--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How people are often merciless on those…" description: "\"“How people are often merciless on those they love the most”\" — Maggie Nelson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/maggie-nelson-4294_cruel_how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those_1486828.jpg" --- # How people are often merciless on those they love the most ![“How people are often merciless on those they love the most” quote by Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/maggie-nelson-4294_cruel_how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those_1486828.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/maggie-nelson-4294_cruel_how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those_1486828.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/maggie-nelson-4294_cruel_how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those_1486828.jpg) > ““How people are often merciless on those they love the most”” [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love often involves harsh criticism or judgment from those closest to us. **In simple terms:** Loved ones can be harsh. Key Takeaway Accept and navigate criticism from loved ones. Themes love criticism family relationships Mood reflective empathetic Type narrative psychological When to use this quote - marriage - parenting - friendship Key Concepts emotional vulnerability interpersonal dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to criticism from loved ones? - What boundaries help protect you? A Different Perspective May cause emotional distress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Merciless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merciless/) [Merciless Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merciless-love-3335815/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Merciless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-merciless-4885564/) [Ruthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthless/) ## Related quotes > [“Ah, merciless Love, is there any length to which you cannot force the human heart to go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil/ah-merciless-love-is-there-any-length-to-which-you-cannot-force-the/) [Virgil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil/) > [If you spent your weekends in the clubs, you could see the change in the eyes of the people. They became merciless, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-koner/if-you-spent-your-weekends-in-the-clubs-you-could-see-the-change-in/) [Thomas Koner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-koner/) > [“Killing the poorest third is good genetics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/killing-the-poorest-third-is-good-genetics/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity! Or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop!...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cameron/it-can-t-be-bargained-with-it-can-t-be-reasoned-with-it-doesn-t-feel/) [James Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cameron/) > [“Life sometimes reminds us that it is sometimes heartless by giving something or someone we really need to someone who does not need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/life-sometimes-reminds-us-that-it-is-sometimes-heartless-by-giving/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“You’re one cruel bastard,” she managed to get out. He tsked with his tongue. “Everyone says that.” Then he took hold of her chin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-hardy/you-re-one-cruel-bastard-she-managed-to-get-out-he-tsked-with-his/) [Dianna Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-hardy/) > [...the Church is the merciless heart of the State.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-paolo-pasolini/the-church-is-the-merciless-heart-of-the-state/) [Pier Paolo Pasolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-paolo-pasolini/) > [“I have found life to be merciless, allowing the suffrage of innocents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-have-found-life-to-be-merciless-allowing-the-suffrage-of-innocents/) [Deanna L. Lawlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-l-lawlis/) > [There is nothing like a merciless human, those who are merciless, they are not human but creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/there-is-nothing-like-a-merciless-human-those-who-are-merciless-they/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [“But one day leads to another, and so on. No way around it. It's that merciless thing that time does.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/but-one-day-leads-to-another-and-so-on-no-way-around-it-it-s-that/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“The real moments that changed the world are when church members miss the meaning of a whole sermon, and take no accountability for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/the-real-moments-that-changed-the-world-are-when-church-members-miss/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“The pain in his eyes is the kind that never dies, the kind that rises like an unpredictable tide and floods the shoreline without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-yarros/the-pain-in-his-eyes-is-the-kind-that-never-dies-the-kind-that-rises/) [Rebecca Yarros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-yarros/) > [“This institution of higher education had no such concept as mercy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-dyachenko/this-institution-of-higher-education-had-no-such-concept-as-mercy/) [Marina Dyachenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-dyachenko/) > [“Could I be that cold-hearted and merciless? Let’s find out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepper-winters/could-i-be-that-cold-hearted-and-merciless-let-s-find-out/) [Pepper Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepper-winters/) > [“Man is merciless but the Maker is merciful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/man-is-merciless-but-the-maker-is-merciful/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Maggie Nelson > [“When I was alive, I aimed to be a student not of longing but of light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/when-i-was-alive-i-aimed-to-be-a-student-not-of-longing-but-of-light/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [I think writing kind of burns out the flaming question. Sometimes it might feel like when you're living with certain paradoxes and they're unarticulated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-think-writing-kind-of-burns-out-the-flaming-question-sometimes-it/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“I want you to know, if you ever read this, there was a time when I would rather have had you by my side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-want-you-to-know-if-you-ever-read-this-there-was-a-time-when-i/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“It is absurd, Barthes says, to try to flee from language's assertive nature 'adding to each sentence some little phrase of uncertainty, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/it-is-absurd-barthes-says-to-try-to-flee-from-language-s-assertive/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“I can remember a time when I took Henry James's advice--'try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost!'