---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know I'm not a man with whom you can…"
description: "\"“You know I'm not a man with whom you can have inconsequential conversations. I cannot split myself into two, one your friend and the other the king's ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/hilary-mantel-440_communication_you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can_2407262.jpg"
---

#  You know I'm not a man with whom you can have…

![“You know I'm not a man with whom you can have inconsequential conversations. I cannot split myself into two, one your friend and the other the king's servant.” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/hilary-mantel-440_communication_you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can_2407262.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/hilary-mantel-440_communication_you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can_2407262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/hilary-mantel-440_communication_you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can_2407262.jpg)

> ““You know I'm not a man with whom you can have inconsequential conversations. I cannot split myself into two, one your friend and the other the king's servant.””

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

## 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 insists on being wholly present, refusing to divide loyalty between personal friendship and service to authority.

**In simple terms:** Cannot be two people at once.

Key Takeaway

Choose one role and own it.

Themes

loyalty identity power dynamics

Mood

serious reflective

Type

literary character study

When to use this quote

- political intrigue
- personal relationships
- court life

Key Concepts

personal integrity role conflict

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance personal bonds with professional duties?
- Can you ever truly separate roles?

A Different Perspective

May limit flexibility in complex social settings.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversations/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/)

## Related quotes

> [“How many men can say, as I must, 'I am a man whose only friend is the King of England'? I have everything, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/how-many-men-can-say-as-i-must-i-am-a-man-whose-only-friend-is-the/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [If you want to split a bottle with a friend, then Sammy Hagar is your guy. If you want to split your friend with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/if-you-want-to-split-a-bottle-with-a-friend-then-sammy-hagar-is-your/)

[David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/)

> [“When your friend becomes a king, treat him first as a king, then let him choose you as a friend. Acting otherwise is suicidal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tylor-ilori/when-your-friend-becomes-a-king-treat-him-first-as-a-king-then-let/)

Tylor Ilori

> [This changes nothing. It can't. You are my friend, my king,but that's… All you can be." He nodded, but it was a gesture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/this-changes-nothing-it-can-t-you-are-my-friend-my-king-but-that-s/)

[Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/)

> [“The Prophet was a true friend to the king. Our true friends are those who tell us the truth, even when we don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robby-charters/the-prophet-was-a-true-friend-to-the-king-our-true-friends-are-those/)

Robby Charters

> [Tyrion let the eunuch help him mount. "Lord Varys," he said from the saddle, "sometimes I feel as though you are the best friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tyrion-let-the-eunuch-help-him-mount-lord-varys-he-said-from-the/)

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

> [“Lord Varys,” he said from the saddle, “sometimes I feel as though you are the best friend I have in King’s Landing, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/lord-varys-he-said-from-the-saddle-sometimes-i-feel-as-though-you-are/)

[George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/)

> [Relationships this days are harder now because conversations become texting, arguments become phone calls and feelings becomes status updates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/insane-insomniac/relationships-this-days-are-harder-now-because-conversations-become/)

[Insane &amp; Insomniac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/insane-insomniac/)

> [We do become our conversations. We really will become our associations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/we-do-become-our-conversations-we-really-will-become-our-associations/)

[Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/)

> [“So this is my aim for watercooler conversations: improve the ability to identify and understand errors of judgment and choice, in others and eventually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/so-this-is-my-aim-for-watercooler-conversations-improve-the-ability/)

[Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/)

> [I rather have one great person to talk to every night than have several pointless conversations with temporary people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patience/i-rather-have-one-great-person-to-talk-to-every-night-than-have/)

Patience

> [“With nowhere to be and all day to have them, conversations out on the trail took on a whole new meaning and depth. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-rohrig/with-nowhere-to-be-and-all-day-to-have-them-conversations-out-on-the/)

[Kyle Rohrig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-rohrig/)

> [I normally don't initiate conversations with guys unless they want to talk about certain things - when I'm at the facility, I'm there to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kluwe/i-normally-don-t-initiate-conversations-with-guys-unless-they-want-to/)

[Chris Kluwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kluwe/)

> [I want the conversations I have with my homeboys to be brought to TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-clark/i-want-the-conversations-i-have-with-my-homeboys-to-be-brought-to-tv/)

[Ryan Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-clark/)

> [I miss our conversations, I miss how we used to talk every minute of everyday and how I was able to tell you everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-our-conversations-i-miss-how-we-used-to-talk-every-minute-of/)

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

## More by Hilary Mantel

> [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

[Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

Yoram Wind

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“You know I'm not a man with whom you can have inconsequential conversations. I cannot split myself into two, one your friend and the other the king's servant.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Hilary Mantel"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can-have-inconsequential/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can-have-inconsequential/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/hilary-mantel-440_communication_you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can_2407262.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/hilary-mantel-440_communication_you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can_2407262.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/hilary-mantel-440_communication_you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can_2407262.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“You know I'm not a man with whom you can have inconsequential conversations. I cannot split myself into two…” — Hilary Mantel",
                "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": "Hilary Mantel",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“You know I'm not a man...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can-have-inconsequential/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/you-know-i-m-not-a-man-with-whom-you-can-have-inconsequential/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
