--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is as evil as we are positive...the…" description: "\"“It is as evil as we are positive...the more desperately we try to be good and wonderful and perfect, the more the Shadow develops a definite will to b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/haruki-murakami-21_quote_it-is-as-evil-as-we-are-positive-the-mor_1811904.jpg" --- # It is as evil as we are positive...the more desperately we… ![“It is as evil as we are positive...the more desperately we try to be good and wonderful and perfect, the more the Shadow develops a definite will to be black and evil and destructive... The fact is that if one tries beyond one's capacity to be perfect, the Shadow descends to hell and becomes the…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/haruki-murakami-21_quote_it-is-as-evil-as-we-are-positive-the-mor_1811904.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/haruki-murakami-21_quote_it-is-as-evil-as-we-are-positive-the-mor_1811904.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/535/haruki-murakami-21_quote_it-is-as-evil-as-we-are-positive-the-mor_1811904.jpg) > ““It is as evil as we are positive...the more desperately we try to be good and wonderful and perfect, the more the Shadow develops a definite will to be black and evil and destructive... The fact is that if one tries beyond one's capacity to be perfect, the Shadow descends to hell and becomes the devil.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Striving for impossible perfection fuels a darker inner force, leading to self‑destruction. **In simple terms:** Perfectionism creates a destructive shadow self. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfection to avoid inner darkness. Themes psychology philosophy perfectionism shadow evil Mood introspective cautionary Type literary psychological When to use this quote - creative work - personal relationships - mental health care Key Concepts Jungian shadow self‑acceptance human limits Questions to Reflect On - What does “shadow” represent for you? - How can you balance striving with self‑acceptance? A Different Perspective May ignore healthy ambition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-evil-1547294/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-destructive-1547293/) [Evil Positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-positive-1823802/) [Hell Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-devil-387235/) ## Related quotes > [“The more desperately we try to be good and wonderful and perfect, the more the Shadow develops a definite will to be black and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-more-desperately-we-try-to-be-good-and-wonderful-and-perfect-the/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Since evil is nothing positive, there can be no principle of evil. It has no meaning expect in reference to something good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/since-evil-is-nothing-positive-there-can-be-no-principle-of-evil-it/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“black evil is outlined clearest to our eyes by the blaze of virtue”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/black-evil-is-outlined-clearest-to-our-eyes-by-the-blaze-of-virtue/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [“It was technological and black and thin and therefore Evil, but... it was also a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fielding/it-was-technological-and-black-and-thin-and-therefore-evil-but-it-was/) [Helen Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fielding/) > [“It is astounding to find that the belly of every black and evil thing is white as snow. And it is saddening to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/it-is-astounding-to-find-that-the-belly-of-every-black-and-evil-thing/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Money doesn't spend in hell… The devil deals in a different coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/money-doesn-t-spend-in-hell-the-devil-deals-in-a-different-coin/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [The devil tryna rip out my soul. Lost my soul. I'll see you in hell. I see the devil linger on, stuck in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-cudi/the-devil-tryna-rip-out-my-soul-lost-my-soul-i-ll-see-you-in-hell-i/) [Kid Cudi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-cudi/) > [“Look, the Devil has asked me. We’re very old acquaintances, he and I, and I couldn’t turn him down. 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Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-carey/) > [In hell, the Devil is God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/in-hell-the-devil-is-god/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [The people on the edge of Hell were most afraid of the devil; for those already in hell the devil was only another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-greenberg/the-people-on-the-edge-of-hell-were-most-afraid-of-the-devil-for/) [Joanne Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-greenberg/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. 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To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. 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