--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: the disgust that exists indelibly between…" description: "\"“the disgust that exists indelibly between men and women and that you are always trying to purge with what you call frankness. As soon as you cease to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/rachel-cusk-3482_disgust_the-disgust-that-exists-indelibly-betwee_2622876.jpg" --- # the disgust that exists indelibly between men and women… ![“the disgust that exists indelibly between men and women and that you are always trying to purge with what you call frankness. As soon as you cease to be frank, you see a stain, you are forced to acknowledge imperfection, and you want only to run away and hide in shame.” quote by Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/rachel-cusk-3482_disgust_the-disgust-that-exists-indelibly-betwee_2622876.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/rachel-cusk-3482_disgust_the-disgust-that-exists-indelibly-betwee_2622876.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/rachel-cusk-3482_disgust_the-disgust-that-exists-indelibly-betwee_2622876.jpg) > ““the disgust that exists indelibly between men and women and that you are always trying to purge with what you call frankness. As soon as you cease to be frank, you see a stain, you are forced to acknowledge imperfection, and you want only to run away and hide in shame.”” [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Frankness can mask deeper shame; true intimacy requires acknowledging imperfection. **In simple terms:** Honesty reveals hidden shame. Key Takeaway Embrace vulnerability. Themes gender communication shame Mood introspective empathetic Type novel psychological When to use this quote - therapy - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What does being “frank” mean to you? - How can you accept imperfection? A Different Perspective Fear of judgment can hinder honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disgust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgust/) [Frankness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frankness/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) ## Related quotes > [“This man had something to hide, some shame in his past, and those with a past can always be bought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-rankin/this-man-had-something-to-hide-some-shame-in-his-past-and-those-with/) [Ian Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-rankin/) > [He who loves is not ashamed before men of what he does for God, neither does he hide it through shame though the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-the-cross/he-who-loves-is-not-ashamed-before-men-of-what-he-does-for-god/) [John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-the-cross/) > [Always be yourself. never try to hide who you are. the only shame is to have shame. always stand up for what you believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-be-yourself-never-try-to-hide-who-you-are-the-only-shame-is-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Afraid to let your secrets out Everything that you hide Can come crashing through the door now But too scared to face all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenth-avenue-north/afraid-to-let-your-secrets-out-everything-that-you-hide-can-come/) [Tenth Avenue North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenth-avenue-north/) > [“If you don't have the grace and wit to die early, you are forced to vanish, to hide as if in shame and apology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/if-you-don-t-have-the-grace-and-wit-to-die-early-you-are-forced-to/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“A blanket could be used to hide my shame and cover my insecurities. But so could a camouflaged condom. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/a-blanket-could-be-used-to-hide-my-shame-and-cover-my-insecurities/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“you had said those things to him, you understand, you would have heard some truths in return. If you had been frank you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/you-had-said-those-things-to-him-you-understand-you-would-have-heard/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“mutual frankness that she could work out who she herself was and what she actually wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/mutual-frankness-that-she-could-work-out-who-she-herself-was-and-what/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [The 'frankness' of people sunk below shame is a very cheap frankness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-frankness-of-people-sunk-below-shame-is-a-very-cheap-frankness/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [An eating disorder epidemic suggests that love and disgust are being jointly marketed, as it were; that wherever the proposition might first have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/an-eating-disorder-epidemic-suggests-that-love-and-disgust-are-being/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“Oh yes, I am frequently driven to an enraged frenzy by the blatantly crass actions of others. But to be painfully honest, that anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/oh-yes-i-am-frequently-driven-to-an-enraged-frenzy-by-the-blatantly/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [...and yet could swear it was just then that I fell in love. It wasn't, of course, simply the onions -- it was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/and-yet-could-swear-it-was-just-then-that-i-fell-in-love-it-wasn-t-of/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“What was the point, I told myself, of trying to explain to people who would never understand? Frankness just stirred up trouble amoung women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-dalby/what-was-the-point-i-told-myself-of-trying-to-explain-to-people-who/) [Liza Dalby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-dalby/) > [The love of their country is with them only a mode of flattering its master; as soon as they think that master can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-custine/the-love-of-their-country-is-with-them-only-a-mode-of-flattering-its/) [Marquis De Custine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-custine/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) ## More by Rachel Cusk > [A creative writing workshop will contain students whose ambitions and abilities, whose conceptions of literature itself, are so diverse that what they have in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-creative-writing-workshop-will-contain-students-whose-ambitions-and/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“If a man had a nasty side to his character, she wanted to get to it immediately and confront it. She didn’t want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/if-a-man-had-a-nasty-side-to-his-character-she-wanted-to-get-to-it/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [If I know somebody is coming 'round, it is incredibly difficult for me to work because I'm waiting for this interruption - even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/if-i-know-somebody-is-coming-round-it-is-incredibly-difficult-for-me/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [I felt that I could swim for miles, out into the ocean: a desire for freedom, an impulse to move, tugged at me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/i-felt-that-i-could-swim-for-miles-out-into-the-ocean-a-desire-for/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [The creativity of childhood was often surrendered amid feelings of unworthiness. So the idea that others are demanding to be given it back -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/the-creativity-of-childhood-was-often-surrendered-amid-feelings-of/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [A neighbor is something that belongs to the stable world of home life, the thing that lives next door to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-neighbor-is-something-that-belongs-to-the-stable-world-of-home-life/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Help is dangerous because it exists outside the human economy: the only payment for help is gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/help-is-dangerous-because-it-exists-outside-the-human-economy-the/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [A feminist man is a bit like a vegetarian: it's the humanitarian principle he's defending, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/a-feminist-man-is-a-bit-like-a-vegetarian-it-s-the-humanitarian/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Feminism remains something that needs to be explained to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/feminism-remains-something-that-needs-to-be-explained-to-people/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“At the time, he had got rid of her so efficiently and so suavely that she had felt almost reassured even as she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/at-the-time-he-had-got-rid-of-her-so-efficiently-and-so-suavely-that/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [“From the distance of England the Italian cuisine seems to be all things to all people. It does not expect you to bend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/from-the-distance-of-england-the-italian-cuisine-seems-to-be-all/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [You could time a suburban story by your watch: it lasts as long as it takes a small furry animal that's lonely to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/you-could-time-a-suburban-story-by-your-watch-it-lasts-as-long-as-it/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [It is expected that a children's story will raise a difficulty and then resolve it: increasingly, this resolution is so prompt and so resounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/it-is-expected-that-a-children-s-story-will-raise-a-difficulty-and/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Human beings have a need, generally, to destroy things. The Freudian principle of civilisation is correct. There's always, always a difference between the family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/human-beings-have-a-need-generally-to-destroy-things-the-freudian/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [I don't think I knew that you could be a novelist. I think a lot of my students are in the same condition. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/i-don-t-think-i-knew-that-you-could-be-a-novelist-i-think-a-lot-of-my/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) [Explore all 128 Rachel Cusk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) ## More Disgust quotes > [“Joe!” he groaned, attempting to speak clearly. “Joe! Good ol’ Joe!” “Captain, you’re drunk!” Lofflin said, stating the obvious while trying to keep his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-engela/joe-he-groaned-attempting-to-speak-clearly-joe-good-ol-joe-captain/) [Christina Engela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-engela/) > [“but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/but-now-that-i-had-finished-the-beauty-of-the-dream-vanished-and/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [“in my afterword, which discusses the ugliest of all ugly feelings: disgust. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sianne-ngai/in-my-afterword-which-discusses-the-ugliest-of-all-ugly-feelings/) [Sianne Ngai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sianne-ngai/) > [Unless an entire row of people got up in the middle of a performance and left the theater in disgust, I felt as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-piven/unless-an-entire-row-of-people-got-up-in-the-middle-of-a-performance/) [Jeremy Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-piven/) > [Good God, man, what is that smell?" He eyed with disgust the doctor's filthy cloak. "Life," answered the doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/good-god-man-what-is-that-smell-he-eyed-with-disgust-the-doctor-s/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Of all facial expressions, which is the worst to have aimed at you? Wouldn't you agree it's disgust?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leif-enger/of-all-facial-expressions-which-is-the-worst-to-have-aimed-at-you/) [Leif Enger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leif-enger/) > [“He has the look of someone whose soul got up and walked away in disgust a long time ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-kidd/he-has-the-look-of-someone-whose-soul-got-up-and-walked-away-in/) [Jess Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-kidd/) > [Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust; hatred alone is immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/love-turns-with-a-little-indulgence-to-indifference-or-disgust-hatred/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [He made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat. "Oh thank you so much. That's what every man wants to hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/he-made-a-sound-of-disgust-in-the-back-of-his-throat-oh-thank-you-so/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [The reason that last-ditch political maneuvering has become business as usual in Washington is that the actors involved are drunk on blame and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/the-reason-that-last-ditch-political-maneuvering-has-become-business/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“His excuse made the corners of my mouth turn up. “You think I’m beautiful?” He frowned with disgust. “You’re gorgeous and you know it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/his-excuse-made-the-corners-of-my-mouth-turn-up-you-think-i-m/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [“I don't like animals. It's a strange thing, I don't like men and I don't like animals. As for God, he is beginning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/i-don-t-like-animals-it-s-a-strange-thing-i-don-t-like-men-and-i-don/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“Because of the size of this body, I must concentrate much harder than I usually do. Even the small things -- my foot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/because-of-the-size-of-this-body-i-must-concentrate-much-harder-than/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“…in that moment, as he saw and smelled how irresistible its effect was and how with lightning speed it spread and made captives of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-s-skind/in-that-moment-as-he-saw-and-smelled-how-irresistible-its-effect-was/) [Patrick Süskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-s-skind/) > [That man has missed something who has never left a brothel at sunrise feeling like throwing himself into the river out of pure disgust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/that-man-has-missed-something-who-has-never-left-a-brothel-at-sunrise/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Browse all 274 Disgust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disgust/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the disgust that exists indelibly between men and women and that you are always trying to purge with what you call frankness. 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