--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I saw that what had appeared to me to be…" description: "\"“I saw that what had appeared to me to be not worth twenty francs when it had been offered to me for twenty francs in the house of ill fame, where it w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/marcel-proust-114_love-hurt_i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be_2520057.jpg" --- # I saw that what had appeared to me to be not worth twenty… ![“I saw that what had appeared to me to be not worth twenty francs when it had been offered to me for twenty francs in the house of ill fame, where it was then for me simply a woman desirous of earning twenty francs, might be worth more than a million, more than one's family, more than all the most…” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/marcel-proust-114_love-hurt_i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be_2520057.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/marcel-proust-114_love-hurt_i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be_2520057.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/marcel-proust-114_love-hurt_i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be_2520057.jpg) > ““I saw that what had appeared to me to be not worth twenty francs when it had been offered to me for twenty francs in the house of ill fame, where it was then for me simply a woman desirous of earning twenty francs, might be worth more than a million, more than one's family, more than all the most coveted positions in life if one had begun by imagining her to embody a strange creature, interesting to know, difficult to seize and to hold.”” [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. Imagining a person as a mysterious, unattainable creature can inflate their perceived value far beyond material worth. **In simple terms:** Seeing someone as exotic makes them seem priceless. Key Takeaway Recognize when idealization skews judgment. Themes perception value idealization Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - romantic relationships - career ambitions - artistic inspiration - consumer behavior Key Concepts Psychology of desire subjective worth Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions inflate the value of people or things? - How does imagination affect decision‑making? A Different Perspective Idealization can lead to disappointment when reality appears. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [A book is worth a few francs; we Germans can afford to destroy those. 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But in order to learn to love again you must learn to trust again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/love-hurts-there-is-nothing-as-painful-as-heartbreak-but-in-order-to/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) ## 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. 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There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again you must learn to trust again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/love-hurts-there-is-nothing-as-painful-as-heartbreak-but-in-order-to/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Giving so much love, will give you so much hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/giving-so-much-love-will-give-you-so-much-hurt/) Meicee > [Sometimes when the people you love hurt you the most. Its better to stay quiet because if your love wasn't enough. Do you think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/sometimes-when-the-people-you-love-hurt-you-the-most-its-better-to/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Falling in love is the easiest thing youre going to do, its the most exciting, the most powerful thing, thats what makes falling out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/falling-in-love-is-the-easiest-thing-youre-going-to-do-its-the-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You dont fall I love with the same person twice. 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When you expect they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clv/love-will-always-hurt-when-you-demand-they-will-do-as-much-as-you/) CLV > [If you never love you never hurt If you never hurt you've never lived. Love in life and embrace all the pains that come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-nam/if-you-never-love-you-never-hurt-if-you-never-hurt-you-ve-never-lived/) Sophia Nam > [Truth is, everybody's going to hurt you, you just have to find the ones worth suffering for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/truth-is-everybody-s-going-to-hurt-you-you-just-have-to-find-the-ones/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is Love, Love will always hurt, but whn you found your true love, Love will last longer than you ever hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kean/love-is-love-love-will-always-hurt-but-whn-you-found-your-true-love/) Kean > [We talk and talk for ages and then we stop dont even say hi to eachother .. Please tell me again why ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dovilly/we-talk-and-talk-for-ages-and-then-we-stop-dont-even-say-hi-to/) [Dovilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dovilly/) > [Please don't lie to me. If you're not happy, leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jirou/please-don-t-lie-to-me-if-you-re-not-happy-leave/) Jirou Browse all 301 Love hurt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I saw that what had appeared to me to be not worth twenty francs when it had been offered to me for twenty francs in the house of ill fame, where it was then for me simply a woman desirous of earning twenty francs, might be worth more than a million, more than one's family, more than all the most coveted positions in life if one had begun by imagining her to embody a strange creature, interesting to know, difficult to seize and to hold.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcel Proust" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be-not-worth-twenty-francs-when/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Love hurt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be-not-worth-twenty-francs-when/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/marcel-proust-114_love-hurt_i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be_2520057.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/marcel-proust-114_love-hurt_i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be_2520057.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba2/marcel-proust-114_love-hurt_i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be_2520057.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I saw that what had appeared to me to be not worth twenty francs when it had been offered to me for twenty…” — 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": "“I saw that what had appeared...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be-not-worth-twenty-francs-when/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-saw-that-what-had-appeared-to-me-to-be-not-worth-twenty-francs-when/#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 } } ] } ```