--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful but she…" description: "\"“THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful but she was ambitious and, sometimes, ambition can take you further than beauty. The women of the court never wondere..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/hope-barrett-52200_ambition_the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she_1470707.jpg" --- # THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful but she was ambitious… ![“THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful but she was ambitious and, sometimes, ambition can take you further than beauty. The women of the court never wondered how she got this far because as all women know, the rise to power is relatively simple ~ especially if it is a man who has control. ~ from the…” quote by Hope Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/hope-barrett-52200_ambition_the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she_1470707.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/hope-barrett-52200_ambition_the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she_1470707.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/hope-barrett-52200_ambition_the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she_1470707.jpg) > ““THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful but she was ambitious and, sometimes, ambition can take you further than beauty. The women of the court never wondered how she got this far because as all women know, the rise to power is relatively simple ~ especially if it is a man who has control. ~ from the Three Lives of Empress Lo. Forthcoming.”” [Hope Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambition can outweigh physical beauty in achieving power, especially when societal structures favor men. **In simple terms:** Ambition can surpass beauty for success. Key Takeaway Cultivate ambition and strategic alliances. Themes ambition gender dynamics power societal norms Mood determined critical inspirational Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - political campaigning - entrepreneurship - leadership development Key Concepts feminist theory social capital political strategy Questions to Reflect On - How can women leverage ambition in male‑dominated fields? - What strategies offset beauty bias? A Different Perspective Beauty still influences perception and opportunities; ambition alone may not overcome systemic bias. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Empress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empress/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) ## Related quotes > [Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It's not that Level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/level-5-leaders-channel-their-ego-needs-away-from-themselves-and-into/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [All political power, all power as such, is stupid. Don't rush after it, don't be ambitious, because all ambition collects dust and only dust.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/all-political-power-all-power-as-such-is-stupid-don-t-rush-after-it/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [ I'm told \[ Zulfikar Ali\] Bhutto is ambitious. I hope he's very ambitious; ambition may help him see reality. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-told-zulfikar-ali-bhutto-is-ambitious-i-hope-he-s-very-ambitious/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“Once upon a time there was an empress, trapped as a ghost in the ruins of a jewelled palace, cursed to find another soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-logan/once-upon-a-time-there-was-an-empress-trapped-as-a-ghost-in-the-ruins/) [Kirsty Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-logan/) > [For I love the empress of my soul. I love and I cannot but love. You yourself see the whole of me. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/for-i-love-the-empress-of-my-soul-i-love-and-i-cannot-but-love-you/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [The Empress has been connected with the ideas of universal fecundity and in a general sense with activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-waite/the-empress-has-been-connected-with-the-ideas-of-universal-fecundity/) [A. E. Waite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-waite/) > [“Images of being empress next to Mehmed haunted her when she closed her eyes. It was the worst part of everything, knowing that, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/images-of-being-empress-next-to-mehmed-haunted-her-when-she-closed/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“write to express not to empress ♥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mina-qarabaghi/write-to-express-not-to-empress/) Mina Qarabaghi > [Great calm, generous detachment, selfless love, disinterested effort: these are what make for success in life. If you can find peace in yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/great-calm-generous-detachment-selfless-love-disinterested-effort/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“I want to mean something to a great deal of people. I am tired of being no one. As Empress, I would have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-c-dao/i-want-to-mean-something-to-a-great-deal-of-people-i-am-tired-of/) [Julie C. Dao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-c-dao/) > [“the Empress said, her own breath coming in gasps, lips against her daughter’s cold forehead and soft hair—her hair at least was still the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/the-empress-said-her-own-breath-coming-in-gasps-lips-against-her/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [“Matthew, we need your help. What do we do?” “Look at my new kicks.” He raised one boot. “Finn said I’m ballin’ like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/matthew-we-need-your-help-what-do-we-do-look-at-my-new-kicks-he/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [“The Empress doesn't get collared, or caged, or tortured. How artfully she beckons, how perfectly she punishes…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/the-empress-doesn-t-get-collared-or-caged-or-tortured-how-artfully/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [“I'm not ready to fuck an empress just yet”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/i-m-not-ready-to-fuck-an-empress-just-yet/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [“I am a lady-in-waiting, and she is the princess. No, the empress. The empress of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ryan/i-am-a-lady-in-waiting-and-she-is-the-princess-no-the-empress-the/) [Sara Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ryan/) ## More by Hope Barrett > [“I AM the current curator of the black trunk and the stories it holds within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/i-am-the-current-curator-of-the-black-trunk-and-the-stories-it-holds/) [Hope Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/) > [“Once an opportunist like Mickey, who took the argument when she jumped on some devastated wretch's machine and jackpotted that it was the "cash-ino's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/once-an-opportunist-like-mickey-who-took-the-argument-when-she-jumped/) [Hope Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/) > [“Somebody’s going to be reading, right? Wrong. They’re FBing. “Doing a Number Two. Maybe I shouldn’t have had those chilli peppers. Hope y’all having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/somebody-s-going-to-be-reading-right-wrong-they-re-fbing-doing-a/) [Hope Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/) > [“For M & B. Should you ever get to read this, to remind you that when life offers you a challenge: rise to the occasion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/for-m-b-should-you-ever-get-to-read-this-to-remind-you-that-when-life/) [Hope Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/) > [“You know it's going to be one of those days when the cat uses the carpet as a bum wipe…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/you-know-it-s-going-to-be-one-of-those-days-when-the-cat-uses-the/) [Hope Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/) [Explore all 6 Hope Barrett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful but she was ambitious and, sometimes, ambition can take you further than beauty. The women of the court never wondered how she got this far because as all women know, the rise to power is relatively simple ~ especially if it is a man who has control. ~ from the Three Lives of Empress Lo. Forthcoming.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hope Barrett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she-was-ambitious-and-sometimes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she-was-ambitious-and-sometimes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/hope-barrett-52200_ambition_the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she_1470707.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/hope-barrett-52200_ambition_the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she_1470707.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffb/hope-barrett-52200_ambition_the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she_1470707.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful but she was ambitious and, sometimes, ambition can take you further than…” — Hope Barrett", "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": "Hope Barrett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-barrett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“THE EMPRESS LO was not beautiful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she-was-ambitious-and-sometimes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-barrett/the-empress-lo-was-not-beautiful-but-she-was-ambitious-and-sometimes/#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 } } ] } ```