---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People with courage and character always…"
description: "\"People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest. It was a scandal that a breed of fearless and sinister people ran around freely, so..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/hermann-hesse-130_character_people-with-courage-and-character-always_844700.png"
---

#  People with courage and character always seem sinister to…

![“People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest. It was a scandal that a breed of fearless and sinister people ran around freely, so they attached a nickname and a myth to these people to get even with them, to make up for the many times they had felt afraid.” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/hermann-hesse-130_character_people-with-courage-and-character-always_844700.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/hermann-hesse-130_character_people-with-courage-and-character-always_844700.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/hermann-hesse-130_character_people-with-courage-and-character-always_844700.png)

> “People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest. It was a scandal that a breed of fearless and sinister people ran around freely, so they attached a nickname and a myth to these people to get even with them, to make up for the many times they had felt afraid.”

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Courageous, morally complex individuals are often feared and mythologized by society.

**In simple terms:** Bold people appear threatening.

Key Takeaway

Recognize fear of the unknown.

Themes

courage character fear

Mood

reflective critical

Type

philosophical social

When to use this quote

- leadership
- social activism
- personal integrity
- group dynamics

Key Concepts

social perception mythmaking

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we label courageous people as sinister?
- How can we reframe fear of boldness?

A Different Perspective

Not all fear is irrational; context matters.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Demian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demian/) [Fearless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearless/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Nicknames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nicknames/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Scandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandal/)

## Related quotes

> [People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/people-with-courage-and-character-always-seem-sinister-to-the-rest/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Somewhere at the top of the pyramid in the invisible government are a few sinister people who know exactly what they are doing: They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-smoot/somewhere-at-the-top-of-the-pyramid-in-the-invisible-government-are-a/)

[Dan Smoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-smoot/)

> [The house, while sound in wind and limb, was described as being of 'no character.' We didn't think then that it had anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-fish/the-house-while-sound-in-wind-and-limb-was-described-as-being-of-no/)

[Margery Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-fish/)

> [Each man had only one genuine vocation to find the way to himself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/each-man-had-only-one-genuine-vocation-to-find-the-way-to-himself/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“All I wanted was to try and realize whatever was in me. Why was that so difficult?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/all-i-wanted-was-to-try-and-realize-whatever-was-in-me-why-was-that/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“She rose to her feet and preceded me into the garden twilight. Tall and queenly, the woman of mystery strolled among the silent trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/she-rose-to-her-feet-and-preceded-me-into-the-garden-twilight-tall/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“We who bore the mark might well be considered by the rest of the world as strange, even as insane and dangerous. We had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/we-who-bore-the-mark-might-well-be-considered-by-the-rest-of-the/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“But where we have given of our love and respect not from habit but of our own free will, where we have been children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/but-where-we-have-given-of-our-love-and-respect-not-from-habit-but-of/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/what-isn-t-part-of-ourselves-doesn-t-disturb-us/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Once you are able to make your request in such a way that you will be quite certain of its fulfillment, then the fulfillment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/once-you-are-able-to-make-your-request-in-such-a-way-that-you-will-be/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Every man's story is important, eternal and sacred. That is why every man, as long as he lives and fulfills the will of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/every-man-s-story-is-important-eternal-and-sacred-that-is-why-every/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“But whereas we, in our conception, represented the will of nature to renew itself, to individualize and march forward, the others lived in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/but-whereas-we-in-our-conception-represented-the-will-of-nature-to/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“ "The things we see," said Pistorius gently, "are the things which are already in us. There is no reality beyond what we have inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-things-we-see-said-pistorius-gently-are-the-things-which-are/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“Even as a child I had had at intervals a fondness for observing strange forms in nature, not so much examining them as surrendering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/even-as-a-child-i-had-had-at-intervals-a-fondness-for-observing/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“You are only afraid if you are not in harmony with yourself. People are afraid because they have never owned up to themselves. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/you-are-only-afraid-if-you-are-not-in-harmony-with-yourself-people/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

## More by Hermann Hesse

> [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

[Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

## More Character quotes

> [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/)

[Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/)

> [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/)

[Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/)

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/)

[Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/)

> [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/)

David Hudgins

> [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/)

[Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/)

> [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/)

[Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/)

> [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/)

[Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/)

> [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/)

[Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/)

> [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/)

[Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/)

> [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/)

[Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/)

[Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest. It was a scandal that a breed of fearless and sinister people ran around freely, so they attached a nickname and a myth to these people to get even with them, to make up for the many times they had felt afraid.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Hermann Hesse"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/people-with-courage-and-character-always-seem-sinister-to-the-rest-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Character"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/people-with-courage-and-character-always-seem-sinister-to-the-rest-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/hermann-hesse-130_character_people-with-courage-and-character-always_844700.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/hermann-hesse-130_character_people-with-courage-and-character-always_844700.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/hermann-hesse-130_character_people-with-courage-and-character-always_844700.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People with courage and character always seem sinister to the rest. It was a scandal that a breed of…” — Hermann Hesse",
                "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": "Hermann Hesse",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "People with courage and character always...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/people-with-courage-and-character-always-seem-sinister-to-the-rest-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/people-with-courage-and-character-always-seem-sinister-to-the-rest-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
