--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alimony is a system by which, when two…" description: "\"Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of them continues to pay for it.\" — Peggy Hopkins Joyce" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/peggy-hopkins-joyce-92144_alimony_alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-pe_1196673.png" --- # Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a… ![“Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of them continues to pay for it.” quote by Peggy Hopkins Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/peggy-hopkins-joyce-92144_alimony_alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-pe_1196673.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/peggy-hopkins-joyce-92144_alimony_alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-pe_1196673.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/peggy-hopkins-joyce-92144_alimony_alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-pe_1196673.png) > “Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of them continues to pay for it.” [Peggy Hopkins Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-hopkins-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Alimony is portrayed as a punitive continuation of a mistake, where one party keeps paying for a shared error. **In simple terms:** Alimony forces one partner to keep paying for a joint mistake. Key Takeaway Recognize the unfairness and seek equitable solutions. Themes relationships financial justice mistakes gender law Mood critical reflective Type quote opinion When to use this quote - divorce settlements - legal negotiations - financial planning - relationship counseling Key Concepts alimony responsibility gender dynamics financial burden Questions to Reflect On - How does alimony impact gender equality? - What alternatives could make post‑marriage support fairer? A Different Perspective Alimony often reflects broader systemic gender inequities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alimony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alimony/) [Alimony People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alimony-people-3572189/) [Continues Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continues-pay-3572191/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Mistake Continues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-continues-3572190/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [I just count myself really lucky to have a career that I love and that continues to pay my rent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-peterson/i-just-count-myself-really-lucky-to-have-a-career-that-i-love-and/) [Cassandra Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-peterson/) > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Most men don't realize their wife's worth till a judge decides the alimony amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-men-don-t-realize-their-wife-s-worth-till-a-judge-decides-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Alimony is like buying oats for a dead horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-baer/alimony-is-like-buying-oats-for-a-dead-horse/) [Arthur Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-baer/) > [L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much home. It was inevitable for me, the moving back. I was living in San Francisco,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/l-a-ispolluted-it-s-overpopulated-but-it-is-very-much-home-it-was/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I know a lot of writers who would much rather be writing the Great American Novel, but they've got bills to pay and alimony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/i-know-a-lot-of-writers-who-would-much-rather-be-writing-the-great/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [“On alimony: "Why should it be your ex's responsibility to give you a lifestyle that you yourself cannot afford?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-johnson/on-alimony-why-should-it-be-your-ex-s-responsibility-to-give-you-a/) [emma johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-johnson/) > [My mother didn't feel sorry for herself, she was left with no child support, no alimony at a very young age, with a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/my-mother-didn-t-feel-sorry-for-herself-she-was-left-with-no-child/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [My compulsion to always be working has become less strong and my current business is purely down to this enormous alimony. If I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/my-compulsion-to-always-be-working-has-become-less-strong-and-my/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [We're all divorced from reality; the only question is whether you're paying alimony or receiving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/we-re-all-divorced-from-reality-the-only-question-is-whether-you-re/) [John Alejandro King Aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [“We have FCC, abandoned alimony payments, assault and battery, Homeland Security escalation, and that's before we invite the IRS to take a walk on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-goldstein/we-have-fcc-abandoned-alimony-payments-assault-and-battery-homeland/) [Ken Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-goldstein/) > [Bigamy is one way of avoiding the painful publicity of divorce and the expense of alimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/bigamy-is-one-way-of-avoiding-the-painful-publicity-of-divorce-and/) [Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/) > [Let me be serious: divorce is a sacred institution between a man and a woman who hate each other. God wanted Adam to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/let-me-be-serious-divorce-is-a-sacred-institution-between-a-man-and-a/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [People go to restaurants for so many different reasons. To court a girl, to make some deal. Maybe to talk to some lawyer about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gay-talese/people-go-to-restaurants-for-so-many-different-reasons-to-court-a/) [Gay Talese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gay-talese/) > [I'm paying the third highest alimony and child support in the world. And the only two ahead of me are sheiks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-reynolds/i-m-paying-the-third-highest-alimony-and-child-support-in-the-world/) [Burt Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-reynolds/) ## More