---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why don't people just open... my works…"
description: "\"Why don't people just open... my works instead of accusing me?\" — Peter Handke"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/peter-handke-14893_accusing_why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-inst_2522083.png"
---

#  Why don't people just open... my works instead of accusing…

![“Why don't people just open... my works instead of accusing me?” quote by Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/peter-handke-14893_accusing_why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-inst_2522083.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/peter-handke-14893_accusing_why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-inst_2522083.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/peter-handke-14893_accusing_why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-inst_2522083.png)

> “Why don't people just open... my works instead of accusing me?”

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

## 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 feels misunderstood, wishing their work would be judged on its own merits rather than accusations.

**In simple terms:** Wishes work judged on merit, not accusations.

Key Takeaway

Seek honest feedback, not blame.

Themes

art communication misunderstanding integrity

Mood

defensive hopeful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- publishing
- art exhibitions
- media interviews

Key Concepts

Creative expression public perception defensiveness

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you handle criticism of your work?
- What invites open dialogue?

A Different Perspective

Accusations can silence authentic expression.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [I just open my mouth and out it comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/i-just-open-my-mouth-and-out-it-comes/)

[Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/)

> [“It isn't complicated. You just open up and let someone in. And whatever comes after that, you face it together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/it-isn-t-complicated-you-just-open-up-and-let-someone-in-and-whatever/)

[Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/)

> [You can see beauy everywhere, you just have to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshycrazyness/you-can-see-beauy-everywhere-you-just-have-to-be-open-minded/)

[EwshyCrazyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewshycrazyness/)

> [Sometimes you don't have to look around for it; you just have to open your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/sometimes-you-don-t-have-to-look-around-for-it-you-just-have-to-open/)

[London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/)

> [When I don't know what to do, I just open my mouth. Why won't anyone date me?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/when-i-don-t-know-what-to-do-i-just-open-my-mouth-why-won-t-anyone/)

[Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/)

> [“Happiness is waiting to find you if you'll just open the door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norberto-adame/happiness-is-waiting-to-find-you-if-you-ll-just-open-the-door/)

Norberto Adame

> [My goal beyond being an actor, is just being an open channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-miller/my-goal-beyond-being-an-actor-is-just-being-an-open-channel/)

[Ezra Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-miller/)

> [It's fun being a decoy sometimes because you just open everything else for other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordarrelle-patterson/it-s-fun-being-a-decoy-sometimes-because-you-just-open-everything/)

[Cordarrelle Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordarrelle-patterson/)

> [If you see a door to happiness, do not waste your time knocking it, just open the door and walk in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-see-a-door-to-happiness-do-not-waste-your-time-knocking-it/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [I'm just here to open up doors for all these other cats out here that are trying to do the same thing really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pitbull/i-m-just-here-to-open-up-doors-for-all-these-other-cats-out-here-that/)

[Pitbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pitbull/)

> [When one door closes another doesn't just open, you can either open the same door or open a different one...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-door-closes-another-doesn-t-just-open-you-can-either-open/)

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

> [It's kind of surprising that you could just open up a site and let people work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-wales/it-s-kind-of-surprising-that-you-could-just-open-up-a-site-and-let/)

[Jimmy Wales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-wales/)

> [They'll try to close the door on you... Just open it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-khaled/they-ll-try-to-close-the-door-on-you-just-open-it/)

[DJ Khaled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-khaled/)

> [There ought to be one day - just one - when there is open season on senators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-ought-to-be-one-day-just-one-when-there-is-open-season-on/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [“…instead of fighting everything so much, you could just open your heart and see where it leads you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deidre-knight/instead-of-fighting-everything-so-much-you-could-just-open-your-heart/)

[Deidre Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deidre-knight/)

