--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man could not be prevented from making…" description: "\"“A man could not be prevented from making himself a big wax doll, and kissing it. But if the man were to come with the doll and sit before a man in lov..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_authenticity_a-man-could-not-be-prevented-from-making_744722.jpg" --- # A man could not be prevented from making himself a big wax… ![“A man could not be prevented from making himself a big wax doll, and kissing it. But if the man were to come with the doll and sit before a man in love, and begin caressing his doll as the lover caressed the woman he loved, it would be distasteful to the lover. Just such a distasteful sensation…” quote by Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_authenticity_a-man-could-not-be-prevented-from-making_744722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_authenticity_a-man-could-not-be-prevented-from-making_744722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/leo-tolstoy-55_authenticity_a-man-could-not-be-prevented-from-making_744722.jpg) > ““A man could not be prevented from making himself a big wax doll, and kissing it. But if the man were to come with the doll and sit before a man in love, and begin caressing his doll as the lover caressed the woman he loved, it would be distasteful to the lover. Just such a distasteful sensation was what Mihailov felt at the sight of Vronsky’s painting: he felt it both ludicrous and irritating, both pitiable and offensive.”” [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator describes a character’s disgust at seeing a lover’s affection transferred to an object, highlighting the clash between genuine emotion and artificial imitation. **In simple terms:** Seeing love turned into a cheap imitation feels repulsive. Key Takeaway Recognize and value authentic emotional connections. Themes love authenticity disgust Mood disgusted contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - art criticism - personal reflection Key Concepts objectification emotional projection artificiality Questions to Reflect On - What does this reaction reveal about your own values? - How do we differentiate genuine love from mere performance? A Different Perspective The comparison may oversimplify complex feelings toward art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authenticity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authenticity/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Man In Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-in-love/) ## Related quotes > [“He knew that Vronsky could not be prevented from amusing himself with painting; he knew that he and all dilettanti had a perfect right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-that-vronsky-could-not-be-prevented-from-amusing-himself-with/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To a woman in love, loving too much is not loving enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zelda-fitzgerald/to-a-woman-in-love-loving-too-much-is-not-loving-enough/) [Zelda Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zelda-fitzgerald/) > [A man in love can do extraordinary things, I dont care if youre an angel, youre my angel, and I wont let you go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-in-love-can-do-extraordinary-things-i-dont-care-if-youre-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“An old man in love is like a flower in winter. ― Portuguese Proverb”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew/an-old-man-in-love-is-like-a-flower-in-winter-portuguese-proverb/) [Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew/) > [“Its strange how people say love and hate are opposites, when in truth they have so much in common. Both are the stronger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zehra-ali/its-strange-how-people-say-love-and-hate-are-opposites-when-in-truth/) Zehra Ali > [“She wrapped her arms around him. "If you take away my wealth and my name, I'm nothing more than an ordinary woman in love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jagears/she-wrapped-her-arms-around-him-if-you-take-away-my-wealth-and-my/) [Melissa Jagears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jagears/) > [“But it is easy to call a man in love a mad man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-connell/but-it-is-easy-to-call-a-man-in-love-a-mad-man/) Brendan Connell > [“It is already the fashion to diminish Eliot by calling him derivative, the mouthpiece of Pound, and so forth; and yet if one wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/it-is-already-the-fashion-to-diminish-eliot-by-calling-him-derivative/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [A man in love ... is the master, so it seems, but only if his lady friend permits it! The need to interchange the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/a-man-in-love-is-the-master-so-it-seems-but-only-if-his-lady-friend/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [“A woman in love with a man who only rejects her could just about be the most dangerous thing on the planet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-hockley/a-woman-in-love-with-a-man-who-only-rejects-her-could-just-about-be/) [Julie Hockley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-hockley/) > [“A woman in love, is what. In my experience, they got their own laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/a-woman-in-love-is-what-in-my-experience-they-got-their-own-laws/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The Romans, Jones pointed out, called a man in love salax, in a salted state, which is the origin of the word salacious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-romans-jones-pointed-out-called-a-man-in-love-salax-in-a-salted/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [It's hard to defeat a woman in love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destin-figuier/it-s-hard-to-defeat-a-woman-in-love/) Destin Figuier > [“Because it is useless, and I tell them so at once. If you had confessed your fears to me sooner, I would have reassured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/because-it-is-useless-and-i-tell-them-so-at-once-if-you-had-confessed/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [There is no man at once so unselfish and selfish as a man in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/there-is-no-man-at-once-so-unselfish-and-selfish-as-a-man-in-love/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) ## More by Leo Tolstoy > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The only significance of life consists in helping