valencia-singh/he-reached-over-and-pulled-her-to-him-and-she-didn-t-stiffen-but/) [Sonia Valencia Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-valencia-singh/) > [“I love the name Maggie, he went on, and she glanced up at him suspiciously-nobody loved the name Maggie-but his face was serious. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-cassedy/i-love-the-name-maggie-he-went-on-and-she-glanced-up-at-him/) Sylvia Cassedy > [“I love you, Maggie May Young. Always and forever.” And then my mouth touched hers and I felt my future begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-meredith-walters/i-love-you-maggie-may-young-always-and-forever-and-then-my-mouth/) [A. Meredith Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-meredith-walters/) > [I have this horrible weakness. I fall in love with my characters. 'Suspect' started as a one-shot, but I just love Maggie so much,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crais/i-have-this-horrible-weakness-i-fall-in-love-with-my-characters/) [Robert Crais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crais/) > [“They were very bitter tears: everybody in the world seemed so hard and unkind to Maggie: there was no indulgence, no fondness, such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/they-were-very-bitter-tears-everybody-in-the-world-seemed-so-hard-and/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [If you enjoy books with happy endings than you are better off reading some other book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-enjoy-books-with-happy-endings-than-you-are-better-off-reading/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [School was a source of great suffering to me, but once I learned to read, I disappeared into books, where I was a happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/school-was-a-source-of-great-suffering-to-me-but-once-i-learned-to/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [“There are books for when you're bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you're calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o-translated-from-the-spanish-by-natasha-wimmer/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books-2/) Roberto Bolaño translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer > [Changing the world is good for those who want their names in books. But being happy, that is for those who write their names…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/changing-the-world-is-good-for-those-who-want-their-names-in-books/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Eat Ice Cream. Read Books. Be Happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/eat-ice-cream-read-books-be-happy/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [“Learning became her. She loved the smell of the books, the shelves, the type on the pages, the sense that the world was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-goolrick/learning-became-her-she-loved-the-smell-of-the-books-the-shelves-the/) [Robert Goolrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-goolrick/) > [I used to feel defensive when people would say, 'Yes, but your books have happy endings', as if that made them worthless, or unrealistic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-used-to-feel-defensive-when-people-would-say-yes-but-your-books/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## 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 Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In books there were people who were always agreeable or tender, and delighted to do things that made one happy, and who did not show their kindness by finding fault. The world outside the books was not a happy one, Maggie felt: it seemed to be a world where people behaved the best to those they did not pretend to love and that did not belong to them. And if life had no love in it, what else was there for Maggie? Nothing but poverty and the companionship of her mother’s narrow griefs—perhaps of her father’s heart-cutting childish dependence. There is no hopelessness so sad as that of early youth, when the soul is made up of wants, and has no long memories, no super-added life in the life of others; though we who look on think lightly of such premature despair, as if our vision of the future lightened the blind sufferer’s present.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Eliot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-books-there-were-people-who-were-always-agreeable-or-tender-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-books-there-were-people-who-were-always-agreeable-or-tender-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/george-eliot-84_books_in-books-there-were-people-who-were-alwa_1730461.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/george-eliot-84_books_in-books-there-were-people-who-were-alwa_1730461.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/629/george-eliot-84_books_in-books-there-were-people-who-were-alwa_1730461.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In books there were people who were always agreeable or tender, and delighted to do things that made one…” — 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": "“In books there were people who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-books-there-were-people-who-were-always-agreeable-or-tender-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/in-books-there-were-people-who-were-always-agreeable-or-tender-and/#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 } } ] } ```