--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I ought to tell you I'm probably your…" description: "\"I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.\" — Henry James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/henry-james-417_cousin_i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-co_24917.png" --- # I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin. ![“I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.” quote by Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/henry-james-417_cousin_i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-co_24917.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/henry-james-417_cousin_i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-co_24917.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/henry-james-417_cousin_i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-co_24917.png) > “I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.” [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A speaker hints at a familial link, suggesting a hidden or unexpected relationship that may affect trust or intimacy. **In simple terms:** Revealing a possible kinship. Key Takeaway Family ties can be concealed or revealed. Themes identity relationship trust secrecy family social dynamics Mood curious intimate playful Type observation confession When to use this quote - meeting a new acquaintance - confessing a secret - navigating a family gathering Key Concepts kinship communication intimacy Practical Applications - building rapport - explaining motives Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing a family connection change perception? - What risks arise from revealing hidden relationships? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cousin/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Ought Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought-tell-408682/) [Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably/) [Probably Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-cousin-408680/) [Tell Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-probably-408681/) [Your cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-cousin/) ## Related quotes > [I ought to tell you that I'm probably your cousin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-that-i-m-probably-your-cousin/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [He's just, your cousin, ay, abhorrently, He'd wash his hands in blood, to keep them clean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/he-s-just-your-cousin-ay-abhorrently-he-d-wash-his-hands-in-blood-to/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Sometimes family doesn't always consist of your relatives or by blood. Sometimes your best friends can feel more like family than your cousins. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/sometimes-family-doesn-t-always-consist-of-your-relatives-or-by-blood/) [Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/) > [A flower is your cousin...Sometimes a person has got to take a life, like a chicken's or a hog's when you need it...But nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/a-flower-is-your-cousin-sometimes-a-person-has-got-to-take-a-life/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Well, in Colombia everybody's very voluptuous, and you're supposed to be. You don't want to be skinny when all of your cousins are mermaids.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-vergara/well-in-colombia-everybody-s-very-voluptuous-and-you-re-supposed-to/) [Sofia Vergara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-vergara/) > [You said your cousin was a necromancer. You know how the natural necromancers operate?" They twisted the head off your favorite doll, stuffed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/you-said-your-cousin-was-a-necromancer-you-know-how-the-natural/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [And," added Mikey. "she's my sister." The others looked at him for a moment, and broke out laughing. "Yeah, yeah," Squirrel scoffed, "and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/and-added-mikey-she-s-my-sister-the-others-looked-at-him-for-a-moment/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [What do I look like, the ghost whisperer? They're loony. I'd have better luck talking to my cousin Alfonso's Chihuahua. At least Tía Juana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/what-do-i-look-like-the-ghost-whisperer-they-re-loony-i-d-have-better/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Your cousin might be a pretty face, but you, my darling, courageous, maddening, seductive, mysterious, wonderful Diana, you are the Duchess of Wakefield. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/your-cousin-might-be-a-pretty-face-but-you-my-darling-courageous/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [people see so many movies that when they finally see one not so bad as the others, they think it's great. an Academy Award…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/people-see-so-many-movies-that-when-they-finally-see-one-not-so-bad/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Sometimes funerals can be good. It reunites you with your cousins you haven't seen in a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-burtka/sometimes-funerals-can-be-good-it-reunites-you-with-your-cousins-you/) [David Burtka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-burtka/) > [Everybody I've ever met was destroyed by a member of the opposite sex early on and that damage you took into every relationship after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/everybody-i-ve-ever-met-was-destroyed-by-a-member-of-the-opposite-sex/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [“I try to tell myself he’s probably a teddy bear on the inside. But I’m pretty sure that’s not true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-young/i-try-to-tell-myself-he-s-probably-a-teddy-bear-on-the-inside-but-i-m/) [Suzanne Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-young/) > [Men only know if you tell them. Even though you probably want them to just know, they won't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-do-jin/men-only-know-if-you-tell-them-even-though-you-probably-want-them-to/) [Kim Do-Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-do-jin/) > [There are so many things about which some old man ought to tell one while one is little; for when one is grown one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/there-are-so-many-things-about-which-some-old-man-ought-to-tell-one/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by Henry James > [Though there are some disagreeable things in Venice there is nothing so disagreeable as the visitors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/though-there-are-some-disagreeable-things-in-venice-there-is-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“In literature we move through a blest world in which we know nothing except by style, but in which everything is saved by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/in-literature-we-move-through-a-blest-world-in-which-we-know-nothing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. I don't care for anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-shall-stay-here-as-long-as-i-may-i-don-t-want-to-think-i-needn-t/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“...It often seemed to her that she thought too much about herself, you could have made her blush any day of the year, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-often-seemed-to-her-that-she-thought-too-much-about-herself-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I