--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It would be cruel to break that hope…" description: "\"“It would be cruel to break that hope before it fades on its own.”\" — N.K. Jemisin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/n-k-jemisin-1466_cruel_it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-bef_1688226.png" --- # It would be cruel to break that hope before it fades on… ![“It would be cruel to break that hope before it fades on its own.” quote by N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/n-k-jemisin-1466_cruel_it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-bef_1688226.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/n-k-jemisin-1466_cruel_it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-bef_1688226.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/n-k-jemisin-1466_cruel_it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-bef_1688226.png) > ““It would be cruel to break that hope before it fades on its own.”” [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement suggests that allowing hope to fade naturally can be kinder than forcing its end, emphasizing the value of letting hope diminish on its own terms. **In simple terms:** Let hope fade naturally rather than force its end. Key Takeaway Respect the natural course of hope. Themes psychology hope human experience compassion resilience Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - personal growth - creative writing Key Concepts existentialism emotional intelligence ethical nuance Questions to Reflect On - When is it kinder to let hope fade? - How to support hope without imposing it? A Different Perspective Hope can be manipulated for control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Naivete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naivete/) [Youthfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youthfulness/) ## Related quotes > [Priorities change, and hope fades away. How did you get here? At first you thought you had control, now youre just following. So lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/priorities-change-and-hope-fades-away-how-did-you-get-here-at-first/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [“The mirror lied, but I believed every fractured truth it whispered. In the pursuit of everything, I became nothing. And now, hope fades slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-delaney/the-mirror-lied-but-i-believed-every-fractured-truth-it-whispered-in/) Sean DeLaney > [“Who knew better than Raquel that nothing lasts. Hope fades. And love... love hurts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-sutton/who-knew-better-than-raquel-that-nothing-lasts-hope-fades-and-love/) [Michelle Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-sutton/) > [Don't ever depend on someone else because the moment you do they break down your hope and leave you lifeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/don-t-ever-depend-on-someone-else-because-the-moment-you-do-they/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [And be these juggling friends no more believ'd, That palter with us in a double sense; That keep the word of promise to our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/and-be-these-juggling-friends-no-more-believ-d-that-palter-with-us-in/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [This is my first break. I hope this occurs more often...I like this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendon-urie/this-is-my-first-break-i-hope-this-occurs-more-often-i-like-this/) [Brendon Urie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendon-urie/) > [“When you break a promise, you break someone's hope too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garima-soni-words-world/when-you-break-a-promise-you-break-someone-s-hope-too/) Garima Soni - words world > [Rosemary bubbled with delight at the trunks. Her naivete responded whole-heartedly to the expensive simplicity of the Divers, unaware of its complexity and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/rosemary-bubbled-with-delight-at-the-trunks-her-naivete-responded/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [ “\[H\]e was still young enough to think that there was something fundamentally inhuman about thinking more than one step ahead at a time.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-clement/h-e-was-still-young-enough-to-think-that-there-was-something/) [Hal Clement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-clement/) > [Dieter Dengler was an amazing man. Who knows what he would've been had he not ever been tested in this way? It's a question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bale/dieter-dengler-was-an-amazing-man-who-knows-what-he-would-ve-been-had/) [Christian Bale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bale/) > [I really believe in completely being naive and having high hopes when meeting someone new. I can kind of re-do my stupidity or my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-really-believe-in-completely-being-naive-and-having-high-hopes-when/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [“If Edgar sounded overeager, even rushed, the race was with his own temperament. He placed a premium on savvy. Yet since you could only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/if-edgar-sounded-overeager-even-rushed-the-race-was-with-his-own/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [If it so happened that I had once written a best-seller, this was a pure accident, due to inattention and naivete, and I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-it-so-happened-that-i-had-once-written-a-best-seller-this-was-a/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you're going to exude naivete, you can't really... walk out there like it's a Sting show. You can't be that well put together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-black/if-you-re-going-to-exude-naivete-you-can-t-really-walk-out-there-like/) [Frank Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-black/) > [I don't know if it's naivete or just narcissism, but I start out with this notion that I can do anything. It's not until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-pfeiffer/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-naivete-or-just-narcissism-but-i-start-out-with/) [Michelle Pfeiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-pfeiffer/) ## More by N.K. Jemisin > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [You are Insignificant. One of millions, neither special nor unique. I did not ask for this ignominy, and I resent the comparison. Fine. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-are-insignificant-one-of-millions-neither-special-nor-unique-i/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“She feels closer than ever to her father in this moment of utter broken rage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/she-feels-closer-than-ever-to-her-father-in-this-moment-of-utter/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When a comm builds atop a fault line, do you blame its walls when they inevitably crush the people inside? No; you blame whoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/when-a-comm-builds-atop-a-fault-line-do-you-blame-its-walls-when-they/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“I don’t know how I feel about a canon anymore ... The sheer volume of books that exist out there means that a canon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-don-t-know-how-i-feel-about-a-canon-anymore-the-sheer-volume-of/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ “\[...