--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He is not, he hopes, a sentimentalist. He…" description: "\"“He is not, he hopes, a sentimentalist. He tries not to sentimentalize the animals he kills, or to sentimentalize Bev Shaw. He avoids saying to her 'I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c80/j-m-coetzee-2457_humility_he-is-not-he-hopes-a-sentimentalist-he-t_562539.png" --- # He is not, he hopes, a sentimentalist. He tries not to… ![“He is not, he hopes, a sentimentalist. He tries not to sentimentalize the animals he kills, or to sentimentalize Bev Shaw. He avoids saying to her 'I don't know how you do it,' in order not to have to hear her say in return, 'Someone has to do it.” quote by J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c80/j-m-coetzee-2457_humility_he-is-not-he-hopes-a-sentimentalist-he-t_562539.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c80/j-m-coetzee-2457_humility_he-is-not-he-hopes-a-sentimentalist-he-t_562539.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c80/j-m-coetzee-2457_humility_he-is-not-he-hopes-a-sentimentalist-he-t_562539.png) > ““He is not, he hopes, a sentimentalist. He tries not to sentimentalize the animals he kills, or to sentimentalize Bev Shaw. He avoids saying to her 'I don't know how you do it,' in order not to have to hear her say in return, 'Someone has to do it.”” [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He resists emotional attachment to his violent acts and to others, fearing the pain of empathy. **In simple terms:** Avoids feeling empathy to protect himself. Key Takeaway Recognize when avoidance blocks compassion. Themes emotional avoidance violence empathy Mood somber introspective Type literary ethical When to use this quote - war zones - hunting - medical ethics - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology morality humanism Questions to Reflect On - Why do we distance ourselves from painful truths? - Can controlled empathy coexist with necessary detachment? A Different Perspective Avoidance can lead to emotional numbness and moral disengagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hopes Sentimentalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopes-sentimentalist-4661005/) [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Retribution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retribution/) [Sentimentalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentalist-436713/) [Sentimentalist Tries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentalist-tries-4661004/) [Sentimentalize Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimentalize-animals-4661006/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Tries Sentimentalize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tries-sentimentalize-4661007/) ## Related quotes > [The sentimentalist ages far more quickly than the person who loves his work and enjoys new challenges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillie-langtry/the-sentimentalist-ages-far-more-quickly-than-the-person-who-loves/) [Lillie Langtry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillie-langtry/) > [“I have spent most of my life trying to figure out what goes on inside your mind,” he said. “First I thought you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/i-have-spent-most-of-my-life-trying-to-figure-out-what-goes-on-inside/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [A sentimentalist is one who delights to have high and devout emotions stirred whilst reading in an arm-chair, or in a prayer meeting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/a-sentimentalist-is-one-who-delights-to-have-high-and-devout-emotions/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The Sentimentalist, roughly speaking, is the man who wants to eat his cake and have it. He has no sense of honor about ideas;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-sentimentalist-roughly-speaking-is-the-man-who-wants-to-eat-his/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I don't ever want to be a sentimentalist. I prefer to be a realist. I'm not a romantic really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-earl-jones/i-don-t-ever-want-to-be-a-sentimentalist-i-prefer-to-be-a-realist-i-m/) [James Earl Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-earl-jones/) > [Nature is no sentimentalist, - does not cosset or pamper us. We must see that the world is rough and surly, and will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-is-no-sentimentalist-does-not-cosset-or-pamper-us-we-must-see/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“We must distinguish between ‘sentimental’ and ‘sensitive’. A sentimentalist may be a perfect brute in his free time. A sensitive person is never a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-must-distinguish-between-sentimental-and-sensitive-a/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“The cynic is goodhearted beneath his facade, whereas the sentimentalist is flint-hearted beneath his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/the-cynic-is-goodhearted-beneath-his-facade-whereas-the/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [“Very often, those who express concern about (or even interest in) the conditions in which farmed animals are raised are disregarded as sentimentalists. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-safran-foer/very-often-those-who-express-concern-about-or-even-interest-in-the/) [Jonathon Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-safran-foer/) > [“This is the inevitable fate of the sentimentalist. All his opinions change into their opposites at the first brush of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/this-is-the-inevitable-fate-of-the-sentimentalist-all-his-opinions/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [One tires of a page of which every sentence sparkles with points, of a sentimentalist who is always pumping the tears from his eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/one-tires-of-a-page-of-which-every-sentence-sparkles-with-points-of-a/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“Sentimentalist” is the abuse with which people counter the accusation that they are cruel, thereby implying that to be sentimental is worse than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/sentimentalist-is-the-abuse-with-which-people-counter-the-accusation/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [I love being sentimental and remembering things. I literally am a sentimentalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-centineo/i-love-being-sentimental-and-remembering-things-i-literally-am-a/) [Noah Centineo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-centineo/) > [“You see in such a world as this, an idealist -or perhaps it's only a sentimentalist-must be stoned to death. He makes the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/you-see-in-such-a-world-as-this-an-idealist-or-perhaps-it-s-only-a/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [Cynic' is the sentimentalist's name for the realist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-heilbrun/cynic-is-the-sentimentalist-s-name-for-the-realist/) [Carolyn Heilbrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-heilbrun/) ## More by J.M. Coetzee > [“I urge you: don't cut short these thought-trains of yours. Follow them through to their end. Your thoughts and your feelings. Follow them through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-urge-you-don-t-cut-short-these-thought-trains-of-yours-follow-them/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I truly believe I am not afraid of death. What I shrink from, I believe, is the shame of dying as stupid and befuddled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-truly-believe-i-am-not-afraid-of-death-what-i-shrink-from-i-believe/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Technically he is old enough to be her father; but then, technically one can be a father at twelve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/technically-he-is-old-enough-to-be-her-father-but-then-technically/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“I remember asking John, after Dusklands, what new project he had on the go. His answer was vague. 