--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Very often history is a means of denying…" description: "\"Very often history is a means of denying the past.\" — Jeanette Winterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/jeanette-winterson-166_denying_very-often-history-is-a-means-of-denying_1538037.png" --- # Very often history is a means of denying the past. ![“Very often history is a means of denying the past.” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/jeanette-winterson-166_denying_very-often-history-is-a-means-of-denying_1538037.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/jeanette-winterson-166_denying_very-often-history-is-a-means-of-denying_1538037.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/jeanette-winterson-166_denying_very-often-history-is-a-means-of-denying_1538037.png) > “Very often history is a means of denying the past.” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History is often used to rewrite or ignore uncomfortable truths, shaping narratives that serve present agendas. **In simple terms:** History can deny the past. Key Takeaway Question narratives and seek truth. Themes memory truth politics revisionism Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - media - political discourse Key Concepts historical bias collective memory power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does history shape your identity? - What narratives need re‑examination? A Different Perspective Denial can perpetuate injustice and hinder healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Denying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denying/) [Denying Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/denying-past-1956966/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-means-359069/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Denying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-denying-5721510/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [To do this, you can bring in nothing from the past. So the more psychology you've studied, the harder it will be to empathize.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/to-do-this-you-can-bring-in-nothing-from-the-past-so-the-more/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [“If history is to be creative, to anticipate a possible future without denying the past, it should, I believe, emphasize new possibilities by disclosing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-history-is-to-be-creative-to-anticipate-a-possible-future-without/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [You can't kill the past by denying the past. You can kill it only by making it obsolete. And even in that, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/you-can-t-kill-the-past-by-denying-the-past-you-can-kill-it-only-by/) [Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/) > [The Carter family history means a lot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carter-cash/the-carter-family-history-means-a-lot-to-me/) [John Carter Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carter-cash/) > [When I look at American history and I look at what history means to me, I look at it as if it were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kadir-nelson/when-i-look-at-american-history-and-i-look-at-what-history-means-to/) [Kadir Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kadir-nelson/) > [Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face NOTHING new under the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ultimately-a-real-understanding-of-history-means-that-we-face-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Maybe what has to happen is that the individual must allow himself to be swept along, must find himself in the stream of no-choice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/maybe-what-has-to-happen-is-that-the-individual-must-allow-himself-to/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Understanding history means knowing what motivates you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/understanding-history-means-knowing-what-motivates-you/) [Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/) > [“so why study history? unlike physics and economics, history is not a means for making accurate predictions. 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We study history not to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/so-why-study-history-unlike-physics-or-economics-history-is-not-a-2/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [The facts are really not at all like fish on the fishmonger's slab. They are like fish swimming about in a vast and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hallett-carr/the-facts-are-really-not-at-all-like-fish-on-the-fishmonger-s-slab/) [Edward Hallett Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hallett-carr/) > [I've got the chance to make history, and that means such a lot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-cole/i-ve-got-the-chance-to-make-history-and-that-means-such-a-lot-to-me/) [Ashley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-cole/) > [“So why study history? Unlike physics or economics, history is not a means for making accurate predictions. We study history not to know the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/so-why-study-history-unlike-physics-or-economics-history-is-not-a/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. 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The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## More Denying quotes > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [That's good; don't deny it. 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I acknowledge that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-iglesias/i-m-not-selling-out-denying-who-i-am-or-where-i-ve-come-from-not-at/) [Gabriel Iglesias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-iglesias/) > [Patrons, don't berate bouncers for denying you entry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-evans/patrons-don-t-berate-bouncers-for-denying-you-entry/) [Sean Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-evans/) > [Obamacare is going to destroy the elderly by denying care, by even perhaps denying treatment to people who are in catastrophic circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-cruz/obamacare-is-going-to-destroy-the-elderly-by-denying-care-by-even/) [Rafael Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-cruz/) > [“The corporate government is completely okay with sending sickened people into extreme poverty for the rest of their lives by blatantly denying their genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-corporate-government-is-completely-okay-with-sending-sickened/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I am not questioning your honor, I am denying its existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-questioning-your-honor-i-am-denying-its-existence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Denying what you are didn't keep people from knowing what you are." 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