--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge…" description: "\"“Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge such thoughts? I must be modern; I live now. But like everybody else, as Hollier says, I live in a muddle of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/958/robertson-davies-834_time_can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge_1978491.png" --- # Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge such thoughts? I… ![“Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge such thoughts? I must be modern; I live now. But like everybody else, as Hollier says, I live in a muddle of eras, and some of my ideas belong to today, and some to an ancient past, and some to periods of time that seem more relevant to my parents than to…” quote by Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/958/robertson-davies-834_time_can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge_1978491.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/958/robertson-davies-834_time_can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge_1978491.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/958/robertson-davies-834_time_can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge_1978491.png) > ““Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge such thoughts? I must be modern; I live now. But like everybody else, as Hollier says, I live in a muddle of eras, and some of my ideas belong to today, and some to an ancient past, and some to periods of time that seem more relevant to my parents than to me. If I could sort them and control them I might know better where I stand, but when I most want to be contemporary the Past keeps pushing in, and when I long for the Past (like when I wish Tadeusz had not died, and were with me now to guide and explain and help me to find where I belong in life) the Present cannot be pushed away. When I hear girls I know longing to be what they call liberated, and when I hear others rejoicing in what they think of as liberation, I feel a fool, because I simply do not know where I stand.”” [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels torn between past and present, struggling to define a modern identity amid conflicting eras. **In simple terms:** Struggles with balancing past influences and present self. Key Takeaway Embrace both history and present to shape identity. Themes identity time modernity Mood conflicted thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - career decisions - personal growth - cultural adaptation - family heritage Key Concepts historical consciousness self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How do you integrate past lessons today? - Can you be modern while honoring history? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on the past may hinder forward movement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Live Now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-now/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [With ritual, I punctuate my days till they no longer belong to who I am today but to who I'll be when I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/with-ritual-i-punctuate-my-days-till-they-no-longer-belong-to-who-i/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“My God, I acknowledge that Your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are Your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/my-god-i-acknowledge-that-your-thoughts-are-not-my-thoughts-neither/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“Let me guess. Because you are not proud of yourself? Because you despise who you are? Because, if you show these emotions, they acknowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fisher-amelie/let-me-guess-because-you-are-not-proud-of-yourself-because-you/) [Fisher Amelie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fisher-amelie/) > [“If we don’t allow ourselves to acknowledge the thoughts that create our emotions, then we can’t address them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-elkrief/if-we-don-t-allow-ourselves-to-acknowledge-the-thoughts-that-create/) [Noah Elkrief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-elkrief/) > [ I think Lucy Ferry, now Birley, is absolutely beautiful. She's a modern girl, but she moves beautifully. Amanda \[Harlech\] moves beautifully when she's not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manolo-blahnik/i-think-lucy-ferry-now-birley-is-absolutely-beautiful-she-s-a-modern/) [Manolo Blahnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manolo-blahnik/) > [I am in Deepak Ramsay's 'Koi Mere Dil Mein Hain,' where I am a modern girl who wears bold outfits. She makes heads turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-am-in-deepak-ramsay-s-koi-mere-dil-mein-hain-where-i-am-a-modern/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Travel and timelessness mean everything to me, and making clothes that resonate with the modern it-girl is what I knew I needed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-gutowski/travel-and-timelessness-mean-everything-to-me-and-making-clothes-that/) [Eva Gutowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-gutowski/) > [I am a modern girl but I carry traditional values with me. I can't leave them just in the name of being modern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rimi-sen/i-am-a-modern-girl-but-i-carry-traditional-values-with-me-i-can-t/) [Rimi Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rimi-sen/) > [It's about having that nice balance. I think that's the answer to today's modern girl who is on the run. She's throwing on something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-wickstead/it-s-about-having-that-nice-balance-i-think-that-s-the-answer-to/) [Emilia Wickstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilia-wickstead/) > [I'm a modern girl with old-fashioned sensibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annaleigh-ashford/i-m-a-modern-girl-with-old-fashioned-sensibilities/) [Annaleigh Ashford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annaleigh-ashford/) > [For me, I analyze the modern girl, the girl that I'm friends with, and they're empowered: They pay their own bills. They have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-abloh/for-me-i-analyze-the-modern-girl-the-girl-that-i-m-friends-with-and/) [Virgil Abloh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-abloh/) > [I'm sorry, but I do hate this differentiation between the sexes. 