--deeply to heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-can-remember-a-time-when-i-took-henry-james-s-advice-try-to-be-one/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [It is easier, of course, to find dignity in one's solitude. Loneliness is solitude with a problem. Can blue solve the problem, or can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/it-is-easier-of-course-to-find-dignity-in-one-s-solitude-loneliness/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“But “knowing the truth” does not come with redemption as a guarantee, nor does a feeling of redemption guarantee an end to a cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/but-knowing-the-truth-does-not-come-with-redemption-as-a-guarantee/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“Girls are cruelest to themselves,” observes Anne Carson in “The Glass Essay,” her brilliant long poem about the ravages of female anger, loneliness, grief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/girls-are-cruelest-to-themselves-observes-anne-carson-in-the-glass/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“On one hand, the Aristotelian, perhaps evolutionary need to put everything into categories– predators, twilight, edible – on the other, the need to pay homage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/on-one-hand-the-aristotelian-perhaps-evolutionary-need-to-put/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“Do not, however, make the mistake of thinking that all desire is yearning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/do-not-however-make-the-mistake-of-thinking-that-all-desire-is/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“Psychology forces everything we call love into the pathological or the delusional or the biologically explicable, that if that I was feeling wasn't love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/psychology-forces-everything-we-call-love-into-the-pathological-or/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“I edit myself into a boldness that is neither native or foreign to me. At times I grow tired of this approach, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-edit-myself-into-a-boldness-that-is-neither-native-or-foreign-to-me/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“The idea is a complicated one, as the burden falls to us to differentiate this Divine Darkness from other kinds of darknesses-- that off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/the-idea-is-a-complicated-one-as-the-burden-falls-to-us-to/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [Yes, I'm writing about motherhood, but I bristle a little bit, especially living with someone whose parenting falls between the cracks of what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/yes-i-m-writing-about-motherhood-but-i-bristle-a-little-bit/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“I do not know the reason for this blue pussy, meant to convey both divine bewilderment and revelation. But I do feel that its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-do-not-know-the-reason-for-this-blue-pussy-meant-to-convey-both/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) [Explore all 111 Maggie Nelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) ## More Cruel quotes > [“History has a cruel way of disappointing optimists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thompson/history-has-a-cruel-way-of-disappointing-optimists/) [Keith Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-thompson/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“Don't be so cruel to me. Don't promise me anything. I've got everything that i need. I need love in a good way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/don-t-be-so-cruel-to-me-don-t-promise-me-anything-i-ve-got-everything/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change. I hope this changes him. He could do so much, if only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/even-the-cruel-feel-pain-and-even-the-cruel-can-change-i-hope-this/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [“my power is as cruel a joke as it can get? That’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-d-anderson/my-power-is-as-cruel-a-joke-as-it-can-get-that-s/) [Katie D. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-d-anderson/) > [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You would think those who have endured unkindness would be kinder as a result, intent on sparing others the awful suffering they abhorred firsthand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/you-would-think-those-who-have-endured-unkindness-would-be-kinder-as/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [There is no kindness more cruel than the kindness which consigns another person to their sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-is-no-kindness-more-cruel-than-the-kindness-which-consigns/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Vanity can create a very cruel space for you if you don't know how to manage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/vanity-can-create-a-very-cruel-space-for-you-if-you-don-t-know-how-to/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Life is cruel and we do terrible things to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/life-is-cruel-and-we-do-terrible-things-to-each-other/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-people-loathe-the-most-is-to-be-orphaned-desolate-unworthy-but/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) [Browse all 1,069 Cruel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“How people are often merciless on those they love the most”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maggie Nelson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those-they-love-the-most/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cruel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those-they-love-the-most/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/maggie-nelson-4294_cruel_how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those_1486828.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/maggie-nelson-4294_cruel_how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those_1486828.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1b/maggie-nelson-4294_cruel_how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those_1486828.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“How people are often merciless on those they love the most” — Maggie Nelson", "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": "Maggie Nelson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“How people are often merciless on...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those-they-love-the-most/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/how-people-are-often-merciless-on-those-they-love-the-most/#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 } } ] } ```