--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's a kind of virgin one only becomes…" description: "\"There's a kind of virgin one only becomes with difficulty.\" — Marian Engel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/marian-engel-53294_adversity_there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-become_1657147.png" --- # There's a kind of virgin one only becomes with difficulty. ![“There's a kind of virgin one only becomes with difficulty.” quote by Marian Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/marian-engel-53294_adversity_there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-become_1657147.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/marian-engel-53294_adversity_there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-become_1657147.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/marian-engel-53294_adversity_there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-become_1657147.png) > “There's a kind of virgin one only becomes with difficulty.” [Marian Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True virginity is achieved only through struggle and difficulty. **In simple terms:** Purity emerges from hardship. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges as paths to growth. Themes growth purity struggle Mood reflective serious Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal transformation - creative processes - spiritual quests Key Concepts Existentialism psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What challenges have shaped your identity? - Can purity be found without struggle? A Different Perspective Hardship may not always lead to desired purity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Virgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-virgin-718837/) [Virgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgin/) [Virgin Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgin-difficulty-718838/) [Virgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgins/) ## Related quotes > [I used to be a virgin, but I gave it up because there was no money in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-warfield/i-used-to-be-a-virgin-but-i-gave-it-up-because-there-was-no-money-in/) [Marsha Warfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-warfield/) > [For me to go into politics would be like sending a virgin into a house of ill-repute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-me-to-go-into-politics-would-be-like-sending-a-virgin-into-a/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I wish I were a virgin again. The only fun I ever had was holding out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/i-wish-i-were-a-virgin-again-the-only-fun-i-ever-had-was-holding-out/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [In a sense, when we started Virgin Atlantic, I was trying to create an airline for myself. If you try to build the perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/in-a-sense-when-we-started-virgin-atlantic-i-was-trying-to-create-an/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [The topic of the night: sleeping with virgins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lush/the-topic-of-the-night-sleeping-with-virgins/) [Matthew Lush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lush/) > [The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/the-year-i-turned-ninety-i-wanted-to-give-myself-the-gift-of-a-night/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“The virgins are certain there's a circle of hell dedicated to that fear you'll never find anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/analicia-sotelo/the-virgins-are-certain-there-s-a-circle-of-hell-dedicated-to-that/) [Analicia Sotelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/analicia-sotelo/) > [This wasn’t the first time I’d been pulled out of bed for a crucial mission. It was, however, the first time I’d been subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/this-wasn-t-the-first-time-i-d-been-pulled-out-of-bed-for-a-crucial/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [The Virgin filled so enormous a space in the life and thought of the time that one stands now helpless before the mass of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-virgin-filled-so-enormous-a-space-in-the-life-and-thought-of-the/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [One night, I was chatting with a group of 16-year-old girls over a few drinks about a name for the record store ... A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/one-night-i-was-chatting-with-a-group-of-16-year-old-girls-over-a-few/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [The problem in this case was you can't be a middle-aged virgin in America without something being wrong with you. People can't conceive of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-problem-in-this-case-was-you-can-t-be-a-middle-aged-virgin-in/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I had met a lady there by the name of Laura Ziffren.She heard that I got signed to Virgin and reached out to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quindon-tarver/i-had-met-a-lady-there-by-the-name-of-laura-ziffren-she-heard-that-i/) [Quindon Tarver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quindon-tarver/) > [I'm one, too," he said. "What?" He spit a wad of blood and mucus into the dirt. "A virgin." What a shock. "What makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-m-one-too-he-said-what-he-spit-a-wad-of-blood-and-mucus-into-the/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [There is a word we haven't used yet: virginity... To make a photograph, the plate must be virgin, but your eye as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/there-is-a-word-we-haven-t-used-yet-virginity-to-make-a-photograph/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [And if we even affirm that He was born of a virgin, accept this in common with what you accept of Perseus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-martyr/and-if-we-even-affirm-that-he-was-born-of-a-virgin-accept-this-in/) [Justin Martyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-martyr/) ## More by Marian Engel > [Remember that it is not enough to have everything around you beautiful, remember that there must also be change and flux, because it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/remember-that-it-is-not-enough-to-have-everything-around-you/) [Marian Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/) > [All intellectual missionaries tend to lechery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/all-intellectual-missionaries-tend-to-lechery/) [Marian Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/) > [Happiness is a fragile thing, and alcohol, as I know from the house I grew up in, is dangerous to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/happiness-is-a-fragile-thing-and-alcohol-as-i-know-from-the-house-i/) [Marian Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/) > [I have tried and failed to lead a conventional life. When I try to be like other people, I fall out of bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/i-have-tried-and-failed-to-lead-a-conventional-life-when-i-try-to-be/) [Marian Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/) > [There is a difference between art and life and that difference is readability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/there-is-a-difference-between-art-and-life-and-that-difference-is/) [Marian Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/) [Explore all 6 Marian Engel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/) ## More Adversity quotes > [We love playing together and we love adversity. You know, back-to-back, the two best teams in the East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/we-love-playing-together-and-we-love-adversity-you-know-back-to-back/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [When we have public success we also have private struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deion-sanders/when-we-have-public-success-we-also-have-private-struggles/) [Deion Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deion-sanders/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [He who is content with what has been done is an obstacle in the path of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/he-who-is-content-with-what-has-been-done-is-an-obstacle-in-the-path/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Friction is necessary. Ease of life leads to complacency and the atrophy of the human will and spirit. Within our struggles lives our strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-versey/friction-is-necessary-ease-of-life-leads-to-complacency-and-the/) [Jason Versey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-versey/) > [“Every adversity is just another opportunity to excel a little more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-templet/every-adversity-is-just-another-opportunity-to-excel-a-little-more/) [Michel Templet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-templet/) > [“Just because she doesn't talk about it, doesn't mean she isn't feeling it. She hurts, but she won't wear it on her sleeve. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) [S.E. SEVER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-sever/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's a kind of virgin one only becomes with difficulty.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marian Engel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-becomes-with-difficulty/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-becomes-with-difficulty/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/marian-engel-53294_adversity_there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-become_1657147.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/marian-engel-53294_adversity_there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-become_1657147.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/marian-engel-53294_adversity_there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-become_1657147.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's a kind of virgin one only becomes with difficulty.” — Marian Engel", "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": "Marian Engel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-engel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's a kind of virgin one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-becomes-with-difficulty/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-engel/there-s-a-kind-of-virgin-one-only-becomes-with-difficulty/#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 } } ] } ```