--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Perfect' is about a set-up that looks…" description: "\"'Perfect' is about a set-up that looks perfect from the outside - beautiful country house, beautiful wife and mother, everything where it should be - a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/rachel-joyce-2226_about_perfect-is-about-a-set-up-that-looks-per_2347973.png" --- # 'Perfect' is about a set-up that looks perfect from the… ![“'Perfect' is about a set-up that looks perfect from the outside - beautiful country house, beautiful wife and mother, everything where it should be - and the deep fissures that, in fact, lie beneath that. 'Perfect' was partly a response to the shock of my first book, 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of…” quote by Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/rachel-joyce-2226_about_perfect-is-about-a-set-up-that-looks-per_2347973.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/rachel-joyce-2226_about_perfect-is-about-a-set-up-that-looks-per_2347973.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad6/rachel-joyce-2226_about_perfect-is-about-a-set-up-that-looks-per_2347973.png) > “'Perfect' is about a set-up that looks perfect from the outside - beautiful country house, beautiful wife and mother, everything where it should be - and the deep fissures that, in fact, lie beneath that. 'Perfect' was partly a response to the shock of my first book, 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry,' being a success.” [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A seemingly perfect life often hides hidden cracks and unresolved issues beneath its surface. **In simple terms:** Perfect appearances conceal deeper problems. Key Takeaway Examine what lies beneath the surface. Themes family appearance hidden truths self‑reflection Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary reflective When to use this quote - marriage counseling - personal growth - grief processing - creative writing Key Concepts psychology illusion family dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your life seem perfect but feel unstable? - How do you address hidden problems in relationships? A Different Perspective Perfection can be a fragile façade that may crumble under scrutiny. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-wife/) [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fry/) [Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harold/) [Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lie/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Pilgrimage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pilgrimage/) [Shock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shock/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wife And Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife-and-mother/) ## Related quotes > [We are quick to stick labels on others - especially those who don't fit in with the norm. 'Harold Fry' is about a broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/we-are-quick-to-stick-labels-on-others-especially-those-who-don-t-fit/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [The story of Harold Fry and his unlikely pilgrimage began as an afternoon play for radio. For many years, I have been writing plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/the-story-of-harold-fry-and-his-unlikely-pilgrimage-began-as-an/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [Everything that looks too perfect is too perfect to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/everything-that-looks-too-perfect-is-too-perfect-to-be-perfect/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Everything looks perfect from far away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aly-johnson/everything-looks-perfect-from-far-away/) [Aly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aly-johnson/) > [Being someone's first can be so great, but being someone's last, looks so perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-someone-s-first-can-be-so-great-but-being-someone-s-last-looks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In writing about Harold and Maureen with their terrible unspoken secret, and all those people that Harold meets as he walks to save a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/in-writing-about-harold-and-maureen-with-their-terrible-unspoken/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [My love for artichokes comes from when I was very young. My mother and father would slice the hearts and fry them, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-love-for-artichokes-comes-from-when-i-was-very-young-my-mother-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a fry lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/i-m-a-fry-lover/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [As everyone knows, there is only one way to fry chicken correctly. Unfortunately, most people think their method is best, but most people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-colwin/as-everyone-knows-there-is-only-one-way-to-fry-chicken-correctly/) [Laurie Colwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-colwin/) > [Twitter is very impulsive and impermanent and you only have 140 characters. 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It was very humbling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/when-i-was-in-prison-a-lot-of-my-friends-blew-me-away-but-stephen-fry/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [Unlike other young actors I've worked with who will remain nameless, Zoey Deutch and Lucy Fry would never go out partying after work, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-waters/unlike-other-young-actors-i-ve-worked-with-who-will-remain-nameless/) [Mark Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-waters/) > [I love Stephen Fry. His tweets are witty, poignant, and intelligent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabelle-wallis/i-love-stephen-fry-his-tweets-are-witty-poignant-and-intelligent/) [Annabelle Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabelle-wallis/) ## More by Rachel Joyce > [“IT HAD NEVER been such a beautiful May. Every day the sky shone a peerless blue, untouched by cloud. Already, the gardens were crammed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/it-had-never-been-such-a-beautiful-may-every-day-the-sky-shone-a/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [After the two drinks, she felt warm inside, and slightly indistinct at the edges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/after-the-two-drinks-she-felt-warm-inside-and-slightly-indistinct-at/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“He walked so surely it was as if all his life he had been waiting to get up from his chair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/he-walked-so-surely-it-was-as-if-all-his-life-he-had-been-waiting-to/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [He must have driven this way countless times, and yet he had no memory of the scenery. He must have been so caught up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/he-must-have-driven-this-way-countless-times-and-yet-he-had-no-memory/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“He saw the reflection of her face in a compact mirror as she painted on her re lips. She did it with such care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/he-saw-the-reflection-of-her-face-in-a-compact-mirror-as-she-painted/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“I can't explain why I think I can get there, when all the odds are against me. But I do. Even when a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/i-can-t-explain-why-i-think-i-can-get-there-when-all-the-odds-are/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“It wasn’t just 1) the artwork and sleeve notes on the album sleeve. It wasn’t 2) the possibility of a hidden track, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/it-wasn-t-just-1-the-artwork-and-sleeve-notes-on-the-album-sleeve-it/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [In writing about Harold and Maureen with their terrible unspoken secret, and all those people that Harold meets as he walks to save a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/in-writing-about-harold-and-maureen-with-their-terrible-unspoken/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“He wished the man would honor the true meaning of words, instead of using them as ammunition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/he-wished-the-man-would-honor-the-true-meaning-of-words-instead-of/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“We are at the centre of our own stories. And sometimes it is hard to believe that we are not at the centre of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/we-are-at-the-centre-of-our-own-stories-and-sometimes-it-is-hard-to/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [I find that very appealing: the blurring of the lines between what's funny and what's tragic. And what's ordinary and what's not - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/i-find-that-very-appealing-the-blurring-of-the-lines-between-what-s/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [Beginnings could happen more than once or in different ways. You could think you were starting something afresh, when actually what you were doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/beginnings-could-happen-more-than-once-or-in-different-ways-you-could/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“As time passed and he found his rhythm, he began to feel more certain. England opened up beneath his feet, and the feeling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/as-time-passed-and-he-found-his-rhythm-he-began-to-feel-more-certain/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“It surprised him that he was remembering all this. Maybe it was the walking. Maybe you saw even more than the land when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/it-surprised-him-that-he-was-remembering-all-this-maybe-it-was-the/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“There was something about her, something pure and fluid that could not be contained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/there-was-something-about-her-something-pure-and-fluid-that-could-not/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) [Explore all 162 Rachel Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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