--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This has been her problem all her life…" description: "\"This has been her problem all her life: picturing other people's responses. She's too good at it. She can picture the response of anyone--other people'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/margaret-atwood-40_criticism_this-has-been-her-problem-all-her-life-p_2224409.jpg" --- # This has been her problem all her life: picturing other… ![“This has been her problem all her life: picturing other people's responses. She's too good at it. She can picture the response of anyone--other people's reactions, their emotions, their criticisms, their demands--but somehow they don't reciprocate. Maybe they can't. Maybe they lack the gift, if it…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/margaret-atwood-40_criticism_this-has-been-her-problem-all-her-life-p_2224409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/margaret-atwood-40_criticism_this-has-been-her-problem-all-her-life-p_2224409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f93/margaret-atwood-40_criticism_this-has-been-her-problem-all-her-life-p_2224409.jpg) > “This has been her problem all her life: picturing other people's responses. She's too good at it. She can picture the response of anyone--other people's reactions, their emotions, their criticisms, their demands--but somehow they don't reciprocate. Maybe they can't. Maybe they lack the gift, if it is one.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She anticipates others’ reactions so well that she neglects authentic connection, leading to loneliness. **In simple terms:** Over‑anticipating others can isolate you. Key Takeaway Balance empathy with authentic self‑expression. Themes empathy loneliness communication Mood thoughtful melancholic Type literary psychological When to use this quote - dating - friendships - workplace interactions Key Concepts social dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How often do you guess others’ thoughts? - What happens when you share your true feelings? A Different Perspective Too much prediction can become manipulative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [The progress of human enlightenment can go no further than in picturing people not as vicious, but as mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-burke/the-progress-of-human-enlightenment-can-go-no-further-than-in/) [Kenneth Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-burke/) > [As a kid, picturing people who grew up in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I walking around in hose and latched shoes in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/as-a-kid-picturing-people-who-grew-up-in-the-reign-of-queen-elizabeth/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [I'm blessed, and people's responses to me have never been negative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haywood-nelson/i-m-blessed-and-people-s-responses-to-me-have-never-been-negative/) [Haywood Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haywood-nelson/) > [“You became the sum total of where you lived, where you shopped, which church you went to, how many kids you had and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/you-became-the-sum-total-of-where-you-lived-where-you-shopped-which/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“her. ‘Listening to people’s responses,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhathi-subramaniam/her-listening-to-people-s-responses/) Arundhathi Subramaniam > [People's responses made me laugh out loud and they made me tear up. They consoled me during my toughest times. I understood my neighbors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-chang/people-s-responses-made-me-laugh-out-loud-and-they-made-me-tear-up/) [Candy Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-chang/) > [ You \[as an actor\] have a responsibility to Jonathan's book and you have a responsibility to talk about a subject that is going to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-daldry/you-as-an-actor-have-a-responsibility-to-jonathan-s-book-and-you-have/) [Stephen Daldry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-daldry/) > [I do say things in a way that is going to elicit a response from people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/i-do-say-things-in-a-way-that-is-going-to-elicit-a-response-from/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [We should not let our response to the people who disagree with us be dictated by what they say about us or even how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-should-not-let-our-response-to-the-people-who-disagree-with-us-be/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [I find that our response to homelessness really puzzlingly. It's a peculiar response that people have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bettany/i-find-that-our-response-to-homelessness-really-puzzlingly-it-s-a/) [Paul Bettany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bettany/) > [Response is one of the powerful tool to occupy a place in someone's heart. So always give the best response to the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zahid-abas/response-is-one-of-the-powerful-tool-to-occupy-a-place-in-someone-s/) [Zahid Abas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zahid-abas/) > [The climate is much different for men. That stigma is only going to be broken when people come out and see that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-rapinoe/the-climate-is-much-different-for-men-that-stigma-is-only-going-to-be/) [Megan Rapinoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-rapinoe/) > [One of the things I like about making stuff in the age of the Internet, is that people make stuff in response to it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/one-of-the-things-i-like-about-making-stuff-in-the-age-of-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If anyone stays away (after the 1981 strike), my response is this - those people had no right to ever come to the park,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brett/if-anyone-stays-away-after-the-1981-strike-my-response-is-this-those/) [George Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brett/) > [Getting the best response from people is how I base my success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-fogelberg/getting-the-best-response-from-people-is-how-i-base-my-success/) [Dan Fogelberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-fogelberg/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Criticism quotes > [Regardless of the criticisms I receive from the left, the right and the middle, I think it's important to maintain a prolific writing jab,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/regardless-of-the-criticisms-i-receive-from-the-left-the-right-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [I'm more comfortable modelling as a man because I don't get any criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rain-dove/i-m-more-comfortable-modelling-as-a-man-because-i-don-t-get-any/) [Rain Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rain-dove/) > [I don't mind positive criticism, but when it is negative and personal, it is quite hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/i-don-t-mind-positive-criticism-but-when-it-is-negative-and-personal/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Everything is allowable in literature, but what is not allowable in criticism is objection on the grounds of probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/everything-is-allowable-in-literature-but-what-is-not-allowable-in/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [Lots of relationships fail because we spend more time pointing out each other's mistakes and not enough time enjoying each other's company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lots-of-relationships-fail-because-we-spend-more-time-pointing-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [People believe that criticism should be objective, whatever that means, but I really don't understand what people mean by that. I guess if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-christgau/people-believe-that-criticism-should-be-objective-whatever-that-means/) [Robert Christgau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-christgau/) > [I welcome criticism. I come from a - I wouldn't say mean, but you've got to have tough skin to be in my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saweetie/i-welcome-criticism-i-come-from-a-i-wouldn-t-say-mean-but-you-ve-got/) [Saweetie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saweetie/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Browse all 3,954 Criticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This has been her problem all her life: picturing other people's responses. She's too good at it. She can picture the response of anyone--other people's reactions, their emotions, their criticisms, their demands--but somehow they don't reciprocate. 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