--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man cannot bear his own portrait. The…" description: "\"Man cannot bear his own portrait. The image of his limits and his own determinacy exasperates him, drives him mad.\" — Paul Valery" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/paul-valery-1464_bears_man-cannot-bear-his-own-portrait-the-ima_1861464.jpg" --- # Man cannot bear his own portrait. The image of his limits… ![“Man cannot bear his own portrait. The image of his limits and his own determinacy exasperates him, drives him mad.” quote by Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/paul-valery-1464_bears_man-cannot-bear-his-own-portrait-the-ima_1861464.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/paul-valery-1464_bears_man-cannot-bear-his-own-portrait-the-ima_1861464.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/826/paul-valery-1464_bears_man-cannot-bear-his-own-portrait-the-ima_1861464.jpg) > “Man cannot bear his own portrait. The image of his limits and his own determinacy exasperates him, drives him mad.” [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People struggle with self‑image because it confronts their perceived limits and choices. **In simple terms:** Self‑image can be unsettling. Key Takeaway Accept limits, seek growth. Themes self‑awareness identity psychology Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - artistic creation - therapy - career planning Key Concepts self‑portrait ego limits Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront your own limits? - What role does self‑image play in motivation? A Different Perspective Self‑portraits can be distorted, not fully truthful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Painting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painting/) ## Related quotes > [Those whom God wishes to destroy he drives mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/those-whom-god-wishes-to-destroy-he-drives-mad/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Whom Jupiter would destroy he first drives mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/whom-jupiter-would-destroy-he-first-drives-mad/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [It is not doubt,is certitude that drives you mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-not-doubt-is-certitude-that-drives-you-mad/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [When I think about the idea of Rebel Wilson having to go to the Oscars and not having something amazing to wear that's made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/when-i-think-about-the-idea-of-rebel-wilson-having-to-go-to-the/) [Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/) > [Losing drives me mad. 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With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Paul Valery > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“O Socrates, the universe cannot for one instant endure to be only what it is. 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They have even become real needs for many people, whose minds are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/interruption-incoherence-surprise-are-the-ordinary-conditions-of-our/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) [Explore all 215 Paul Valery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) ## More Bears quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. 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Open your hearts and search the Scriptures. Bear your cross,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/pay-no-heed-to-the-passing-religious-vogue-go-back-to-the-grass-roots/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [He sank into the rocking chair, the same one in which Rebecca had sat during the early days of the house to give embroidery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/he-sank-into-the-rocking-chair-the-same-one-in-which-rebecca-had-sat/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Some things in this world just ain't meant to be, not in the times we want 'em to, and the heart has to hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/some-things-in-this-world-just-ain-t-meant-to-be-not-in-the-times-we/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [And if anyone knows anything about anything," said Bear to himself, "it's Owl who knows something about something," he said, "or my name's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-if-anyone-knows-anything-about-anything-said-bear-to-himself-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I'm supportive of women, absolutely, and it's so gratifying to have girls come up and say, 'I'm really inspired by your guitar playing.' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/i-m-supportive-of-women-absolutely-and-it-s-so-gratifying-to-have/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) [Browse all 4,111 Bears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man cannot bear his own portrait. 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