--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: compliments were like a beverage she was…" description: "\"“compliments were like a beverage she was unconsciously smart enough to deny herself even one drop of, because her thirst for them was infinite.”\" — Jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/jonathan-franzen-801_thirst_compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was_2594502.jpg" --- # compliments were like a beverage she was unconsciously… ![“compliments were like a beverage she was unconsciously smart enough to deny herself even one drop of, because her thirst for them was infinite.” quote by Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/jonathan-franzen-801_thirst_compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was_2594502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/jonathan-franzen-801_thirst_compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was_2594502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/jonathan-franzen-801_thirst_compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was_2594502.jpg) > ““compliments were like a beverage she was unconsciously smart enough to deny herself even one drop of, because her thirst for them was infinite.”” [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character refuses compliments, denying herself satisfaction despite an endless desire, illustrating self‑sabotage and the tension between desire and self‑control. **In simple terms:** She denies herself compliments despite craving them. Key Takeaway Balance desire with self‑acceptance. Themes psychology self‑esteem desire Mood introspective thoughtful Type psychological literary When to use this quote - personal development - therapy - relationship dynamics Key Concepts self‑sabotage validation inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - Why do we reject praise? - How can we accept compliments gracefully? A Different Perspective May overlook healthy self‑esteem. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beverage Unconsciously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beverage-unconsciously-1890530/) [Drop Thirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drop-thirst-1890531/) [Like Beverage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-beverage-1890532/) [Thirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirst/) [Thirst Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirst-infinite-1890529/) ## Related quotes > [A thirst for the infinite is indelibly present in human beings. Man was created to have a relationship with God; we need him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/a-thirst-for-the-infinite-is-indelibly-present-in-human-beings-man/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [The thirst for the Infinite proves infinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-thirst-for-the-infinite-proves-infinity/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“After some hours, the dogs, exhausted by running round, almost dead, their tongues hanging out, set upon one another and, not knowing what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/comte-de-lautr-amont/after-some-hours-the-dogs-exhausted-by-running-round-almost-dead/) [Comte de Lautréamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comte-de-lautr-amont/) > [“It wasn't just my beast's hunger, but Jean-Claude's blood thirst and Richard's craving for flesh. It was all that and the ardeur running through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/it-wasn-t-just-my-beast-s-hunger-but-jean-claude-s-blood-thirst-and/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“JORGEN KISSED HER like a man dying of thirst and she was the only source of water. He took her breath away. Odette was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-dickerson/jorgen-kissed-her-like-a-man-dying-of-thirst-and-she-was-the-only/) [Melanie Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-dickerson/) > [My heart pulls you to me, like an unruly child, unafraid of discipline. My brain; exhausted from trying to rationalize this desire, and chasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-heart-pulls-you-to-me-like-an-unruly-child-unafraid-of-discipline/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Suddenly the full long wail of a ship's horn surged through the open window and flooded the dim room - a cry of boundless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/suddenly-the-full-long-wail-of-a-ship-s-horn-surged-through-the-open/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [You will find a spring by the dwelling of the dead, to the left. Next to it stands a white cypress. Do not approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustaw-herling-grudzinski/you-will-find-a-spring-by-the-dwelling-of-the-dead-to-the-left-next/) [Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustaw-herling-grudzinski/) > [“I sit down by the river. Its incessant flow has polished the rocks carried from the top of the mountain. The aqueous caress, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-dubois/i-sit-down-by-the-river-its-incessant-flow-has-polished-the-rocks/) [Gabrielle Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-dubois/) > [If you thirst you may drink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-thirst-you-may-drink/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A spark of every fire we seek is already within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/a-spark-of-every-fire-we-seek-is-already-within-us/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/when-it-comes-to-having-a-central-nervous-system-and-the-ability-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [Lol, the thirst on SQ is serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maher/lol-the-thirst-on-sq-is-serious/) [Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maher/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“Kissing her is like drinking salted water, he thinks. His thirst only increases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/kissing-her-is-like-drinking-salted-water-he-thinks-his-thirst-only/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More by Jonathan Franzen > [“The fundamental fact about all of us is that we’re alive for a while but will die before long. This fact is the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-fundamental-fact-about-all-of-us-is-that-we-re-alive-for-a-while/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/fiction-that-isn-t-an-author-s-personal-adventure-into-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Parents are programmed to want the best for their kids, regardless of what they get in return. That's what love is supposed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/parents-are-programmed-to-want-the-best-for-their-kids-regardless-of/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Birds were what became of dinosaurs. Those mountains of flesh whose petrified bones were on display at the Museum of Natural History had done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/birds-were-what-became-of-dinosaurs-those-mountains-of-flesh-whose/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Can a better kind of fiction save the world? There’s always some tiny hope (strange things do happen), but the answer is almost certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/can-a-better-kind-of-fiction-save-the-world-there-s-always-some-tiny/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [A big part of me would be very proud never having anything of mine adapted, because if you want the real experience, there's only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/a-big-part-of-me-would-be-very-proud-never-having-anything-of-mine/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Seriously, the world is changing so quickly that if you had any more than 80 years of change I dont see how