--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I saw what a mess everything was in…" description: "\"When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was deserting. If everyone of any value leaves Fr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/henri-matisse-1641_english_when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in_45052.jpg" --- # When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my… ![“When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was deserting. If everyone of any value leaves France, what will remain of France?” quote by Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/henri-matisse-1641_english_when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in_45052.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/henri-matisse-1641_english_when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in_45052.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/henri-matisse-1641_english_when-i-saw-what-a-mess-everything-was-in_45052.jpg) > “When I saw what a mess everything was in I asked for my money back on the ticket. I would have felt I was deserting. If everyone of any value leaves France, what will remain of France?” [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments the chaotic state of society and fears abandoning it would be a betrayal, questioning the future of a nation if its valuable citizens depart. **In simple terms:** Concern over societal decay and national decline Key Takeaway Loss of talent threatens cultural identity Themes societal decay national identity brain drain cultural preservation civic responsibility Mood melancholy defiant reflective Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political unrest - economic crisis - mass emigration - cultural upheaval Key Concepts desertion value of individuals national future Practical Applications - policy to retain talent - public discourse on national identity Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do individuals have to their country? - How can a nation retain its valuable citizens? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/france/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [We are a great nation, which has lot to offer to the world, but to offer something to the world France has to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-are-a-great-nation-which-has-lot-to-offer-to-the-world-but-to/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [If I had to spend money on a ticket, it would be a Champions League final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-insigne/if-i-had-to-spend-money-on-a-ticket-it-would-be-a-champions-league/) [Lorenzo Insigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenzo-insigne/) > [I'm getting very old and my bones ache. My sins are deserting me, and if I could only have my time over again I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-m-getting-very-old-and-my-bones-ache-my-sins-are-deserting-me-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Where are you my heart is searching but my mind is deserting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-johnson/where-are-you-my-heart-is-searching-but-my-mind-is-deserting/) [Natalya Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-johnson/) > [We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/we-cannot-defend-freedom-abroad-by-deserting-it-at-home/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [Wives invariably flourish when deserted; ... it is the deserting male, the reckless idealist rushing about the world seeking a non-existent felicity, who often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/wives-invariably-flourish-when-deserted-it-is-the-deserting-male-the/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [I was not a good father in my first marriage. Although there are ways of deserting the family without leaving physically, I was deserted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachy-mccourt/i-was-not-a-good-father-in-my-first-marriage-although-there-are-ways/) [Malachy McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachy-mccourt/) > [When our vices desert us, we flatter ourselves that we are deserting our vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/when-our-vices-desert-us-we-flatter-ourselves-that-we-are-deserting/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [In France that is the one rule, never make trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mitford/in-france-that-is-the-one-rule-never-make-trouble/) [Nancy Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mitford/) > [France is a fantastic country. It's between the Anglo-Saxon and Latin cultures. We have some of the Anglo-Saxon rigor, and some of the Latin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xavier-niel/france-is-a-fantastic-country-it-s-between-the-anglo-saxon-and-latin/) [Xavier Niel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xavier-niel/) > [France is the only nation in which astoundingly small numbers of civilized patrons reside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-courbet/france-is-the-only-nation-in-which-astoundingly-small-numbers-of/) [Gustave Courbet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-courbet/) > [France is great because she is France.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/france-is-great-because-she-is-france/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [France has long been regarded as the most adept at stealing trade secrets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/france-has-long-been-regarded-as-the-most-adept-at-stealing-trade/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) > [France cannot be France without greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-gaulle/france-cannot-be-france-without-greatness/) [Charles de Gaulle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-gaulle/) > [... France is the genius among nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/france-is-the-genius-among-nations/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) ## More by Henri Matisse > [The wall around the window does not create two worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-wall-around-the-window-does-not-create-two-worlds/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Arrival = Prison, and the artist must never be a prisoner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/arrival-prison-and-the-artist-must-never-be-a-prisoner/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [To arrive is to be in prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/to-arrive-is-to-be-in-prison/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [A painting in an interior spreads joy around it by the colors, which calm us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/a-painting-in-an-interior-spreads-joy-around-it-by-the-colors-which/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate Nature. It was given to us so that we can express our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/color-was-not-given-to-us-in-order-that-we-should-imitate-nature-it/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [If it is practiced by a man of taste, the photograph will have the appearance of art (but) the photographer must...intervene as little as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/if-it-is-practiced-by-a-man-of-taste-the-photograph-will-have-the/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I have always tried to hide my efforts and wished my works to have a light joyousness of springtime which never lets anyone suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-have-always-tried-to-hide-my-efforts-and-wished-my-works-to-have-a/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [The chief function of color should be to serve expression as well as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/the-chief-function-of-color-should-be-to-serve-expression-as-well-as/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [One gets into a state of creativity by conscious work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/one-gets-into-a-state-of-creativity-by-conscious-work/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [My pictures are made up of four or five colors that collide with one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/my-pictures-are-made-up-of-four-or-five-colors-that-collide-with-one/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [What I dream of is an art of balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/what-i-dream-of-is-an-art-of-balance/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [...I am driven on by an idea that I really only grasp as it grows with the picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/i-am-driven-on-by-an-idea-that-i-really-only-grasp-as-it-grows-with/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I don't paint things. 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Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [“evening, they began to think that although he could never hope to be an Englishman, still it would be hard to visit that affliction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/evening-they-began-to-think-that-although-he-could-never-hope-to-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not very good at standard English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nesbitt/i-m-not-very-good-at-standard-english/) [James Nesbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nesbitt/) > [While we like to think queueing is unique to British culture, the truth is that we are mere amateurs. 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I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. 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