reflected acutely that the sense of such differences, such superiorities of quality, always, on the part of the majority—which could include even stupid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-reflected-acutely-that-the-sense-of-such-differences-such/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had had a real fright but had fallen back to earth. The odd thing was that in her fall her fear too had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-had-a-real-fright-but-had-fallen-back-to-earth-the-odd-thing/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She had never met a woman who had less of that fault which is the principal obstacle to friendship - the air of reproducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-had-never-met-a-woman-who-had-less-of-that-fault-which-is-the/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [London is on the whole the most possible form of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/london-is-on-the-whole-the-most-possible-form-of-life/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [If you have work to do, don't wait to feel like it; set to work and you will feel like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/if-you-have-work-to-do-don-t-wait-to-feel-like-it-set-to-work-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“She answered that she liked standing up and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-answered-that-she-liked-standing-up-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [It is no wonder he wins every game. He has never done a thing in his life exept play games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-is-no-wonder-he-wins-every-game-he-has-never-done-a-thing-in-his/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“It was the air she wanted and the world she would now exclusively choose; the quiet chambers, nobly overwhelming, rich but slightly veiled, opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/it-was-the-air-she-wanted-and-the-world-she-would-now-exclusively/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [The time-honored bread-sauce of the happy ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-time-honored-bread-sauce-of-the-happy-ending/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [A swift carriage, of a dark night, rattling with four horses over roads that one can’t see--that’s my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/a-swift-carriage-of-a-dark-night-rattling-with-four-horses-over-roads/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) [Explore all 571 Henry James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## More Cousin quotes > [“Cousins are like celebrities for little kids.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/cousins-are-like-celebrities-for-little-kids/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/) [Eloise Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloise-greenfield/) > [Memoirs are going to be problematic sells for a while, though, because even if memoir means "based in memory," right now, in the collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-monroe/memoirs-are-going-to-be-problematic-sells-for-a-while-though-because/) [Debra Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-monroe/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [If astronomy teaches anything, it teaches that man is but a detail in the evolution of the universe, and the resemblant though diverse details…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-lowell/if-astronomy-teaches-anything-it-teaches-that-man-is-but-a-detail-in/) [Percival Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-lowell/) > [“The platonic love I feel for my cousin, made me write this diary ...” Leione”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pet-torres/the-platonic-love-i-feel-for-my-cousin-made-me-write-this-diary-leione/) [Pet Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pet-torres/) > [As long as I sit at Henry Clay's desk, I will remember his lifelong desire to forge agreement, but I will also keep close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/as-long-as-i-sit-at-henry-clay-s-desk-i-will-remember-his-lifelong/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [“I know you’re cousins but you’re like fourth cousins.  It’s not necessarily too icky.” ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-e-butler/i-know-you-re-cousins-but-you-re-like-fourth-cousins-it-s-not/) [R.E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-e-butler/) > [My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/my-dear-young-cousin-if-there-s-one-thing-i-ve-learned-over-the-eons/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Everybody I've ever met was destroyed by a member of the opposite sex early on and that damage you took into every relationship after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-titus/everybody-i-ve-ever-met-was-destroyed-by-a-member-of-the-opposite-sex/) [Christopher Titus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-titus/) > [I was fifteen, or sixteen. I was in high school. I was spending a summer in California with my second cousins. And I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-was-fifteen-or-sixteen-i-was-in-high-school-i-was-spending-a-summer/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [“We agree that it is too late to think of visiting Cousin Ellen today – in fact if we do not hurry home we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-stevenson/we-agree-that-it-is-too-late-to-think-of-visiting-cousin-ellen-today/) [D.E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-stevenson/) > [I feel like science and art are cousins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mckinnon/i-feel-like-science-and-art-are-cousins/) [Kate McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mckinnon/) > [Mother, sister, daughter, wife, cousins - they are a part of your everyday life. You interact with them, communicate, altercate and that they would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-bhatt/mother-sister-daughter-wife-cousins-they-are-a-part-of-your-everyday/) [Vikram Bhatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-bhatt/) > [Swallow my kids Go And kiss they cousins, guess they kissin cousin, toya's kissin muffin, worse than that go home and kiss they cousin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camron/swallow-my-kids-go-and-kiss-they-cousins-guess-they-kissin-cousin/) [Camron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camron/) [Browse all 805 Cousin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cousin/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cousin" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/henry-james-417_cousin_i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-co_24917.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/henry-james-417_cousin_i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-co_24917.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/905/henry-james-417_cousin_i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-co_24917.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I ought to tell you I'm probably your cousin.” — Henry James", "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": "Henry James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I ought to tell you I'm...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-ought-to-tell-you-i-m-probably-your-cousin/#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 } } ] } ```