--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fair-haired man was one of those…" description: "\"“The fair-haired man was one of those people in whose character there is at first sight a certain obstinacy. Before you can open your mouth, they are a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nikolai-gogol-2690_another-man_the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-peo_243450.jpg" --- # The fair-haired man was one of those people in whose… ![“The fair-haired man was one of those people in whose character there is at first sight a certain obstinacy. Before you can open your mouth, they are already prepared to argue and, it seems, will never agree to anything that is clearly contrary to their way of thinking, will never call a stupid…” quote by Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nikolai-gogol-2690_another-man_the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-peo_243450.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nikolai-gogol-2690_another-man_the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-peo_243450.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nikolai-gogol-2690_another-man_the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-peo_243450.jpg) > ““The fair-haired man was one of those people in whose character there is at first sight a certain obstinacy. Before you can open your mouth, they are already prepared to argue and, it seems, will never agree to anything that is clearly contrary to their way of thinking, will never call a stupid thing smart, and in particular will never dance to another man's tune; but it always ends up that there is a certain softness in their character, that they will agree precisely to what they had rejected, will call a stupid thing smart, and will then go off dancing their best to another man's tune - in short, starts out well, ends in hell.”” [Nikolai Gogol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People may appear stubborn but can be swayed to opposite positions, revealing hidden flexibility. **In simple terms:** Stubbornness can mask adaptability. Key Takeaway Recognize and navigate hidden flexibility. Themes stubbornness flexibility contradiction human nature Mood cautious analytical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - negotiations - political debates - team decision making - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology social dynamics persuasion Questions to Reflect On - What signals indicate genuine flexibility? - How to handle sudden reversals? A Different Perspective Changing stance may be seen as insincere. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair/) [First sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-sight/) [Way of thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes you go into an audition and you'll do what you think the character is, and then if they agree, then it's awesome and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shanley-caswell/sometimes-you-go-into-an-audition-and-you-ll-do-what-you-think-the/) [Shanley Caswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shanley-caswell/) > [“I was learning the ways of the world; one of them being that the presence of a certain type of curly-haired man - your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-oyeyemi/i-was-learning-the-ways-of-the-world-one-of-them-being-that-the/) [Helen Oyeyemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-oyeyemi/) > [I saw a gray-haired man a figure of hale age, sitting at a desk and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/i-saw-a-gray-haired-man-a-figure-of-hale-age-sitting-at-a-desk-and/) [H. 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Before you can open your mouth, they are already prepared to argue and, it seems, will never agree to anything that is clearly contrary to their way of thinking, will never call a stupid thing smart, and in particular will never dance to another man's tune; but it always ends up that there is a certain softness in their character, that they will agree precisely to what they had rejected, will call a stupid thing smart, and will then go off dancing their best to another man's tune - in short, starts out well, ends in hell.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nikolai Gogol" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-people-in-whose-character-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Another man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-people-in-whose-character-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nikolai-gogol-2690_another-man_the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-peo_243450.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nikolai-gogol-2690_another-man_the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-peo_243450.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5e/nikolai-gogol-2690_another-man_the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-peo_243450.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fair-haired man was one of those people in whose character there is at first sight a certain obstinacy…” — Nikolai Gogol", "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": "Nikolai Gogol", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-gogol/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The fair-haired man was one of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-people-in-whose-character-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-gogol/the-fair-haired-man-was-one-of-those-people-in-whose-character-there/#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 } } ] } ```