---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A certain similarity exists, although the…"
description: "\"A certain similarity exists, although the type evolves, between all the women we love, a similarity that is due to the fixity of our own temperament, w..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/marcel-proust-114_certain_a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the_1073139.jpg"
---

#  A certain similarity exists, although the type evolves…

![“A certain similarity exists, although the type evolves, between all the women we love, a similarity that is due to the fixity of our own temperament, which it is that chooses them, eliminating all those who would not be at once our opposite and our complement, fitted that is to say to gratify our…” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/marcel-proust-114_certain_a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the_1073139.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/marcel-proust-114_certain_a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the_1073139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/marcel-proust-114_certain_a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the_1073139.jpg)

> “A certain similarity exists, although the type evolves, between all the women we love, a similarity that is due to the fixity of our own temperament, which it is that chooses them, eliminating all those who would not be at once our opposite and our complement, fitted that is to say to gratify our senses and to wring our heart.”

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

We are drawn to partners who mirror our own temperament, choosing those who complement and fulfill our emotional needs while rejecting opposite types.

**In simple terms:** We select partners similar to ourselves.

Key Takeaway

Seek self‑awareness in romantic choices.

Themes

self compatibility psychology

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- dating
- long‑term relationships
- friendship formation

Key Concepts

temperament selection attachment relationship dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- What traits do you repeat in partners?
- Can opposite traits enrich a relationship?

A Different Perspective

Compatibility can limit growth and diversity of experience.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Similarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-similarity-2682954/) [Complement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complement/) [Eliminating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eliminating/) [Evolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolve/) [Evolves Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolves-women-2682955/) [Fixity Temperament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fixity-temperament-2682953/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Similarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-similarity-2682951/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Similarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/similarity/) [Temperament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperament/) [Temperament Chooses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temperament-chooses-2682952/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/)

## Related quotes

> [Every person has a different meaning of love. The only similarity is the way we spell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-person-has-a-different-meaning-of-love-the-only-similarity-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A powerful idea communicates some of its power to the man who contradicts it. Partaking of the universal community of minds, it infiltrates, grafts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-powerful-idea-communicates-some-of-its-power-to-the-man-who-2/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [The cigar is the perfect complement to an elegant lifestyle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/the-cigar-is-the-perfect-complement-to-an-elegant-lifestyle/)

[George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/)

> [If you and your skills are a complement to the computer, your wage and labor market prospects are likely to be cheery. If your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/if-you-and-your-skills-are-a-complement-to-the-computer-your-wage-and/)

[Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/)

> [The best compliment I ever got from the public or producers or directors is that I just totally blend in and become the character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-compliment-i-ever-got-from-the-public-or-producers-or/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Because man and woman are the complement of one another, we need woman's thought in national affairs to make a safe and stable government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/because-man-and-woman-are-the-complement-of-one-another-we-need-woman/)

[Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/)

> [Public morals are natural complement of all laws they are by themselves an entire code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/public-morals-are-natural-complement-of-all-laws-they-are-by/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [In regards to live shows, space is very important to me. Space and context should complement the music in some way; you gain so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/einar-selvik/in-regards-to-live-shows-space-is-very-important-to-me-space-and/)

[Einar Selvik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/einar-selvik/)

> [Economic development cannot take a nation forward on its own. We need a society and economy which complement each other. We need to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/economic-development-cannot-take-a-nation-forward-on-its-own-we-need/)

[Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/)

> [Ideology and communication more often than not run into each other rather than complement each other. Principle and communication work together. Ideology and communication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-luntz/ideology-and-communication-more-often-than-not-run-into-each-other/)

[Frank Luntz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-luntz/)

> [What's better, a poetic intuition or an intellectual work? I think they complement each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/what-s-better-a-poetic-intuition-or-an-intellectual-work-i-think-they/)

[Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/)

> [I love Andre 3000 from OutKast. I think we'd complement each other, but I'm hoping he's got a good sense of humour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paloma-faith/i-love-andre-3000-from-outkast-i-think-we-d-complement-each-other-but/)

[Paloma Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paloma-faith/)

> [I always hope that the artwork will complement and enrich a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-paul-weston/i-always-hope-that-the-artwork-will-complement-and-enrich-a-story/)

[Robert Paul Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-paul-weston/)

> [One of my business partners would remind me that no fashion line lasts forever, that we would hit the down curve eventually, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/one-of-my-business-partners-would-remind-me-that-no-fashion-line/)

[Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/)

> [Cognitive and character skills work together as dynamic complements; they are inseparable. Skills beget skills. More motivated children learn more. Those who are more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-heckman/cognitive-and-character-skills-work-together-as-dynamic-complements/)

[James Heckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-heckman/)

## More by Marcel Proust

> [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

> [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/)

[Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

[Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/)

## More Certain quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/)

[Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/)

> [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/)

[Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/)

> [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/)

[Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/)

> [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/)

[Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/)

> [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/)

[Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/)

> [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/)

[Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/)

> [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/)

[T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/)

> [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/)

[Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/)

> [We've all seen talented young players who get to a certain level but there comes a point where that talent will only take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-gatland/we-ve-all-seen-talented-young-players-who-get-to-a-certain-level-but/)

[Warren Gatland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-gatland/)

> [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/)

[Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/)

> [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/)

[Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/)

> [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

[Browse all 13,673 Certain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A certain similarity exists, although the type evolves, between all the women we love, a similarity that is due to the fixity of our own temperament, which it is that chooses them, eliminating all those who would not be at once our opposite and our complement, fitted that is to say to gratify our senses and to wring our heart.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marcel Proust"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the-type-evolves-between-all-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Certain"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the-type-evolves-between-all-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/marcel-proust-114_certain_a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the_1073139.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/marcel-proust-114_certain_a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the_1073139.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/marcel-proust-114_certain_a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the_1073139.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A certain similarity exists, although the type evolves, between all the women we love, a similarity that is…” — Marcel Proust",
                "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": "Marcel Proust",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A certain similarity exists, although the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the-type-evolves-between-all-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-certain-similarity-exists-although-the-type-evolves-between-all-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