to establish the kingdom of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-only-significance-of-life-consists-in-helping-to-establish-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Energy rests upon love; and come as it will, there's no forcing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/energy-rests-upon-love-and-come-as-it-will-there-s-no-forcing-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“If you only knew what those society women are, and women in general! My father is right. Selfish, vain, stupid, trivial in everything—that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-you-only-knew-what-those-society-women-are-and-women-in-general-my/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To speak of it would be giving importance to that which has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-speak-of-it-would-be-giving-importance-to-that-which-has-none/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Once we're thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost, but it's only here that the new and the good begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/once-we-re-thrown-off-our-habitual-paths-we-think-all-is-lost-but-it/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-knew-she-was-there-by-the-rapture-and-the-terror-that-seized-on/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Rest, nature, books, music...such is my idea of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/rest-nature-books-music-such-is-my-idea-of-happiness/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“He was not to blame for being born with an irrepressible charachter and a mind some how constrained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-was-not-to-blame-for-being-born-with-an-irrepressible-charachter/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The idea shared by many that life is a vale of tears is just as false as the idea shared by the great majority,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-idea-shared-by-many-that-life-is-a-vale-of-tears-is-just-as-false/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [To say that a work of art is good, but incomprehensible to the majority of men, is the same as saying of some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-say-that-a-work-of-art-is-good-but-incomprehensible-to-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [True life is lived when tiny changes occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/true-life-is-lived-when-tiny-changes-occur/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Explore all 1,754 Leo Tolstoy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More Authenticity quotes > [“the property that grounded the self in Romanticism was sincerity, and in modernism was authenticity, then in postmod ernism it is visibility.10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-property-that-grounded-the-self-in-romanticism-was-sincerity-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Real artists offer authenticity, not just money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhymefest/real-artists-offer-authenticity-not-just-money/) [Rhymefest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhymefest/) > [“I figure the more people think I'm just mildly weird, the less likely they are to know how weird I really am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-hooyenga/i-figure-the-more-people-think-i-m-just-mildly-weird-the-less-likely/) Melanie Hooyenga > [I think people can read authenticity and they know when you're involved and when you're just slapping your name on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-la-anthony/i-think-people-can-read-authenticity-and-they-know-when-you-re/) [La La Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-la-anthony/) > [“I strive for authenticity even though it brings with it vulnerability and the inevitable judgment of others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-r-w-lee/i-strive-for-authenticity-even-though-it-brings-with-it-vulnerability/) [L.R.W. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-r-w-lee/) > [Children go where they find sincerity and authenticity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-cantona/children-go-where-they-find-sincerity-and-authenticity/) [Eric Cantona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-cantona/) > [Accepting the reality of our sinfulness means accepting our authentic self. Judas could not face his shadow; Peter could. The latter befriended the impostor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/accepting-the-reality-of-our-sinfulness-means-accepting-our-authentic/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, focus your energy on what you can create.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bennett/instead-of-worrying-about-what-you-cannot-control-focus-your-energy/) [Roy Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bennett/) > [Anything that I ever do is from the heart and authentic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belinda-carlisle/anything-that-i-ever-do-is-from-the-heart-and-authentic/) [Belinda Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belinda-carlisle/) > [What I love about Nivea is they're all about authenticity. The brand isn't pretending to be anything it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-virtue/what-i-love-about-nivea-is-they-re-all-about-authenticity-the-brand/) [Tessa Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-virtue/) > [There is nothing which so certifies the genuineness of a man's faith as his patience and his patient endurance, his keeping on steadily in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-nothing-which-so-certifies-the-genuineness-of-a-man-s-faith/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you're really famous, there's very little authenticity in people, so you prefer the company of children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-ryan/when-you-re-really-famous-there-s-very-little-authenticity-in-people/) [Katherine Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-ryan/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [No man knows the genuineness of his convictions until he has sacrificed something for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/no-man-knows-the-genuineness-of-his-convictions-until-he-has/) [Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/) [Browse all 1,437 Authenticity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authenticity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A man could not be prevented from making himself a big wax doll, and kissing it. 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