--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am illegitimate,\" she said distinctly…" description: "\"“I am illegitimate,\" she said distinctly, as if he were a foreigner trying to learn English. \"You are a viscount. You can't marry a bastard.\" \"What abo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/lisa-kleypas-111_illegitimate_i-am-illegitimate-she-said-distinctly-as_1133208.png" --- # I am illegitimate," she said distinctly, as if he were a… ![“I am illegitimate," she said distinctly, as if he were a foreigner trying to learn English. "You are a viscount. You can't marry a bastard." "What about the Duke of Clarence? He had ten bastard children by that actress...what was her name..." "Mrs. Jordan." "Yes, that one, Their children were all…” quote by Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/lisa-kleypas-111_illegitimate_i-am-illegitimate-she-said-distinctly-as_1133208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/lisa-kleypas-111_illegitimate_i-am-illegitimate-she-said-distinctly-as_1133208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c38/lisa-kleypas-111_illegitimate_i-am-illegitimate-she-said-distinctly-as_1133208.png) > ““I am illegitimate," she said distinctly, as if he were a foreigner trying to learn English. "You are a viscount. You can't marry a bastard." "What about the Duke of Clarence? He had ten bastard children by that actress...what was her name..." "Mrs. Jordan." "Yes, that one, Their children were all illegitimate, but some of them married peers." "You're not the Duke of Clarence." "That's right. I'm not a blueblood any more than you are. I inherited the title purely by happenstance" "That doesn't matter. If your married me, it would be scandalous and inappropriate, and doors would be closed to you." "Good God, woman, I let two of my sisters marry Gypsies. Those doors have already been closed, bolted, and nailed shut.”” [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Social status and love clash; love transcends class, yet societal expectations can restrict relationships. **In simple terms:** Love vs. class expectations. Key Takeaway Love can defy class, but society may block it. Themes love class society identity Mood conflicted hopeful Type dramatic romantic When to use this quote - courtship - marriage negotiations - family pressure - personal identity decisions Key Concepts social hierarchy personal freedom family expectations Questions to Reflect On - What sacrifices are worth love? - How do you confront societal pressure? A Different Perspective Love may not overcome entrenched prejudice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [There are no illegitimate children - only illegitimate parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-r-yankwich/there-are-no-illegitimate-children-only-illegitimate-parents/) Leon R Yankwich > [“There is no such thing as illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/there-is-no-such-thing-as-illegitimate-children-only-illegitimate/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) > [There are no illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents-if the term is to be used at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-devlin/there-are-no-illegitimate-children-only-illegitimate-parents-if-the/) [Bernadette Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-devlin/) > [I refuse to admit that I am more than 52, even if that makes my children illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/i-refuse-to-admit-that-i-am-more-than-52-even-if-that-makes-my/) [Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/) > [“many of those still loyal to the Roman Catholic Church regarded her as Henry VIII’s only legitimate child since they considered his first divorce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/many-of-those-still-loyal-to-the-roman-catholic-church-regarded-her/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [There are accidental parents, but there are no accidental children. There are illegitimate parents, but there are no illegitimate children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/there-are-accidental-parents-but-there-are-no-accidental-children/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [For some, the very act of intelligence gathering seems illegitimate when applied to the crime of terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-kelly/for-some-the-very-act-of-intelligence-gathering-seems-illegitimate/) [Raymond Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-kelly/) > [What innocence, may I ask, is being played here when it is known that this virtuous damsel has already got a dozen illegitimate children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/what-innocence-may-i-ask-is-being-played-here-when-it-is-known-that/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [“There have always been two standards,” Rutledge answered. “People called Fiona a whore, but there’s no name for a man who has an illegitimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/there-have-always-been-two-standards-rutledge-answered-people-called/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [“Any law that makes self-defense illegal or impractical is an illegitimate law, because such a law ultimately subjects people to the criminal element. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charl-van-wyk/any-law-that-makes-self-defense-illegal-or-impractical-is-an/) Charl Van Wyk > [“So you've not only somehow married Fraser's wife, but you've accidentally been raising his illegitimate son for the last fifteen years?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/so-you-ve-not-only-somehow-married-fraser-s-wife-but-you-ve/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [But if writing about people who are not yourself is illegitimate, then the only legitimate work is autobiography; and as a reader and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/but-if-writing-about-people-who-are-not-yourself-is-illegitimate-then/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [There are illegitimate parents, but I don't believe there are any illegitimate children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/there-are-illegitimate-parents-but-i-don-t-believe-there-are-any/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [A full-blooded encounter for a number of reasons, many of them illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-champion/a-full-blooded-encounter-for-a-number-of-reasons-many-of-them/) [Jon Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-champion/) > [If you are Iraqi, you know who I am... and you know that I do not tire. I am the president of Iraq and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/if-you-are-iraqi-you-know-who-i-am-and-you-know-that-i-do-not-tire-i/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) ## More by Lisa Kleypas > [“It was a popular belief in Victorian society that women, with their mercurial natures and lesser brains, could not have the same quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/it-was-a-popular-belief-in-victorian-society-that-women-with-their/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Just don't ask me to stand up with you at the wedding, as I have no desire to be a hypocrite." "No, just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/just-don-t-ask-me-to-stand-up-with-you-at-the-wedding-as-i-have-no/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Why isn't it enough that I'm willing to submit to you?' Poppy asked, her own temper flaring. 