by Peggy Hopkins Joyce > [It takes all the fun out of a bracelet if you have to buy it yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-hopkins-joyce/it-takes-all-the-fun-out-of-a-bracelet-if-you-have-to-buy-it-yourself/) [Peggy Hopkins Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-hopkins-joyce/) [Explore all 2 Peggy Hopkins Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-hopkins-joyce/) ## More Alimony quotes > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [We're all divorced from reality; the only question is whether you're paying alimony or receiving it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/we-re-all-divorced-from-reality-the-only-question-is-whether-you-re/) [John Alejandro King Aka The Covert Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-alejandro-king-aka-the-covert-comic/) > [Most men don't realize their wife's worth till a judge decides the alimony amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-men-don-t-realize-their-wife-s-worth-till-a-judge-decides-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People go to restaurants for so many different reasons. To court a girl, to make some deal. Maybe to talk to some lawyer about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gay-talese/people-go-to-restaurants-for-so-many-different-reasons-to-court-a/) [Gay Talese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gay-talese/) > [Let me be serious: divorce is a sacred institution between a man and a woman who hate each other. God wanted Adam to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-black/let-me-be-serious-divorce-is-a-sacred-institution-between-a-man-and-a/) [Lewis Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-black/) > [Bigamy is one way of avoiding the painful publicity of divorce and the expense of alimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/bigamy-is-one-way-of-avoiding-the-painful-publicity-of-divorce-and/) [Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/) > [“We have FCC, abandoned alimony payments, assault and battery, Homeland Security escalation, and that's before we invite the IRS to take a walk on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-goldstein/we-have-fcc-abandoned-alimony-payments-assault-and-battery-homeland/) [Ken Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-goldstein/) > [I'm paying the third highest alimony and child support in the world. And the only two ahead of me are sheiks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-reynolds/i-m-paying-the-third-highest-alimony-and-child-support-in-the-world/) [Burt Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-reynolds/) > [My compulsion to always be working has become less strong and my current business is purely down to this enormous alimony. If I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/my-compulsion-to-always-be-working-has-become-less-strong-and-my/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [My mother didn't feel sorry for herself, she was left with no child support, no alimony at a very young age, with a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/my-mother-didn-t-feel-sorry-for-herself-she-was-left-with-no-child/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [“On alimony: "Why should it be your ex's responsibility to give you a lifestyle that you yourself cannot afford?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-johnson/on-alimony-why-should-it-be-your-ex-s-responsibility-to-give-you-a/) [emma johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-johnson/) > [I know a lot of writers who would much rather be writing the Great American Novel, but they've got bills to pay and alimony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/i-know-a-lot-of-writers-who-would-much-rather-be-writing-the-great/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [L.A. ispolluted. It's overpopulated. But it is very much home. It was inevitable for me, the moving back. I was living in San Francisco,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/l-a-ispolluted-it-s-overpopulated-but-it-is-very-much-home-it-was/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [Alimony is like buying oats for a dead horse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-baer/alimony-is-like-buying-oats-for-a-dead-horse/) [Arthur Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-baer/) > [There are so many varieties of films. You've got the jet-lagged films, where you fly to Bulgaria or wherever and get off the plane,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/there-are-so-many-varieties-of-films-you-ve-got-the-jet-lagged-films/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) [Browse all 48 Alimony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alimony/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of them continues to pay for it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peggy Hopkins Joyce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-hopkins-joyce/alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-people-make-a-mistake-one-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alimony" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-hopkins-joyce/alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-people-make-a-mistake-one-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/peggy-hopkins-joyce-92144_alimony_alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-pe_1196673.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/peggy-hopkins-joyce-92144_alimony_alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-pe_1196673.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85f/peggy-hopkins-joyce-92144_alimony_alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-pe_1196673.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Alimony is a system by which, when two people make a mistake, one of them continues to pay for it.” — Peggy Hopkins Joyce", "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": "Peggy Hopkins Joyce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-hopkins-joyce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Alimony is a system by which,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-hopkins-joyce/alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-people-make-a-mistake-one-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-hopkins-joyce/alimony-is-a-system-by-which-when-two-people-make-a-mistake-one-of/#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 } } ] } ```