you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/seriously-the-world-is-changing-so-quickly-that-if-you-had-any-more/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“I'm saying the structure and f the entire culture is flawed, chip said. I'm saying the bureaucracy has arrogated the right to define certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/i-m-saying-the-structure-and-f-the-entire-culture-is-flawed-chip-said/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Integrity's a neutral value. Hyenas have integrity, too. They're pure hyena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/integrity-s-a-neutral-value-hyenas-have-integrity-too-they-re-pure/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“An odd thing about beauty, however, is that it's absence tends not to arouse our sympathy as much as other forms of privation do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/an-odd-thing-about-beauty-however-is-that-it-s-absence-tends-not-to/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [He became another data point in the American experiment of self-government, an experiment statistically skewed from the outset, because it wasn't the people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/he-became-another-data-point-in-the-american-experiment-of-self/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“It was this motley band of modest peeps and plovers on the beach who reminded me of the human beings I loved best -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/it-was-this-motley-band-of-modest-peeps-and-plovers-on-the-beach-who/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Alfred believed that the real and the true were a minority that the world was bent on exterminating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/alfred-believed-that-the-real-and-the-true-were-a-minority-that-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [“Imagine that human existence is defined by an Ache: the Ache of our not being, each of us, the center of the universe; of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/imagine-that-human-existence-is-defined-by-an-ache-the-ache-of-our/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [The problem was money and the indignities of life without it. Every stroller, cell phone, Yankees cap, and SUV he saw was a torment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/the-problem-was-money-and-the-indignities-of-life-without-it-every/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) [Explore all 345 Jonathan Franzen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) ## More Thirst quotes > [“Kissing her is like drinking salted water, he thinks. His thirst only increases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/kissing-her-is-like-drinking-salted-water-he-thinks-his-thirst-only/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Lol, the thirst on SQ is serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maher/lol-the-thirst-on-sq-is-serious/) [Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maher/) > [When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a rat is a pig is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/when-it-comes-to-having-a-central-nervous-system-and-the-ability-to/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [“A spark of every fire we seek is already within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/a-spark-of-every-fire-we-seek-is-already-within-us/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [If you thirst you may drink.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-thirst-you-may-drink/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I sit down by the river. Its incessant flow has polished the rocks carried from the top of the mountain. The aqueous caress, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-dubois/i-sit-down-by-the-river-its-incessant-flow-has-polished-the-rocks/) [Gabrielle Dubois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-dubois/) > [You will find a spring by the dwelling of the dead, to the left. Next to it stands a white cypress. Do not approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustaw-herling-grudzinski/you-will-find-a-spring-by-the-dwelling-of-the-dead-to-the-left-next/) [Gustaw Herling-Grudzinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustaw-herling-grudzinski/) > [Suddenly the full long wail of a ship's horn surged through the open window and flooded the dim room - a cry of boundless,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukio-mishima/suddenly-the-full-long-wail-of-a-ship-s-horn-surged-through-the-open/) [Yukio Mishima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukio-mishima/) > [My heart pulls you to me, like an unruly child, unafraid of discipline. My brain; exhausted from trying to rationalize this desire, and chasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-heart-pulls-you-to-me-like-an-unruly-child-unafraid-of-discipline/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“JORGEN KISSED HER like a man dying of thirst and she was the only source of water. He took her breath away. Odette was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-dickerson/jorgen-kissed-her-like-a-man-dying-of-thirst-and-she-was-the-only/) [Melanie Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-dickerson/) > [“It wasn't just my beast's hunger, but Jean-Claude's blood thirst and Richard's craving for flesh. It was all that and the ardeur running through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/it-wasn-t-just-my-beast-s-hunger-but-jean-claude-s-blood-thirst-and/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“you will never lack so much of the water of comfort that your thirst will be intolerable;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/you-will-never-lack-so-much-of-the-water-of-comfort-that-your-thirst/) [Teresa of Ávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [I had a thirst for knowledge. I was always curious about stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/i-had-a-thirst-for-knowledge-i-was-always-curious-about-stuff/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [If you don't die of thirst, there are blessings in the desert. You can be pulled into limitlessness, which we all yearn for, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/if-you-don-t-die-of-thirst-there-are-blessings-in-the-desert-you-can/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Browse all 839 Thirst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirst/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“compliments were like a beverage she was unconsciously smart enough to deny herself even one drop of, because her thirst for them was infinite.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Franzen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was-unconsciously-smart-enough/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Thirst" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was-unconsciously-smart-enough/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/jonathan-franzen-801_thirst_compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was_2594502.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/jonathan-franzen-801_thirst_compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was_2594502.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/jonathan-franzen-801_thirst_compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was_2594502.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“compliments were like a beverage she was unconsciously smart enough to deny herself even one drop of…” — Jonathan Franzen", "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": "Jonathan Franzen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“compliments were like a beverage she...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was-unconsciously-smart-enough/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/compliments-were-like-a-beverage-she-was-unconsciously-smart-enough/#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 } } ] } ```