--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thinking I'm a moron gives people…" description: "\"Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about,\" Charles Wallace said. \"Why should I disillusion them?\" — Madeleine L'Engle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/madeleine-l-engle-345_disillusion_thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-someth_145564.png" --- # Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug… ![“Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about," Charles Wallace said. "Why should I disillusion them?” quote by Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/madeleine-l-engle-345_disillusion_thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-someth_145564.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/madeleine-l-engle-345_disillusion_thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-someth_145564.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/madeleine-l-engle-345_disillusion_thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-someth_145564.png) > “Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about," Charles Wallace said. "Why should I disillusion them?” [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. Feeling inferior can become a tool for others to feel superior, reinforcing social hierarchies. **In simple terms:** Self‑deprecation fuels others' smugness. Key Takeaway Avoid self‑labeling as foolish. Themes selfesteem social dynamics psychology Mood reflective critical Type advice psychological When to use this quote - school interactions - online debates - workplace meetings - family gatherings Key Concepts inferiority complex social comparison Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling yourself affect others' perception? - Can humility be genuine without self‑denigration? A Different Perspective Self‑deprecation may also protect against overconfidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disillusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusion/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [That's what self-discovery seems to mean to most people. You're going to beat yourself up. You're going to reduce what you're supposed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/that-s-what-self-discovery-seems-to-mean-to-most-people-you-re-going/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Being bigheaded can be as irritating and as dangerous as being small-minded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/being-bigheaded-can-be-as-irritating-and-as-dangerous-as-being-small/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I've always wanted to live really high up, and this is the only flat in the building with a balcony, so I feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miquita-oliver/i-ve-always-wanted-to-live-really-high-up-and-this-is-the-only-flat/) [Miquita Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miquita-oliver/) > [“Mitch studied me with a questioning, smug smile. Men did it so easily, that immediate parceling of value. And how they seemed to want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cline/mitch-studied-me-with-a-questioning-smug-smile-men-did-it-so-easily/) [Emma Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cline/) > [For me, faith is more about aspiration than complacency - the smug satisfaction that other people find distasteful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hollander/for-me-faith-is-more-about-aspiration-than-complacency-the-smug/) [Tom Hollander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hollander/) > [I became frustrated early on as a playwright by a kind of smug smallness in modern drama. There was a lack of what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-mclaughlin/i-became-frustrated-early-on-as-a-playwright-by-a-kind-of-smug/) [Ellen McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-mclaughlin/) > [I never feel like a smug or a smart-alec film director, and there are plenty of those around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcdonagh/i-never-feel-like-a-smug-or-a-smart-alec-film-director-and-there-are/) [Martin McDonagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcdonagh/) > [“Am I to spend the next twenty years in the high-minded company of a smug Philistine who doesn’t so much as make me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/am-i-to-spend-the-next-twenty-years-in-the-high-minded-company-of-a/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [I'm a very smug show-off at heart. I'm altogether too pleased with myself. The big boost for me is to be able to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-m-a-very-smug-show-off-at-heart-i-m-altogether-too-pleased-with/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! Sometimes, smug times When I’m talking about God When I’m praying about God When I’m working for God, Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-savage/that-s-not-what-i-meant-sometimes-smug-times-when-i-m-talking-about/) John Savage > [I know it's considered smug to even mention that you've left a social media platform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-know-it-s-considered-smug-to-even-mention-that-you-ve-left-a-social/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [“Occasionally I am smitten with an acute case of Smug. It can happen to anyone, but it happens most often to people who think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/occasionally-i-am-smitten-with-an-acute-case-of-smug-it-can-happen-to/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“The look of a smug teacher is priceless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/the-look-of-a-smug-teacher-is-priceless/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/you-re-pretty-smug-lord-ares-for-a-guy-who-runs-from-cupid-statues/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Well, man, you know what they say." No, I don't. I don't know what they say. I don't even know who they are. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/well-man-you-know-what-they-say-no-i-don-t-i-don-t-know-what-they-say/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) ## 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/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/my-husband-is-my-most-ruthless-critic-sometimes-he-will-say-it-s-been/) [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/) [Explore all 660 Madeleine L'Engle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More Disillusion quotes > [“Personal disillusionment accompanied by self-pity and self-loathing are the Achilles’ heel of modern humankind, representing the weakness of the human spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/personal-disillusionment-accompanied-by-self-pity-and-self-loathing/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Youth is the season of tragedy and despair. Youth is the time when one's whole life is entangled in a web of identity, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/youth-is-the-season-of-tragedy-and-despair-youth-is-the-time-when-one/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Disillusions all come from within ... from the failure of some dear and secret hope. The world makes no promises; we only dream it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/disillusions-all-come-from-within-from-the-failure-of-some-dear-and/) [Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/) > [In government you carry each hope; each disillusion. And in politics it's always about the next challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/in-government-you-carry-each-hope-each-disillusion-and-in-politics-it/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Our greatest illusion is disillusion. We imagine that we are disillusioned with life, when the truth is that we have not even begun to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brunton/our-greatest-illusion-is-disillusion-we-imagine-that-we-are/) [Paul Brunton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brunton/) > [The attainment of an ideal is often the beginning of a disillusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-baldwin/the-attainment-of-an-ideal-is-often-the-beginning-of-a-disillusion/) [Stanley Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-baldwin/) > [What is to be done? We who are still half alive, living in the often fibrillating heartland of a senescent capitalism -- can we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/what-is-to-be-done-we-who-are-still-half-alive-living-in-the-often/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another--physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/along-with-the-idea-of-romantic-love-she-was-introduced-to-another/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [Marriage and fatherhood heighten the disillusion that we all think we are born handy. We confidently believe that we can fix things around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-newhart/marriage-and-fatherhood-heighten-the-disillusion-that-we-all-think-we/) [Bob Newhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-newhart/) > [Please don't disillusion me. I haven't had breakfast yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/please-don-t-disillusion-me-i-haven-t-had-breakfast-yet/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I promised myself that if ever I had some money that I would savor a cigar each day after lunch and dinner. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-promised-myself-that-if-ever-i-had-some-money-that-i-would-savor-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Thinking is the subtlest form of self-polemics, the art of a certain finesse in psychological self-vivisection and self-crucifixion (Hegel of course called the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/thinking-is-the-subtlest-form-of-self-polemics-the-art-of-a-certain/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [Disillusion is the last illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/disillusion-is-the-last-illusion/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [There is a tremendous relief in knowing that {God's} love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/there-is-a-tremendous-relief-in-knowing-that-god-s-love-to-me-is/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [“Sex, once a law as undisputed as gravity, has been disproved. The equation is erased, the blackboard broken”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/sex-once-a-law-as-undisputed-as-gravity-has-been-disproved-the/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) [Browse all 79 Disillusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about,\" Charles Wallace said. \"Why should I disillusion them?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madeleine L'Engle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-something-to-feel-smug-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disillusion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-something-to-feel-smug-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/madeleine-l-engle-345_disillusion_thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-someth_145564.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/madeleine-l-engle-345_disillusion_thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-someth_145564.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/madeleine-l-engle-345_disillusion_thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-someth_145564.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about,\" Charles Wallace said. \"Why should I…” — Madeleine L'Engle", "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": "Madeleine L'Engle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Thinking I'm a moron gives people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-something-to-feel-smug-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-something-to-feel-smug-about/#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 } } ] } ```