Antinatalism Quote by Gustave Flaubert
““He seriously thought that there is less harm in killing a man than producing a child: in the first case you are relieving someone of life, not his whole life but a half or a quarter or a hundredth part of that existence that is going to finish, that would finish without you; but as for the second, he would say, are you not responsible to him for all the tears he will shed, from the cradle to the grave? Without you he would never have been born, and why is he born? For your amusement, not for his, that’s for sure; to carry your name, the name of a fool, I’ll be bound – you may as well write that name on some wall; why do you need a man to bear the burden of three or four letters?””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Madame Bovary, 1856
The passage questions the moral weight of creating life versus ending it, highlighting responsibility for future suffering.
In simple terms: Creating life carries profound ethical duties.
Key Takeaway
Consider the consequences before bringing life into the world.
Themes
ethics
life
responsibility
existentialism
Mood
thought‑provoking
serious
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- family planning
- philosophical debate
- personal decision making
Key Concepts
Moral philosophy
procreation ethics
ontological burden
Questions to Reflect On
- What responsibilities do parents have to future children?
- How do societal pressures influence reproductive decisions?
A Different Perspective
The argument oversimplifies complex reproductive choices.
![“[...] he felt that he too was only a baby, with the chance to live without shame, without the need for consolation for a life lived wrong, a chance to be again innocent, simply and impossibly happy.” quote by Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/95d/jonathan-safran-foer-136_life_he-felt-that-he-too-was-only-a-baby-with_2476735.jpg)
