--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But success and failure are not true…" description: "\"But success and failure are not true opposites, and they're not even in the same class. I mean, they're not even a couch and a chair.\" — Lillian Hellman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/lillian-hellman-4752_chairs_but-success-and-failure-are-not-true-opp_1348238.jpg" --- # But success and failure are not true opposites, and… ![“But success and failure are not true opposites, and they're not even in the same class. I mean, they're not even a couch and a chair.” quote by Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/lillian-hellman-4752_chairs_but-success-and-failure-are-not-true-opp_1348238.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/lillian-hellman-4752_chairs_but-success-and-failure-are-not-true-opp_1348238.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d0/lillian-hellman-4752_chairs_but-success-and-failure-are-not-true-opp_1348238.jpg) > “But success and failure are not true opposites, and they're not even in the same class. I mean, they're not even a couch and a chair.” [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Success and failure are not binary opposites; they belong to different categories, not directly comparable. **In simple terms:** Success and failure are not simple opposites. Key Takeaway Reframe outcomes beyond success/failure. Themes perspective mindset categorization growth psychology Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - personal goals - performance reviews - creative projects - life decisions Key Concepts relativism non‑binary thinking contextual evaluation Questions to Reflect On - How can you view setbacks as distinct from success? - What categories better describe your outcomes? A Different Perspective People often still think in binary terms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Couches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couches/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success and failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-and-failure/) ## Related quotes > [Success and failure are not true op-posites and they're not even in the same class; they're not even a couch and a chair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/success-and-failure-are-not-true-op-posites-and-they-re-not-even-in/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [True enough and opposites don't just attract they freaking catch fire and burn the entire city down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-crownover/true-enough-and-opposites-don-t-just-attract-they-freaking-catch-fire/) [Jay Crownover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-crownover/) > [If it's true that opposites attract, I should be looking for someone that gets up early and does important stuff all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-it-s-true-that-opposites-attract-i-should-be-looking-for-someone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If love and hate aren’t true opposites, perhaps neither are pleasure and pain—if you go far enough in one extreme, it resembles the other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daria-snadowsky/if-love-and-hate-aren-t-true-opposites-perhaps-neither-are-pleasure/) [Daria Snadowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daria-snadowsky/) > [It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. He who has never failed somewhere, that man can not be great.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/it-is-better-to-fail-in-originality-than-to-succeed-in-imitation-he/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [He who has never failed somewhere, that man can notbe great. Failure is the true test of greatness. And if it be said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/he-who-has-never-failed-somewhere-that-man-can-notbe-great-failure-is/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [They say baseball's a game of failure. Well, that's only true on the offensive side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-kershaw/they-say-baseball-s-a-game-of-failure-well-that-s-only-true-on-the/) [Clayton Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-kershaw/) > [Failure is the true test of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/failure-is-the-true-test-of-greatness/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Welcome it as part of a process... you just can't avoid it... if you go to bat enough times, you are going to strike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-guber/welcome-it-as-part-of-a-process-you-just-can-t-avoid-it-if-you-go-to/) [Peter Guber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-guber/) > [“Often it is not the wrong start but the wrong stop that makes the difference between success and failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/og-mandino/often-it-is-not-the-wrong-start-but-the-wrong-stop-that-makes-the/) [Og Mandino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/og-mandino/) > [Both success and failure begin with one step. Don't be afraid to take that step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope/both-success-and-failure-begin-with-one-step-don-t-be-afraid-to-take/) [Amber Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope/) > [“The way a young man spends his evenings is a part of that thin area between success and failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-r-young/the-way-a-young-man-spends-his-evenings-is-a-part-of-that-thin-area/) Robert R. Young > [Well, I think that there's a very thin dividing line between success and failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/well-i-think-that-there-s-a-very-thin-dividing-line-between-success/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“The rise or fall, success or failure of your dreams is largely dependent on the association you build yourself around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/the-rise-or-fall-success-or-failure-of-your-dreams-is-largely/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Success and failure are temporary in TV.