\] the kind of healer who knows that sometimes one must inflict terrible agony - rebreak a bone, carve off a limb, kill the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/the-kind-of-healer-who-knows-that-sometimes-one-must-inflict-terrible/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [So here is why I write what I do: We all have futures. We all have pasts. We all have stories. And we all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/so-here-is-why-i-write-what-i-do-we-all-have-futures-we-all-have/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“How can we prepare for the future if we won’t acknowledge the past?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/how-can-we-prepare-for-the-future-if-we-won-t-acknowledge-the-past/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“You waver, because you don’t really want to know … but you haven’t been a coward for some years now. So you steel yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/you-waver-because-you-don-t-really-want-to-know-but-you-haven-t-been/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What can orogeny do against something like that? Keep her breathing, maybe. But breathing doesn't always mean living, and maybe... maybe genocide doesn't always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-can-orogeny-do-against-something-like-that-keep-her-breathing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“What the rust do you matter? Who cares about you? Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? Once, you did have people who cared about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/what-the-rust-do-you-matter-who-cares-about-you-well-that-s-the-thing/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“Let me say only that these vehicles float a few inches off the ground. No animals draw them. No steam or chemical fuels them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/let-me-say-only-that-these-vehicles-float-a-few-inches-off-the-ground/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [We can never be gods, after all--but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/we-can-never-be-gods-after-all-but-we-can-become-something-less-than/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“(This is not a digression.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/this-is-not-a-digression/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“He's not a parasite if she needs him, too, and if she gives what he will not take. (One day soon, she will learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/he-s-not-a-parasite-if-she-needs-him-too-and-if-she-gives-what-he/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) [Explore all 225 N.K. Jemisin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) ## More Cruel quotes > [“History has a cruel way of disappointing optimists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thompson/history-has-a-cruel-way-of-disappointing-optimists/) Keith Thompson > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“Don't be so cruel to me. Don't promise me anything. I've got everything that i need. I need love in a good way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tegan-quin/don-t-be-so-cruel-to-me-don-t-promise-me-anything-i-ve-got-everything/) [Tegan Quin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tegan-quin/) > [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“Even the cruel feel pain. And even the cruel can change. I hope this changes him. He could do so much, if only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/even-the-cruel-feel-pain-and-even-the-cruel-can-change-i-hope-this/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [“my power is as cruel a joke as it can get? That’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-d-anderson/my-power-is-as-cruel-a-joke-as-it-can-get-that-s/) Katie D. Anderson > [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. It is only after their instincts and basic emotions have been controlled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/huamns-uregulated-are-cruel-and-capricious-violet-and-selfish/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You would think those who have endured unkindness would be kinder as a result, intent on sparing others the awful suffering they abhorred firsthand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/you-would-think-those-who-have-endured-unkindness-would-be-kinder-as/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [how cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/how-cruel-your-veins-are-full-of-ice-water-and-mine-are-boiling/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [There is no kindness more cruel than the kindness which consigns another person to their sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/there-is-no-kindness-more-cruel-than-the-kindness-which-consigns/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [Vanity can create a very cruel space for you if you don't know how to manage it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/vanity-can-create-a-very-cruel-space-for-you-if-you-don-t-know-how-to/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Life is cruel and we do terrible things to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-pym/life-is-cruel-and-we-do-terrible-things-to-each-other/) [Barbara Pym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-pym/) > [What people loathe the most is to be orphaned, desolate, unworthy. But this is what princes and kings call themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-people-loathe-the-most-is-to-be-orphaned-desolate-unworthy-but/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) Browse all 1,069 Cruel quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It would be cruel to break that hope before it fades on its own.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "N.K. Jemisin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-before-it-fades-on-its-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cruel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-before-it-fades-on-its-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/n-k-jemisin-1466_cruel_it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-bef_1688226.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/n-k-jemisin-1466_cruel_it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-bef_1688226.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44c/n-k-jemisin-1466_cruel_it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-bef_1688226.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It would be cruel to break that hope before it fades on its own.” — N.K. Jemisin", "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": "N.K. Jemisin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It would be cruel to break...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-before-it-fades-on-its-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/it-would-be-cruel-to-break-that-hope-before-it-fades-on-its-own/#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 } } ] } ```