--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If they lost the incredible conviction…" description: "\"If they lost the incredible conviction that they can change their wives or husbands, marriage would collapse at once.\" — Logan Pearsall Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/logan-pearsall-smith-3950_collapse_if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-t_1959921.png" --- # If they lost the incredible conviction that they can… ![“If they lost the incredible conviction that they can change their wives or husbands, marriage would collapse at once.” quote by Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/logan-pearsall-smith-3950_collapse_if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-t_1959921.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/logan-pearsall-smith-3950_collapse_if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-t_1959921.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/logan-pearsall-smith-3950_collapse_if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-t_1959921.png) > “If they lost the incredible conviction that they can change their wives or husbands, marriage would collapse at once.” [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If people lose belief in their power to change spouses, marriage would instantly fail. **In simple terms:** Believing you can change a partner keeps marriage alive. Key Takeaway Recognize personal agency in relationships. Themes relationships power marriage Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - marriage counseling - personal growth - conflict resolution Key Concepts control agency dependency Questions to Reflect On - Can you influence a partner without trying to control? - What limits personal agency in relationships? A Different Perspective Assumes change is always possible, ignoring mutual respect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-wives-651411/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Husbands Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husbands-marriage-3230224/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Incredibles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredibles/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Marriage Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage-collapse-3230223/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wives/) [Wives Husbands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wives-husbands-1001047/) ## Related quotes > [People change their positions all the time, the way they change their wives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cohen/people-change-their-positions-all-the-time-the-way-they-change-their/) [Michael Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cohen/) > [We can change our wives,” he said. “We can change our jobs, our nationalities and even our religions, but we can never change our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/we-can-change-our-wives-he-said-we-can-change-our-jobs-our/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“Every time I change wives I should burn the last one. That way I'd be rid of them. They wouldn't be around to complicate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/every-time-i-change-wives-i-should-burn-the-last-one-that-way-i-d-be/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Believe me, if all wives whose husbands had affairs left them, we would only have divorced women in this country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/believe-me-if-all-wives-whose-husbands-had-affairs-left-them-we-would/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Wives in their husbands' absences grow subtler, And daughters sometimes run off with the butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/wives-in-their-husbands-absences-grow-subtler-and-daughters-sometimes/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [Parents and children cannot be to each other, as husbands with wives and wives with husbands. Nature has separated them by an almost impassable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-coleridge/parents-and-children-cannot-be-to-each-other-as-husbands-with-wives/) [Sara Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-coleridge/) > [Sex suppressed will go berserk, But it keeps us all alive. It's a wonderful change from wives and work And it ends at half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-ewart/sex-suppressed-will-go-berserk-but-it-keeps-us-all-alive-it-s-a/) [Gavin Ewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-ewart/) > [“Anyone who wishes to learn to enjoy life must find friends of the same type of temperament, and take as much trouble to gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/anyone-who-wishes-to-learn-to-enjoy-life-must-find-friends-of-the/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [In his life, a man can change wives, political parties or religions but he cannot change his favourite soccer team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-his-life-a-man-can-change-wives-political-parties-or-religions-but/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [Everything's really divided now. TV shows are made for wives and husbands or kids. They're not really made for families to sit and enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-bargatze/everything-s-really-divided-now-tv-shows-are-made-for-wives-and/) [Nate Bargatze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-bargatze/) > [But seriously, I believe I'm a sort of Ideal Woman, if you know what I mean. I'm the sort of woman who can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/but-seriously-i-believe-i-m-a-sort-of-ideal-woman-if-you-know-what-i/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Military Wives—Sacrificing Months of Sex for the Country.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aditi-mathur-kumar/military-wives-sacrificing-months-of-sex-for-the-country/) [Aditi Mathur Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aditi-mathur-kumar/) > [People still cheat on their wives, that hasn't fallen out of fashion. We all speak of it badly, but it has not fallen out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/people-still-cheat-on-their-wives-that-hasn-t-fallen-out-of-fashion/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [Some husbands regard it as their prerogative to compel their wives to fit their standards of what they think to be the ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/some-husbands-regard-it-as-their-prerogative-to-compel-their-wives-to/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture. MARTIN LUTHER, letter to Chancellor Gregory Brück, January 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/i-cannot-forbid-a-person-to-marry-several-wives-for-it-does-not/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) ## More by Logan Pearsall Smith > [The indefatigable pursuit of an unattainable perfection -even though nothing more than the pounding of an old piano -is what alone gives a meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/the-indefatigable-pursuit-of-an-unattainable-perfection-even-though/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [If you want to be thought a liar, always tell the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/if-you-want-to-be-thought-a-liar-always-tell-the-truth/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [All reformers, however strict their social conscience, live in houses just as big as they can pay for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/all-reformers-however-strict-their-social-conscience-live-in-houses/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [The ladies who try to keep their beauty are the ladies who lose it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/the-ladies-who-try-to-keep-their-beauty-are-the-ladies-who-lose-it/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Youth is the time for adventures of the body, but age for the triumphs of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/youth-is-the-time-for-adventures-of-the-body-but-age-for-the-triumphs/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Every author, however modest, keeps a most outrageous vanity chained like a madman in the padded cell of his