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeeda-sheikh/success-and-failure-are-temporary-in-tv/) [Sanjeeda Sheikh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeeda-sheikh/) ## More by Lillian Hellman > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-dramatic-and-uglier-than-any-other/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [A man should be jailed for telling lies to the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/a-man-should-be-jailed-for-telling-lies-to-the-young/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I don't think many writers like their best-known piece of work, particularly when it was written a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-don-t-think-many-writers-like-their-best-known-piece-of-work/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I live in a room and I go to work and I play a game called getting through the day while you wait for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-live-in-a-room-and-i-go-to-work-and-i-play-a-game-called-getting/) [LILLIAN HELLMAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it like in the Bible with the locusts. And other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/there-are-people-who-eat-the-earth-and-eat-all-the-people-on-it-like/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/nothing-you-write-if-you-hope-to-be-good-will-ever-come-out-as-you/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Haven't you lived in the South long enough to know that nothing is ever anybody's fault?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/haven-t-you-lived-in-the-south-long-enough-to-know-that-nothing-is/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [We will not think noble because we are not noble. We will not live in beautiful harmony because there is no such thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/we-will-not-think-noble-because-we-are-not-noble-we-will-not-live-in/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [It was an unspoken pleasure, that having come together so many years, ruined so much and repaired a little, we had endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-was-an-unspoken-pleasure-that-having-come-together-so-many-years/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Intellectuals can tell themselves anything, sell themselves any bill of goods, which is why they were so often patsies for the ruling classes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/intellectuals-can-tell-themselves-anything-sell-themselves-any-bill/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/courtesy-is-breeding-breeding-is-an-excellent-thing-always-remember/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [You lose your manners when you're poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/you-lose-your-manners-when-you-re-poor/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Fashions in sin change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/fashions-in-sin-change/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) [Explore all 106 Lillian Hellman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## More Chairs quotes > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Forget the noose. Forget the Iron Maiden. Forget the electric chair or the guillotine. The mind was mankind's most painful torture chamber, the blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/forget-the-noose-forget-the-iron-maiden-forget-the-electric-chair-or/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [I thought being in the wheelchair might be kind of limiting for me as an actor. It turned out cool in a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/i-thought-being-in-the-wheelchair-might-be-kind-of-limiting-for-me-as/) [Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/) > [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Keelhaul the poets in the vestry chairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-shapiro/keelhaul-the-poets-in-the-vestry-chairs/) [Karl Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-shapiro/) > [He's earned all his money himself, with his fists. He didn't steal it like the rest of our politicians. And he'll be less tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vitali-klitschko/he-s-earned-all-his-money-himself-with-his-fists-he-didn-t-steal-it/) [Vitali Klitschko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vitali-klitschko/) > [Dentists tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object. Then you sit in their chair and the first thing they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/dentists-tell-you-not-to-pick-your-teeth-with-any-sharp-metal-object/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [Once I was in a restaurant and I dropped my fork on the floor, and they gave me a new fork. So I pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/once-i-was-in-a-restaurant-and-i-dropped-my-fork-on-the-floor-and/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [I'm not a big hijinker. I'm a big sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/i-m-not-a-big-hijinker-i-m-a-big-sit-in-my-chair-and-read-a-book-er/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [Show some mercy to this chair which has stretched out its arms to you for so long; please satisfy its desire to embrace you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/show-some-mercy-to-this-chair-which-has-stretched-out-its-arms-to-you/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [Of course, when we got home, we found that Dagda had peed on my down comforter. He had also eaten part of Mom's maidenhair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-tiernan/of-course-when-we-got-home-we-found-that-dagda-had-peed-on-my-down/) [Cate Tiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-tiernan/) Browse all 1,120 Chairs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But success and failure are not true opposites, and they're not even in the same class. 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