--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have an instinctual distrust of…" description: "\"I have an instinctual distrust of conventional happy endings.\" — George R. R. Martin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/george-r-r-martin-2-926_conventional_i-have-an-instinctual-distrust-of-conven_291569.jpg" --- # I have an instinctual distrust of conventional happy… ![“I have an instinctual distrust of conventional happy endings.” quote by George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/george-r-r-martin-2-926_conventional_i-have-an-instinctual-distrust-of-conven_291569.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/george-r-r-martin-2-926_conventional_i-have-an-instinctual-distrust-of-conven_291569.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48c/george-r-r-martin-2-926_conventional_i-have-an-instinctual-distrust-of-conven_291569.jpg) > “I have an instinctual distrust of conventional happy endings.” [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skepticism toward tidy conclusions; complexity and ambiguity enrich narratives. **In simple terms:** Happy endings can feel unrealistic. Key Takeaway Embrace nuanced, unresolved story arcs. Themes narrative complexity realism Mood thoughtful critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - film scripts - personal life decisions Key Concepts storytelling expectation resolution Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer certainty or mystery? - How does ambiguity affect your emotional response? A Different Perspective Some audiences crave closure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distrust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distrust/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-ending/) [Happy endings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-endings/) ## Related quotes > [Why be formal when you can be fabulously feral? Why be conventional when you can be happy?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-doonan/why-be-formal-when-you-can-be-fabulously-feral-why-be-conventional/) [Simon Doonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-doonan/) > [My father was in real estate, banking, and land management. As family life, it was very conventional, happy, and comfortable. We weren't wealthy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/my-father-was-in-real-estate-banking-and-land-management-as-family/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Best not to look back. Best to believe there will be happily ever afters all the way around - and so there may be;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/best-not-to-look-back-best-to-believe-there-will-be-happily-ever/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Happy endings were never handed out. You had to fight for them, earn them with bruised hearts and sacrifices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/happy-endings-were-never-handed-out-you-had-to-fight-for-them-earn/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Not only are there no happy endings,' she told him, 'there aren't even any endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/not-only-are-there-no-happy-endings-she-told-him-there-aren-t-even/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“How do you get the happy ending? John Irving ought to know. One of my favorite authors, Irving writes these multigenerational epics of fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-jay/how-do-you-get-the-happy-ending-john-irving-ought-to-know-one-of-my/) [Meg Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-jay/) > [What really counts are good endings, not flawed beginnings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-taymiyyah/what-really-counts-are-good-endings-not-flawed-beginnings/) [Ibn Taymiyyah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-taymiyyah/) > [“Happy endings aren't just for fairy tales and massage parlors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-gloss/happy-endings-aren-t-just-for-fairy-tales-and-massage-parlors/) [Susan Gloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-gloss/) > [Go for the happy endings, because life doesn't have any sequels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/go-for-the-happy-endings-because-life-doesn-t-have-any-sequels/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [I'm in the game of realism so happy endings probably feel a little bit too neat for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-armstrong/i-m-in-the-game-of-realism-so-happy-endings-probably-feel-a-little/) [Jesse Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-armstrong/) > [My family doesn't do happy endings. We do sad endings or frustrating endings or no endings at all. We are hardwired to expect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-solo/my-family-doesn-t-do-happy-endings-we-do-sad-endings-or-frustrating/) [Hope Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-solo/) > [“I won, goddammit. I beat Kollberg. I beat you. I got everything I goddamn wanted: fame, wealth, power. Shit, I even got the girl."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-stover/i-won-goddammit-i-beat-kollberg-i-beat-you-i-got-everything-i-goddamn/) [Matthew Stover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-stover/) > [I don't believe in happy endings. Children have got to face death sooner or later. Granny and Grandpa die, dogs die, cats die, gerbils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-briggs/i-don-t-believe-in-happy-endings-children-have-got-to-face-death/) Raymond Briggs > [Happy endings come in different packages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-f-wright/happy-endings-come-in-different-packages/) [Jason F. