---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Either kill me or take me as I am…"
description: "\"Either kill me or take me as I am, because I'll be damned if I ever change.\" — Marquis de Sade"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/marquis-de-sade-1964_change_either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-becaus_1485067.jpg"
---

#  Either kill me or take me as I am, because I'll be damned…

![“Either kill me or take me as I am, because I'll be damned if I ever change.” quote by Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/marquis-de-sade-1964_change_either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-becaus_1485067.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/marquis-de-sade-1964_change_either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-becaus_1485067.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/marquis-de-sade-1964_change_either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-becaus_1485067.jpg)

> “Either kill me or take me as I am, because I'll be damned if I ever change.”

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

## About This Quote

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

The speaker rejects change, preferring to be accepted as they are, even if that means being condemned.

**In simple terms:** Prefers acceptance over change, even if it leads to damnation.

Key Takeaway

Embrace authenticity, even when it brings criticism.

Themes

identity self‑acceptance rebellion

Mood

defiant reflective

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- social pressure
- self‑definition

Key Concepts

existentialism individualism moral relativism

Questions to Reflect On

- What are the costs of refusing to change?
- Is authenticity worth social condemnation?

A Different Perspective

May ignore personal growth; stubbornness can be harmful.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Take me as i am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-me-as-i-am/)

## Related quotes

> [Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/imperious-choleric-irascible-extreme-in-everything-with-a-dissolute/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [I'll be damned if you do anything less than love me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-lyzette/i-ll-be-damned-if-you-do-anything-less-than-love-me/)

[Arianna Lyzette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-lyzette/)

> [“I’ll be damned if I’m going to be the next Code Blue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-coon/i-ll-be-damned-if-i-m-going-to-be-the-next-code-blue/)

Bill Coon

> [You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/you-ll-be-damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don-t/)

[Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/)

> [“I've seen you fuck up one major relationship. I'll be damned if I let you ruin this one as well!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stjepan-eji/i-ve-seen-you-fuck-up-one-major-relationship-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-let/)

[Stjepan Šejić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stjepan-eji/)

> [“I’ll be damned if I won’t be blessed by this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-muldoon/i-ll-be-damned-if-i-won-t-be-blessed-by-this/)

Maureen Muldoon

> [I may sink, but I'll be damned if I strike!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paul-jones/i-may-sink-but-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-strike/)

[John Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paul-jones/)

> [I'll be damned if I want most folks out there to do unto me what they do unto themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-cade-bambara/i-ll-be-damned-if-i-want-most-folks-out-there-to-do-unto-me-what-they/)

[Toni Cade Bambara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-cade-bambara/)

> [Well I'll Be Damned. This is funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-holliday/well-i-ll-be-damned-this-is-funny/)

[Doc Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-holliday/)

> [I'll be damned, you got laid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-ll-be-damned-you-got-laid/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [“If I'm to be damned for what I've done, I'll be damned in full and not by halves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/if-i-m-to-be-damned-for-what-i-ve-done-i-ll-be-damned-in-full-and-not/)

[Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/)

> [“there is only one real sin: being different. i'll be damned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darnell-lamont-walker/there-is-only-one-real-sin-being-different-i-ll-be-damned/)

[Darnell Lamont Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darnell-lamont-walker/)

> [I'll be damned for never a king's son in Christendom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-be-damned-for-never-a-king-s-son-in-christendom/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Well, I'll be damned. Oh, this is funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doc-holliday/well-i-ll-be-damned-oh-this-is-funny/)

[Doc Holliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doc-holliday/)

> [You kill me and I'll see that you never work in this town again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/you-kill-me-and-i-ll-see-that-you-never-work-in-this-town-again/)

[Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/)

## More by Marquis de Sade

> [What you call disorder is nothing else than one of the laws of the order you comprehend not and which you have erroneously named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-you-call-disorder-is-nothing-else-than-one-of-the-laws-of-the/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [And if I were a naughty little boy, the idea is to spank me into good behavior?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/and-if-i-were-a-naughty-little-boy-the-idea-is-to-spank-me-into-good/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [There is a kind of pleasure which comes from sacrilege or the profanation of the objects offered us for worship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/there-is-a-kind-of-pleasure-which-comes-from-sacrilege-or-the/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [“To enlighten mankind and improve its morals is the only lesson which we offer in this story. In reading it, may the world discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/to-enlighten-mankind-and-improve-its-morals-is-the-only-lesson-which/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [What we are doing here is only the image of what we would like to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-we-are-doing-here-is-only-the-image-of-what-we-would-like-to-do/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Happiness lies neither in vice nor in virtue; but in the manner we appreciate the one and the other, and the choice we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/happiness-lies-neither-in-vice-nor-in-virtue-but-in-the-manner-we/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [What does one want when one is engaged in the sexual act? That everything around you give you its utter attention, think only of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-does-one-want-when-one-is-engaged-in-the-sexual-act-that/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [ The law which attempts a man's life \[capital punishment\] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. It has never repressed crime--for a second crime is every day… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-law-which-attempts-a-man-s-life-capital-punishment-is-impractical/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Between understanding and faith immediate connections must subsist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/between-understanding-and-faith-immediate-connections-must-subsist/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [My passions, concentrated on a single point, resemble the rays of a sun assembled by a magnifying glass: they immediately set fire to whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/my-passions-concentrated-on-a-single-point-resemble-the-rays-of-a-sun/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [The idea of God is the sole wrong for which I cannot forgive mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/the-idea-of-god-is-the-sole-wrong-for-which-i-cannot-forgive-mankind/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/imperious-choleric-irascible-extreme-in-everything-with-a-dissolute/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Lust's passion will be served; it demands, it militates, it tyrannizes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/lust-s-passion-will-be-served-it-demands-it-militates-it-tyrannizes/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [“In order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the true measure of a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/in-order-to-know-virtue-we-must-acquaint-ourselves-with-vice-only/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

> [Never may an act of possession be exercised upon a free being; the exclusive possession of a woman is no less unjust than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/never-may-an-act-of-possession-be-exercised-upon-a-free-being-the/)

[Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

[Explore all 181 Marquis de Sade quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/)

## More Change quotes

> [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/)

Phil Hogan

> [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/)

[William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/)

> [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/)

[Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/)

> [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/)

[Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/)

> [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

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

> [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/)

[Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/)

> [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

[Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Either kill me or take me as I am, because I'll be damned if I ever change.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Marquis de Sade"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-because-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-ever/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Change"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-because-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-ever/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/marquis-de-sade-1964_change_either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-becaus_1485067.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/marquis-de-sade-1964_change_either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-becaus_1485067.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b8/marquis-de-sade-1964_change_either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-becaus_1485067.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Either kill me or take me as I am, because I'll be damned if I ever change.” — Marquis de Sade",
                "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": "Marquis de Sade",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Either kill me or take me...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-because-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-ever/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/either-kill-me-or-take-me-as-i-am-because-i-ll-be-damned-if-i-ever/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
