--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had not fooled myself with false hope…" description: "\"“I had not fooled myself with false hope. I was a goddess, and he a mortal, and both of us were imprisoned. But I pressed his face into my mind, as sea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/madeline-miller-2938_ariadne_i-had-not-fooled-myself-with-false-hope_515095.jpg" --- # I had not fooled myself with false hope. I was a goddess… ![“I had not fooled myself with false hope. I was a goddess, and he a mortal, and both of us were imprisoned. But I pressed his face into my mind, as seals are pressed in wax, so I could carry it with me.” quote by Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/madeline-miller-2938_ariadne_i-had-not-fooled-myself-with-false-hope_515095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/madeline-miller-2938_ariadne_i-had-not-fooled-myself-with-false-hope_515095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b9/madeline-miller-2938_ariadne_i-had-not-fooled-myself-with-false-hope_515095.jpg) > ““I had not fooled myself with false hope. I was a goddess, and he a mortal, and both of us were imprisoned. But I pressed his face into my mind, as seals are pressed in wax, so I could carry it with me.”” [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She clings to a memory of a lover, turning it into a mental seal to survive her imprisonment. **In simple terms:** Holding onto love as a mental anchor. Key Takeaway Use cherished memories for emotional strength. Themes love memory survival loneliness Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal loss - creative writing - therapy sessions Key Concepts psychological anchoring attachment mythic narrative Questions to Reflect On - What memory do you keep as a source of strength? - How can you balance remembrance with growth? A Different Perspective Relying on memory may hinder moving forward. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ariadne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ariadne/) [Circe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circe/) [Crete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crete/) [Daedalus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daedalus-41355/) [False hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-hope/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hope Goddess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope-goddess-4356967/) [Icarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/icarus/) [Imprisoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imprisoned/) [Imprisoned Pressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imprisoned-pressed-4356965/) [Mind Seals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-seals-4356966/) [Mortal Imprisoned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mortal-imprisoned-4356964/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Theseus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theseus/) ## Related quotes > [“But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/but-in-a-solitary-life-there-are-rare-moments-when-another-soul-dips/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Was Daedalus really stricken with grief when Icarus fell into the sea? Or just disappointed by the design failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/was-daedalus-really-stricken-with-grief-when-icarus-fell-into-the-sea/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [“the horse's head whipped up and he reared straight into the air. Colin ignored him and poured the oats. 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The most alive of worlds, human beings with the tenderest flesh, are made of marble. I strew devastation as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/ariadne-in-the-labyrinth-the-most-alive-of-worlds-human-beings-with/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [It will be easy for us the first time we receive that ball of yarn from Ariadne (love) and then go through all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/it-will-be-easy-for-us-the-first-time-we-receive-that-ball-of-yarn/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A labyrinthine man never seeks the truth, but only his Ariadne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/a-labyrinthine-man-never-seeks-the-truth-but-only-his-ariadne/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“He is greater than you will ever be. Not because of rank. It’s not a man’s rank that makes him a man. It’s how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-escobar/he-is-greater-than-you-will-ever-be-not-because-of-rank-it-s-not-a/) [Victoria Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-escobar/) > [“She became his Ariadne, leading him through the labyrinth of books, stopping now and then to pass another one to him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/she-became-his-ariadne-leading-him-through-the-labyrinth-of-books/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“Just as you will never lose me, you will never lose your crown. Your coronet will guide sailors to safety through the labyrinth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saint/just-as-you-will-never-lose-me-you-will-never-lose-your-crown-your/) [Jennifer Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saint/) > [“And when we say also that the Word, who is the first-birth of God, was produced without sexual union, and that He, Jesus Christ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-martyr/and-when-we-say-also-that-the-word-who-is-the-first-birth-of-god-was/) [Justin Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-martyr/) > [Theseus made unscrupulous use of Ariadne (whom he left on an island where Bacchus later found her-I always think that really meant she took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/theseus-made-unscrupulous-use-of-ariadne-whom-he-left-on-an-island/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) ## More by Madeline Miller > [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“This was a man who moved like the gods were watching: every gesture he made was upright and correct. There was no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/this-was-a-man-who-moved-like-the-gods-were-watching-every-gesture-he/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“Bury us, and mark our names above. Let us be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bury-us-and-mark-our-names-above-let-us-be-free/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/patroclus-he-says-patroclus-patroclus-over-and-over-until-it-is-sound/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“True is what men believe, and they believe this of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/true-is-what-men-believe-and-they-believe-this-of-you/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“Strange that such a small kindness felt like grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/strange-that-such-a-small-kindness-felt-like-grace/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“Briseis is kneeling by my body. She has brought water and cloth, and washes the blood and dirt from my skin. Her hands are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/briseis-is-kneeling-by-my-body-she-has-brought-water-and-cloth-and/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Odysseus inclines his head. "True. But fame is a strange thing. Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/odysseus-inclines-his-head-true-but-fame-is-a-strange-thing-some-men/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“I would like to say that all the while I waited to break out, but the truth is, I'm afraid I might have floated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-would-like-to-say-that-all-the-while-i-waited-to-break-out-but-the/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“I gaped at the cold shock of his beauty, deep-green eyes, features fine as a girl's. It struck from me a sudden, springing dislike.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-gaped-at-the-cold-shock-of-his-beauty-deep-green-eyes-features-fine/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [I found myself grinning until my cheeks hurt, my scalp prickling till I thought it might lift off my head. My tongue ran away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-found-myself-grinning-until-my-cheeks-hurt-my-scalp-prickling-till/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“When he died, all things soft and beautiful and bright would be buried with him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/when-he-died-all-things-soft-and-beautiful-and-bright-would-be-buried/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“Bring him back to me,' he told them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/bring-him-back-to-me-he-told-them/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [“Her mouth was a gash of red, like the torn-open stomach of a sacrifice, bloody and oracular. Behind it her teeth shone sharp and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/her-mouth-was-a-gash-of-red-like-the-torn-open-stomach-of-a-sacrifice/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [and her skin shone luminous and impossibly pale, as if it drank light from the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/and-her-skin-shone-luminous-and-impossibly-pale-as-if-it-drank-light/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) [Explore all 142 Madeline Miller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) ## More Ariadne quotes > [“And when we say also that the Word, who is the first-birth of God, was produced without sexual union, and that He, Jesus Christ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-martyr/and-when-we-say-also-that-the-word-who-is-the-first-birth-of-god-was/) [Justin Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-martyr/) > [“Just as you will never lose me, you will never lose your crown. Your coronet will guide sailors to safety through the labyrinth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saint/just-as-you-will-never-lose-me-you-will-never-lose-your-crown-your/) [Jennifer Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saint/) > [“He is greater than you will ever be. Not because of rank. It’s not a man’s rank that makes him a man. It’s how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-escobar/he-is-greater-than-you-will-ever-be-not-because-of-rank-it-s-not-a/) [Victoria Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-escobar/) > [It will be easy for us the first time we receive that ball of yarn from Ariadne (love) and then go through all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/it-will-be-easy-for-us-the-first-time-we-receive-that-ball-of-yarn/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“Ariadne in the labyrinth. The most alive of worlds, human beings with the tenderest flesh, are made of marble. I strew devastation as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/ariadne-in-the-labyrinth-the-most-alive-of-worlds-human-beings-with/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [Theseus made unscrupulous use of Ariadne (whom he left on an island where Bacchus later found her-I always think that really meant she took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/theseus-made-unscrupulous-use-of-ariadne-whom-he-left-on-an-island/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [A labyrinthine man never seeks the truth, but only his Ariadne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/a-labyrinthine-man-never-seeks-the-truth-but-only-his-ariadne/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“She became his Ariadne, leading him through the labyrinth of books, stopping now and then to pass another one to him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/she-became-his-ariadne-leading-him-through-the-labyrinth-of-books/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [Whoever has the desire to pursue philosophy correctly should look to Nature's Archetype in every matter, so that by taking up Ariadne's thread in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athanasius-kircher/whoever-has-the-desire-to-pursue-philosophy-correctly-should-look-to/) [Athanasius Kircher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athanasius-kircher/) > [These bright roofs, these steep towers, these jewel-lakes, these skeins of railroad line - all spoke to her and she answered. She was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/these-bright-roofs-these-steep-towers-these-jewel-lakes-these-skeins/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [“So, Ariadne was the babe with the ball of twine and the plan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-cross/so-ariadne-was-the-babe-with-the-ball-of-twine-and-the-plan/) [Claire Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-cross/) [Browse all 12 Ariadne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ariadne/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I had not fooled myself with false hope. I was a goddess, and he a mortal, and both of us were imprisoned. 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