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-f-wright/) > [There are no such things as happy endings. Never. They're totally manufactured by fiction writers who choose to end the story on a high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-david/there-are-no-such-things-as-happy-endings-never-they-re-totally/) [Peter David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-david/) ## More by George R. R. Martin > [Tolkien can say that Aragorn became king and reigned for a hundred years, and he was wise and good. But Tolkien doesn’t ask the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/tolkien-can-say-that-aragorn-became-king-and-reigned-for-a-hundred/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [ The best writing advice I had was \[in\] ‘Heinlein’s Rules for Writers’ by (American science fiction author) Robert A. Heinlein. 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Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [That little touch is not in the books, but I wish it had been in the books because it was a great addition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/that-little-touch-is-not-in-the-books-but-i-wish-it-had-been-in-the/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I always felt like Gandalf should have stayed dead. That was such an incredible sequence in Fellowship of the Ring when he faces the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-always-felt-like-gandalf-should-have-stayed-dead-that-was-such-an/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [“The title was but a courtesy due him as a council member; Varys was lord of nothing but the spiderweb, the master of none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/the-title-was-but-a-courtesy-due-him-as-a-council-member-varys-was/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [The girl had hoped for fog, but the gods ignored her prayers as gods so often did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/the-girl-had-hoped-for-fog-but-the-gods-ignored-her-prayers-as-gods/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Over the years, more than one reviewer has described my fantasy series, 'A Song of Ice and Fire', as historical fiction about history that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/over-the-years-more-than-one-reviewer-has-described-my-fantasy-series/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [“Jaime had decided that he would return Sansa, and the younger girl as well if she could be found. It was not like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/jaime-had-decided-that-he-would-return-sansa-and-the-younger-girl-as/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [If the day comes when you would find me again, give that coin to any man from Braavos, and say these words to him--valar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/if-the-day-comes-when-you-would-find-me-again-give-that-coin-to-any/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Believe it or not, I worked four summers in college as a sports writer covering baseball for a parks and rec department in Bayonne,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/believe-it-or-not-i-worked-four-summers-in-college-as-a-sports-writer/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I believe that women are many different types of people. There are brave women, there are cowardly women, there are altruistic women, there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-believe-that-women-are-many-different-types-of-people-there-are/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I know nothing and perhaps I never will,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-know-nothing-and-perhaps-i-never-will/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) [Explore all 322 George R. R. Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) ## More Conventional quotes > [Whether you are buying a car or casting a ballot, choosing a job or planning a family, follow your moral compass. 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It speaks up when the politically correct answer or the conventional wisdom doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-osborne/contrarian-thinking-at-its-best-simply-asks-is-this-really-true-it/) [Larry Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-osborne/) > [Because investors are not usually penalized for adhering to conventional practices, doing so is the less professionally risky strategy, even though it virtually guarantees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/because-investors-are-not-usually-penalized-for-adhering-to/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [My father was in real estate, banking, and land management. As family life, it was very conventional, happy, and comfortable. We weren't wealthy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/my-father-was-in-real-estate-banking-and-land-management-as-family/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I think you will learn to be natural with me, as I find it impossible to be conventional with you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-think-you-will-learn-to-be-natural-with-me-as-i-find-it-impossible/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [What's different now is that while political leaders used to give talking points to talk radio, now talk-radio hosts are giving talking points to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-avlon/what-s-different-now-is-that-while-political-leaders-used-to-give/) [John Avlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-avlon/) > [Some days, I think maybe we should try and be a little more conventional, but every time I try, I fail, so I'm learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seinabo-sey/some-days-i-think-maybe-we-should-try-and-be-a-little-more/) [Seinabo Sey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seinabo-sey/) > [The vision of extraordinary achievement is,by definition, a few steps beyond consensus and conventional logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-belsky/the-vision-of-extraordinary-achievement-is-by-definition-a-few-steps/) [Scott Belsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-belsky/) > [“Can you make me remember the conventional way?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-ellen-malpas/can-you-make-me-remember-the-conventional-way/) [Jodi Ellen Malpas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-ellen-malpas/) > [Nobody can live in society without conventions. 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