--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no pleasing New Englanders, my…" description: "\"There is no pleasing New Englanders, my dear, their soil is all rocks and their hearts are bloodless absolutes.\" — John Updike" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/john-updike-396_absolutes_there-is-no-pleasing-new-englanders-my-d_3084862.png" --- # There is no pleasing New Englanders, my dear, their soil… ![“There is no pleasing New Englanders, my dear, their soil is all rocks and their hearts are bloodless absolutes.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/john-updike-396_absolutes_there-is-no-pleasing-new-englanders-my-d_3084862.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/john-updike-396_absolutes_there-is-no-pleasing-new-englanders-my-d_3084862.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/166/john-updike-396_absolutes_there-is-no-pleasing-new-englanders-my-d_3084862.png) > “There is no pleasing New Englanders, my dear, their soil is all rocks and their hearts are bloodless absolutes.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques New Englanders as rigid and emotionally detached. **In simple terms:** New Englanders seen as cold and unyielding. Key Takeaway Recognize regional stereotypes and their limits. Themes regional identity emotional rigidity stereotyping Mood analytical critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - travel - regional politics - interpersonal relations - community building Key Concepts cultural critique social observation Questions to Reflect On - Do you see nuance in regional cultures? - How does environment shape attitudes? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize an entire region. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolutes/) [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) ## Related quotes > [“By doing their best to destroy the Native people who had welcomed and sustained their forefathers, New Englanders had destroyed their forefathers’ way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/by-doing-their-best-to-destroy-the-native-people-who-had-welcomed-and/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [Never forget that it is we New Yorkers and New Englanders who have the monopoly of whatever oxygen there is in the American continent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/never-forget-that-it-is-we-new-yorkers-and-new-englanders-who-have/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) > [The New Englanders, by their canting, whining and insinuating tricks, have persuaded the rest of the colonies that the government is going to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-cresswell/the-new-englanders-by-their-canting-whining-and-insinuating-tricks/) Nicholas Cresswell > [“New Englanders began the Revolution not to institute reforms and changes in the order of things, but to save the institutions and customs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-pearson-pressey/new-englanders-began-the-revolution-not-to-institute-reforms-and/) [Edward Pearson Pressey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-pearson-pressey/) > [But there was also a little of that thing they say about New Englanders: Being from here doesn't prevent me from doing anything, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlton-fisk/but-there-was-also-a-little-of-that-thing-they-say-about-new/) [Carlton Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlton-fisk/) > [“The New-Englanders are a People of God settled in those, which were once the Devil's Territories; and it may easily be supposed that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cotton-mather/the-new-englanders-are-a-people-of-god-settled-in-those-which-were/) [Cotton Mather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cotton-mather/) > [“Salem and Portland were founded by New Englanders, the latter named by a native of Portland, Maine, after winning a coin toss with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-woodard/salem-and-portland-were-founded-by-new-englanders-the-latter-named-by/) [Colin Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-woodard/) > [I'm drawn to New England because that's where my roots are, and I miss it. 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