'Why must I be eager to lie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/why-isn-t-it-enough-that-i-m-willing-to-submit-to-you-poppy-asked-her/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Then, as now, there were always girls who were overlooked and ignored by gentlemen who really should have known better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/then-as-now-there-were-always-girls-who-were-overlooked-and-ignored/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“You've always been a know-it-all. Well, you're about to find out how much you don't know." "Believe me," I muttered, "I'm the first one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/you-ve-always-been-a-know-it-all-well-you-re-about-to-find-out-how/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [One glance and I knew exactly who and what he was. The classic alpha male, the kind who had spurred evolution forward about five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/one-glance-and-i-knew-exactly-who-and-what-he-was-the-classic-alpha/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [I always counsel aspiring novelists that passion is the most important quality for a writer to possess - technique can be taught, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-always-counsel-aspiring-novelists-that-passion-is-the-most/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Sometimes you meet a really nice guy, but no matter how you try, you can’t seem to make yourself want him. But that’s not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/sometimes-you-meet-a-really-nice-guy-but-no-matter-how-you-try-you/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Risking a glance at the dignified young man beside her- what was his name?- Mr. Arthurson, Arterton?- Pandora decided to try her hand at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/risking-a-glance-at-the-dignified-young-man-beside-her-what-was-his/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“You'll be my wife," he said inexorably. "You want to own me!" she accused, trying to crawl away from him. "Yes." He flung her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/you-ll-be-my-wife-he-said-inexorably-you-want-to-own-me-she-accused/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [And then another letter had come from Christopher, so devastating that Amelia wondered how mere scratches of ink on paper could rip someone's soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/and-then-another-letter-had-come-from-christopher-so-devastating-that/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“You thought I was peculiar,” she said in a muffled voice. His mouth brushed the edge of her ear and settled against her neck.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/you-thought-i-was-peculiar-she-said-in-a-muffled-voice-his-mouth/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“Friends are the support bras of life. We don't let each other down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/friends-are-the-support-bras-of-life-we-don-t-let-each-other-down/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [A slow smile began on Gideon's face, and his blue eyes sparkled. With a shake of his head, he put his hand on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/a-slow-smile-began-on-gideon-s-face-and-his-blue-eyes-sparkled-with-a/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“She felt tears slip from beneath her lashes, no matter how she tried to blink them back. Her heart was ablaze. It seemed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/she-felt-tears-slip-from-beneath-her-lashes-no-matter-how-she-tried/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) [Explore all 1,262 Lisa Kleypas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) ## More Illegitimate quotes > [If you are Iraqi, you know who I am... and you know that I do not tire. I am the president of Iraq and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saddam-hussein/if-you-are-iraqi-you-know-who-i-am-and-you-know-that-i-do-not-tire-i/) [Saddam Hussein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saddam-hussein/) > [A full-blooded encounter for a number of reasons, many of them illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-champion/a-full-blooded-encounter-for-a-number-of-reasons-many-of-them/) [Jon Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-champion/) > [“There is no such thing as illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-adam-snyder/there-is-no-such-thing-as-illegitimate-children-only-illegitimate/) [J.Adam Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-adam-snyder/) > [There are illegitimate parents, but I don't believe there are any illegitimate children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/there-are-illegitimate-parents-but-i-don-t-believe-there-are-any/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [But if writing about people who are not yourself is illegitimate, then the only legitimate work is autobiography; and as a reader and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-boo/but-if-writing-about-people-who-are-not-yourself-is-illegitimate-then/) [Katherine Boo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-boo/) > [There are no illegitimate children, only illegitimate parents-if the term is to be used at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-devlin/there-are-no-illegitimate-children-only-illegitimate-parents-if-the/) [Bernadette Devlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-devlin/) > [“So you've not only somehow married Fraser's wife, but you've accidentally been raising his illegitimate son for the last fifteen years?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/so-you-ve-not-only-somehow-married-fraser-s-wife-but-you-ve/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I refuse to admit that I am more than 52, even if that makes my children illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/i-refuse-to-admit-that-i-am-more-than-52-even-if-that-makes-my/) [Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/) > [“Any law that makes self-defense illegal or impractical is an illegitimate law, because such a law ultimately subjects people to the criminal element. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charl-van-wyk/any-law-that-makes-self-defense-illegal-or-impractical-is-an/) Charl Van Wyk > [“There have always been two standards,” Rutledge answered. “People called Fiona a whore, but there’s no name for a man who has an illegitimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-todd/there-have-always-been-two-standards-rutledge-answered-people-called/) [Charles Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-todd/) > [What innocence, may I ask, is being played here when it is known that this virtuous damsel has already got a dozen illegitimate children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/what-innocence-may-i-ask-is-being-played-here-when-it-is-known-that/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [For some, the very act of intelligence gathering seems illegitimate when applied to the crime of terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-kelly/for-some-the-very-act-of-intelligence-gathering-seems-illegitimate/) [Raymond Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-kelly/) > [The Americans are the illegitimate children of the English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/the-americans-are-the-illegitimate-children-of-the-english/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I refuse to admit that I am more than fifty-two, even if that does make my sons illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-astor/i-refuse-to-admit-that-i-am-more-than-fifty-two-even-if-that-does/) [Nancy Astor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-astor/) > [The results have no relation to reality. We won't give legitimacy to something that is illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayman-nour/the-results-have-no-relation-to-reality-we-won-t-give-legitimacy-to/) Ayman Nour Browse all 46 Illegitimate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am illegitimate,\" she said distinctly, as if he were a foreigner trying to learn English. \"You are a viscount. You can't marry a bastard.\" \"What about the Duke of Clarence? He had ten bastard children by that actress...what was her name...\" \"Mrs. Jordan.\" \"Yes, that one, Their children were all illegitimate, but some of them married peers.\" \"You're not the Duke of Clarence.\" \"That's right. I'm not a blueblood any more than you are. I inherited the title purely by happenstance\" \"That doesn't matter. If your married me, it would be scandalous and inappropriate, and doors would be closed to you.\" \"Good God, woman, I let two of my sisters marry Gypsies. 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