breast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/every-author-however-modest-keeps-a-most-outrageous-vanity-chained/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [If you are losing your leisure, look out! You are losing your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/if-you-are-losing-your-leisure-look-out-you-are-losing-your-soul/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [One's own vanities and humiliations I find a delicious subject for conversation. Things said of me behind my back I don't enjoy, and don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/one-s-own-vanities-and-humiliations-i-find-a-delicious-subject-for/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [The word snob belongs to the sour-grape vocabulary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/the-word-snob-belongs-to-the-sour-grape-vocabulary/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Those who set out to serve both God and Mammon soon discover that there isn't a God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/those-who-set-out-to-serve-both-god-and-mammon-soon-discover-that/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Hearts that are delicate and kind and tongues that are neither - these make the finest company in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/hearts-that-are-delicate-and-kind-and-tongues-that-are-neither-these/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Whiskey has killed more men than bullets, but most men would rather be full of whiskey than bullets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/whiskey-has-killed-more-men-than-bullets-but-most-men-would-rather-be/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Style is a magic wand, and turns everything to gold that it touches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/style-is-a-magic-wand-and-turns-everything-to-gold-that-it-touches/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [When elderly invalids meet with fellow-victims of their own ailments, then at last real conversation begins, and life is delicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/when-elderly-invalids-meet-with-fellow-victims-of-their-own-ailments/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) > [Fine writers should split hairs together, and sit side by side, like friendly apes, to pick the fleas from each others fur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/fine-writers-should-split-hairs-together-and-sit-side-by-side-like/) [Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) [Explore all 118 Logan Pearsall Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/) ## More Collapse quotes > [We can't have a government that will collapse in three months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-varadkar/we-can-t-have-a-government-that-will-collapse-in-three-months/) [Leo Varadkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-varadkar/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [ Corruption could lead to the collapse of the Party \[Communist Party of China\] and the downfall of the state \[People's Republic of China\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xi-jinping/corruption-could-lead-to-the-collapse-of-the-party-communist-party-of/) [Xi Jinping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xi-jinping/) > [The Roman world is in collapse but we do not bend our neck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/the-roman-world-is-in-collapse-but-we-do-not-bend-our-neck/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Just take one thing out and the whole palace, the whole edifice of the human mind collapses. Take effort out of it and desiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/just-take-one-thing-out-and-the-whole-palace-the-whole-edifice-of-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The economic position is only flourishing on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano. If the short-term credits are called in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-stresemann/the-economic-position-is-only-flourishing-on-the-surface-germany-is/) [Gustav Stresemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-stresemann/) > [The infrastructure will collapse. Voltage spikes. Throw your keys in the bowl. Kiss your husband goodnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radiohead/the-infrastructure-will-collapse-voltage-spikes-throw-your-keys-in/) [Radiohead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radiohead/) > [I love that the collapse of The Other Side is being felt in both 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'The Originals' universes - as someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-serle/i-love-that-the-collapse-of-the-other-side-is-being-felt-in-both-the/) [Rebecca Serle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-serle/) > [NAFTA, by itself, will not collapse. The possibility is that the United States leaves the treaty, but the treaty itself would keep regulating relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ildefonso-guajardo-villarreal/nafta-by-itself-will-not-collapse-the-possibility-is-that-the-united/) [Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ildefonso-guajardo-villarreal/) > [I was planning on writing a detailed review of several books on web security tonight, but the Obama collapse has superseded my best-laid plans.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-foster-johnson/i-was-planning-on-writing-a-detailed-review-of-several-books-on-web/) [Charles Foster Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-foster-johnson/) > [The State of Israel is not collapsing and will not collapse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/the-state-of-israel-is-not-collapsing-and-will-not-collapse/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [One of the problems with industrialism is that it's based on the premise of more and more. It has to keep expanding to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dora-russell/one-of-the-problems-with-industrialism-is-that-it-s-based-on-the/) [Dora Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dora-russell/) > [You will learn that at higher levels of energy, our fields of prayer act very quickly to bring us exactly what we expect. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-redfield/you-will-learn-that-at-higher-levels-of-energy-our-fields-of-prayer/) [James Redfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-redfield/) > [Break your every dream, every pleasure collapse angered by themselves are seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/break-your-every-dream-every-pleasure-collapse-angered-by-themselves/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) [Browse all 907 Collapse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If they lost the incredible conviction that they can change their wives or husbands, marriage would collapse at once.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Logan Pearsall Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-that-they-can-change-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Collapse" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-that-they-can-change-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/logan-pearsall-smith-3950_collapse_if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-t_1959921.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/logan-pearsall-smith-3950_collapse_if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-t_1959921.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/174/logan-pearsall-smith-3950_collapse_if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-t_1959921.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If they lost the incredible conviction that they can change their wives or husbands, marriage would collapse…” — Logan Pearsall Smith", "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": "Logan Pearsall Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If they lost the incredible conviction...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-that-they-can-change-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/if-they-lost-the-incredible-conviction-that-they-can-change-their/#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 } } ] } ```