'There is always something or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/i-remember-asking-john-after-dusklands-what-new-project-he-had-on-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“The truth is, he tired of criticism, tired of prose measured by the yard." --Disgrace”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/the-truth-is-he-tired-of-criticism-tired-of-prose-measured-by-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Since I was in flight from religion, I assumed that my classmates had to be in flight from religion too, albeit in a quieter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/since-i-was-in-flight-from-religion-i-assumed-that-my-classmates-had/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Lucy was frightened, frightened near to death. Her voice choked, she could not breath, her limbs went numb. "This is not happening", she said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/lucy-was-frightened-frightened-near-to-death-her-voice-choked-she/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“It occurs to me that we crush insects beneath our feet, miracles of creation too, beetles, worms, cockroaches, ants, in their various ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/it-occurs-to-me-that-we-crush-insects-beneath-our-feet-miracles-of/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“He sits with the pen in his hand, holding himself back from a descent into representations that have no place in the world, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-sits-with-the-pen-in-his-hand-holding-himself-back-from-a-descent/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“Do you remember Vlek, who was such a good sheepdog that she and Jakob alone could drive a whole flock past you at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/do-you-remember-vlek-who-was-such-a-good-sheepdog-that-she-and-jakob/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“We are accustomed to believe that our world was created by God speaking the Word; but I ask, may it not rather be that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/we-are-accustomed-to-believe-that-our-world-was-created-by-god/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“...from the oppression of such freedom who would not welcome the liberation of confinement?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/from-the-oppression-of-such-freedom-who-would-not-welcome-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“If he has a last thought, if there is time for a last thought, it will simply be, So this is what a last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/if-he-has-a-last-thought-if-there-is-time-for-a-last-thought-it-will/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“At what age , he wonders, did Origen castrate himself? Not the most graceful solution, but then ageing is not a graceful bussines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/at-what-age-he-wonders-did-origen-castrate-himself-not-the-most/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) > [“...he seems to be on the brink of one of his bad spells again, one of the fits of lugubrious self-pity that turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee/he-seems-to-be-on-the-brink-of-one-of-his-bad-spells-again-one-of-the/) [J.M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) [Explore all 122 J.M. Coetzee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee/) ## More Humility quotes > [You just have to stay humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/you-just-have-to-stay-humble/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/it-s-a-great-lesson-in-modesty-that-you-realize-you-re-illiterate-in/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [The more holy, the more humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-more-holy-the-more-humble/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But, like all indulgences that are valued not just for their product but for their process, the sento will never entirely disappear. For in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/but-like-all-indulgences-that-are-valued-not-just-for-their-product/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“Humility and Trustworthiness are not rooted only in Presentation, Voice modulation or Nice Jorgan but in Actions and Intentions that speak louder than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venkat-gandhi/humility-and-trustworthiness-are-not-rooted-only-in-presentation/) [Venkat Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venkat-gandhi/) > [I think being vulnerable paves the way for humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sadowski/i-think-being-vulnerable-paves-the-way-for-humility/) [Jonathan Sadowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sadowski/) > [I need to look like an idiot at least twice a day to keep myself humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-need-to-look-like-an-idiot-at-least-twice-a-day-to-keep-myself/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“I am waiting for the meek to be blessed and inherit the earth... without taxes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-am-waiting-for-the-meek-to-be-blessed-and-inherit-the-earth-without/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [Rukmini Devi was an icon for all the Bharat Natyam students at Kalakshetra. I grew up watching her at dance school and I associate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/rukmini-devi-was-an-icon-for-all-the-bharat-natyam-students-at/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/oh-where-is-the-noble-face-of-modesty-or-the-strength-of-virtue-now/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Modesty is the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/modesty-is-the-gentle-art-of-enhancing-your-charm-by-pretending-not/) [Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. I'll take that over a goddess any day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/to-be-part-of-the-creation-i-must-act-humbly-i-ll-take-that-over-a/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) [Browse all 4,759 Humility quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He is not, he hopes, a sentimentalist. He tries not to sentimentalize the animals he kills, or to sentimentalize Bev Shaw. He avoids saying to her 'I don't know how you do it,' in order not to have to hear her say in return, 'Someone has to do it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.M. 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