## More by Peter Handke

> [My place is in Serbia if the NATO criminals bomb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/my-place-is-in-serbia-if-the-nato-criminals-bomb/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [We behave as if being alone were a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/we-behave-as-if-being-alone-were-a-problem/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [Morality is the least of my concerns. To me, morality in a society that - however moral its pose - is hierarchically organized is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/morality-is-the-least-of-my-concerns-to-me-morality-in-a-society-that/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [I like literature, not opinions. I hate opinions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-like-literature-not-opinions-i-hate-opinions/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [An artist is only an exemplary person if you can see in his works how life goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/an-artist-is-only-an-exemplary-person-if-you-can-see-in-his-works-how/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [I wrote about the Serbs, because no one was writing about them, even if I also think about the Croat and Muslim victims.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-wrote-about-the-serbs-because-no-one-was-writing-about-them-even-if/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [I am a writer and not a judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-am-a-writer-and-not-a-judge/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [I can't define myself. And I'm really happy about this, that I'm not able to make a definition of, even of my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-can-t-define-myself-and-i-m-really-happy-about-this-that-i-m-not/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [Most older people don't talk about the past so they won't have to admit that their life ran on the wrong rail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/most-older-people-don-t-talk-about-the-past-so-they-won-t-have-to/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [I'm a conservative classical writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-m-a-conservative-classical-writer/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [I am a writer. I am rooted in Tolstoy, I am rooted in Homer, I am rooted in Cervantes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-am-a-writer-i-am-rooted-in-tolstoy-i-am-rooted-in-homer-i-am-rooted/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [I'm Austrian, but my mother was Slovenian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/i-m-austrian-but-my-mother-was-slovenian/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [Samuel Beckett. He is a kind of hero for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/samuel-beckett-he-is-a-kind-of-hero-for-me/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [The so-called world knows everything about Slobodan Milosevic. The so-called world knows the truth. But I don't know the truth. But I watch. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/the-so-called-world-knows-everything-about-slobodan-milosevic-the-so/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

> [There are many kinds of truth. But truth communicated by beauty is the only pure one. The only one that touches me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/there-are-many-kinds-of-truth-but-truth-communicated-by-beauty-is-the/)

[Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

[Explore all 37 Peter Handke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/)

## More Accusing quotes

> [You remember from watching the show, there are no "jokes." That's why if you see people on Twitter accusing me of being a "joke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/you-remember-from-watching-the-show-there-are-no-jokes-that-s-why-if/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/)

[William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/)

> [Making fun of anyone who seeks happiness rather than money and accusing them of "lacking ambition."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/making-fun-of-anyone-who-seeks-happiness-rather-than-money-and/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [I cannot bear the language TV chefs use - they don't seem able to look at a plate of vegetables without accusing it of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-widdecombe/i-cannot-bear-the-language-tv-chefs-use-they-don-t-seem-able-to-look/)

[Ann Widdecombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-widdecombe/)

> [Critics are always complaining about the materialism of hip-hop and accusing the artists of living way above their means. But this ostentatious sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-de-pury/critics-are-always-complaining-about-the-materialism-of-hip-hop-and/)

[Simon de Pury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-de-pury/)

> [You keep accusing me of blasphemy all of the time, but I cannot be convicted of a victimless crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/you-keep-accusing-me-of-blasphemy-all-of-the-time-but-i-cannot-be/)

[Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/)

> [She had heard it said that, before you could understand anybody, you needed to walk a mile in their shoes, which did not make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/she-had-heard-it-said-that-before-you-could-understand-anybody-you/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [I'm a true believer in story. I think when you just tell people to think, people tend to get resistant and defensive and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peele/i-m-a-true-believer-in-story-i-think-when-you-just-tell-people-to/)

[Jordan Peele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peele/)

> [People have pointed out evidences of personal feeling in my notices as if they were accusing me of a misdemeanor, not knowing that criticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/people-have-pointed-out-evidences-of-personal-feeling-in-my-notices/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Unless you're willing to fight and refight the same battles until you go blue in the face, drive the people you work with nuts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/unless-you-re-willing-to-fight-and-refight-the-same-battles-until-you/)

[Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/)

> [Nothing gets under my skin faster than accusing me of lying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-gets-under-my-skin-faster-than-accusing-me-of-lying/)

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

> [Believe not each accusing tongue, As most weak persons do; But still believe that story wrong, Which ought not to be true!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/believe-not-each-accusing-tongue-as-most-weak-persons-do-but-still/)

[Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/)

> [You told me I wrote that poem because I was afraid of dealing with myself. And I used my mom as an excuse, accusing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/you-told-me-i-wrote-that-poem-because-i-was-afraid-of-dealing-with/)

[Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/)

> [I am accusing him of stealing my best material, he was a very funny man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-carson/i-am-accusing-him-of-stealing-my-best-material-he-was-a-very-funny-man/)

[Frank Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-carson/)

> [We are not accusing you of being illegal, we are accusing you of being immoral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-hodge/we-are-not-accusing-you-of-being-illegal-we-are-accusing-you-of-being/)

[Margaret Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-hodge/)

Browse all 129 Accusing quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Why don't people just open... my works instead of accusing me?",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Peter Handke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-instead-of-accusing-me/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accusing"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-instead-of-accusing-me/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/peter-handke-14893_accusing_why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-inst_2522083.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/peter-handke-14893_accusing_why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-inst_2522083.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8f3/peter-handke-14893_accusing_why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-inst_2522083.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Why don't people just open... my works instead of accusing me?” — Peter Handke",
                "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": "Peter Handke",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Why don't people just open... my...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-instead-of-accusing-me/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/why-don-t-people-just-open-my-works-instead-of-accusing-me/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
