--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My husband is my most ruthless critic…" description: "\"My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said better before. If ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/madeleine-l-engle-345_creation_my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-so_68423.jpg" --- # My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will… ![“My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said better before. If I thought I had to say it better than anybody else, I'd never start. Better or worse is immaterial. The thing is that it has to be said; by me…” quote by Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/madeleine-l-engle-345_creation_my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-so_68423.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/madeleine-l-engle-345_creation_my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-so_68423.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/31d/madeleine-l-engle-345_creation_my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-so_68423.jpg) > “My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said better before. If I thought I had to say it better than anybody else, I'd never start. Better or worse is immaterial. The thing is that it has to be said; by me; ontologically. We each have to say it, to say it our own way. Not of our own will, but as it comes out through us. Good or bad, great or little: that isn't what human creation is about. It is that we have to try; to put it down in pigment, or words, or musical notations, or we die.” [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote stresses the necessity of personal expression over perfection, urging creators to share their unique voice regardless of comparison or judgment. **In simple terms:** Personal expression trumps perfection. Key Takeaway Create authentically, not competitively. Themes self-expression creative authenticity imperfection individual voice artistic courage process over product Mood determined reflective hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - writing a poem - painting a canvas - composing a melody - sharing a personal story - starting a new project Key Concepts creative freedom self-critique ontological necessity comparative judgment Practical Applications - journaling for self-discovery - publishing a first draft Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from sharing your work? - How does comparing yourself to others affect your creativity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) ## Related quotes > [“It’s all been said better before. If I thought I had to say it better than anybody else, I’d never start. Better or worse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-s-all-been-said-better-before-if-i-thought-i-had-to-say-it-better/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [As I was saying before I was interrupted ... I believe the last thing I said was 'There must be a better way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-paar/as-i-was-saying-before-i-was-interrupted-i-believe-the-last-thing-i/) [Jack Paar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-paar/) > [When somebody asks me what I do, I don't think I'd say critic. I say writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/when-somebody-asks-me-what-i-do-i-don-t-think-i-d-say-critic-i-say/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [You have to appreciate the finer points of your work; criticise, too, if needed. I am also my own worst and most honest critic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamal-haasan/you-have-to-appreciate-the-finer-points-of-your-work-criticise-too-if/) [Kamal Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamal-haasan/) > [All my life in professional baseball, people said 'He could be better.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-griffey-jr/all-my-life-in-professional-baseball-people-said-he-could-be-better/) [Ken Griffey Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-griffey-jr/) > [The less said about me the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/the-less-said-about-me-the-better/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [I said it would be better if we werent friends, not that I didnt want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-cullen/i-said-it-would-be-better-if-we-werent-friends-not-that-i-didnt-want/) [Edward Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-cullen/) > [This is why I have always said that it would be better if Muslims were poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-bakar-bashir/this-is-why-i-have-always-said-that-it-would-be-better-if-muslims/) [Abu Bakar Bashir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-bakar-bashir/) > [“Twas said better to light a candle than curse the dark...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mccammon/twas-said-better-to-light-a-candle-than-curse-the-dark/) [Robert McCammon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mccammon/) > [I don't have to tell you it goes without saying there are some things better left unsaid. I think that speaks for itself. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-don-t-have-to-tell-you-it-goes-without-saying-there-are-some-things/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“I'm going to say this once,' he said, 'so you had better listen. You're twelve years old and you have a lot of ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-haslett/i-m-going-to-say-this-once-he-said-so-you-had-better-listen-you-re/) [Adam Haslett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-haslett/) > [I said it would be better if we weren’t friends, not that I didn’t want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-said-it-would-be-better-if-we-weren-t-friends-not-that-i-didn-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One couldn't carry on life comfortably without a little blindness to the fact that everything has been said better than we can put it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/one-couldn-t-carry-on-life-comfortably-without-a-little-blindness-to/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Whoever said it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved was full of crap.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/whoever-said-it-is-better-to-have-loved-and-lost-than-never-to-have/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [“She said I'd better not make her unhappy because I oughta know that she's never unhappy alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-abbott/she-said-i-d-better-not-make-her-unhappy-because-i-oughta-know-that/) [Megan Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-abbott/) ## More by Madeleine L'Engle > [“One of the hardest lessons I have to learn is how not to be judgmental about people who are judgmental. When I see how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/one-of-the-hardest-lessons-i-have-to-learn-is-how-not-to-be/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/inspiration-more-often-comes-during-the-work-than-before-it-because/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-have-to-write-the-book-that-wants-to-be-written-and-if-the-book/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Severe illness isolates those in close contact with it, because it inevitably narrows the focus of concern. To a certain extent this can lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/severe-illness-isolates-those-in-close-contact-with-it-because-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Goodness has never been a guarantee of safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/goodness-has-never-been-a-guarantee-of-safety/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/faith-is-what-makes-life-bearable-with-all-its-tragedies-and/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Instead of rejoicing in this glorious “impossible” which gives meaning and dignity to our lives, we try to domesticate God, to make his mighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/instead-of-rejoicing-in-this-glorious-impossible-which-gives-meaning/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I have never lived before...Until this summer, I did not know what it was to be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-have-never-lived-before-until-this-summer-i-did-not-know-what-it/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [On the other side of pain, there is still love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/on-the-other-side-of-pain-there-is-still-love/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-and-it-is-only-in-vulnerability-and-risk/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“IT was the most horrible, the most repellent thing she had ever seen, far more nauseating then anything she had ever imagined with her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-was-the-most-horrible-the-most-repellent-thing-she-had-ever-seen/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [I feel as though I'm not breathing when I'm out of his presence. He's the oxygen in my air, the sun in my universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/i-feel-as-though-i-m-not-breathing-when-i-m-out-of-his-presence-he-s/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Rather than feeling lost and unimportant and meaningless, set against galaxies which go beyond the reach of the furthest telescopes, I feel that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/rather-than-feeling-lost-and-unimportant-and-meaningless-set-against/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [If we aren't capable of being hurt we aren't capable of feeling joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-we-aren-t-capable-of-being-hurt-we-aren-t-capable-of-feeling-joy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [God promised to make you free. He never promised to make you independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/god-promised-to-make-you-free-he-never-promised-to-make-you/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) [Explore all 660 Madeleine L'Engle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More Creation quotes > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [I believe if there is a creator it will basically ask me two questions, how well did you enjoy my creation and what did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-believe-if-there-is-a-creator-it-will-basically-ask-me-two/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [With no other choices open to us, we'd turned our gaze seaward. The oceans were our America: they reached farther than any prairie, untamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/with-no-other-choices-open-to-us-we-d-turned-our-gaze-seaward-the/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. I'll take that over a goddess any day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/to-be-part-of-the-creation-i-must-act-humbly-i-ll-take-that-over-a/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) [Browse all 5,225 Creation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My husband is my most ruthless critic... sometimes he will say, 'It's been said better before.' Of course it has. It's all been said better before. If I thought I had to say it better than anybody else, I'd never start. Better or worse is immaterial. The thing is that it has to be said; by me; ontologically. We each have to say it, to say it our own way. Not of our own will, but as it comes out through us. Good or bad, great or little: that isn't what human creation is about. 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