'The modern girl has a thoroughly businesslike attitude to life' That sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/i-m-sorry-but-i-do-hate-this-differentiation-between-the-sexes-the/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [There was a time when I thought I was never going to get out of a corset. I wondered when I would get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-page/there-was-a-time-when-i-thought-i-was-never-going-to-get-out-of-a/) [Joanna Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-page/) > [I'm a modern girl, but you should put your husband first. I like to think divorce is not an option.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khloe-kardashian/i-m-a-modern-girl-but-you-should-put-your-husband-first-i-like-to/) [Khloe Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khloe-kardashian/) > [“the march of civilisation has given the modern girl a vocabulary and an ability to use it which her grandmother never had”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/the-march-of-civilisation-has-given-the-modern-girl-a-vocabulary-and/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) ## More by Robertson Davies > [“...the irrational will have its say, perhaps because 'irrational' is the wrong word for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-irrational-will-have-its-say-perhaps-because-irrational-is-the/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [If you're going to do something that looks evil, don't smear it with icing and pretend it's good; just bloody well do it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/if-you-re-going-to-do-something-that-looks-evil-don-t-smear-it-with/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/extraordinary-people-survive-under-the-most-terrible-circumstances/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [If I had to describe my remarks this evening frankly as if I were in police court and on oath, so to speak I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/if-i-had-to-describe-my-remarks-this-evening-frankly-as-if-i-were-in/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The people of the United States, perhaps more than any other nation in history, love to abase themselves and proclaim their unworthiness, and seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-people-of-the-united-states-perhaps-more-than-any-other-nation-in/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I don't suppose God laughs at the people who think He doesn't exist. He's above jokes. But the devil isn't. That's one of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/i-don-t-suppose-god-laughs-at-the-people-who-think-he-doesn-t-exist/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Inactivity and deprivation of all accustomed stimulus is not rest; it is a preparation for the tomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/inactivity-and-deprivation-of-all-accustomed-stimulus-is-not-rest-it/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“My lifelong involvement with Mrs Dempster began at 5:58 o'clock p.m. on 27 December 1908, at which time I was ten years and seven months old.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/my-lifelong-involvement-with-mrs-dempster-began-at-5-58-o-clock-p-m/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [In a government like ours, the Crown is the abiding and unshakable element in government; politicians may come and go, but the Crown remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/in-a-government-like-ours-the-crown-is-the-abiding-and-unshakable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The art of the quoter is to know when to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/the-art-of-the-quoter-is-to-know-when-to-stop/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [There can be no doubt that Samuel Marchbanks is one of the choice and master spirits of this age. If there were such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-can-be-no-doubt-that-samuel-marchbanks-is-one-of-the-choice-and/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Nobody who looks as though he enjoyed life is ever called distinguished, though he is a man in a million.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/nobody-who-looks-as-though-he-enjoyed-life-is-ever-called/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [They're all so highly educated, you know. Education is a great shield against experience. It offers so much, ready-made and all from the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/they-re-all-so-highly-educated-you-know-education-is-a-great-shield/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Students today are a pretty solemn lot. One of the really notable achievements of the twentieth century has been to make the young old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/students-today-are-a-pretty-solemn-lot-one-of-the-really-notable/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) [Explore all 357 Robertson Davies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## More Time quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [These joys were so trifling as to be as imperceptible as grains of gold among the sand, and in moments of depression she saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/these-joys-were-so-trifling-as-to-be-as-imperceptible-as-grains-of/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [Intel has a very complete process that I go through any time I want to sell that ensures I have no insider information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-krzanich/intel-has-a-very-complete-process-that-i-go-through-any-time-i-want/) [Brian Krzanich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-krzanich/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) [Browse all 215,255 Time quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge such thoughts? I must be modern; I live now. But like everybody else, as Hollier says, I live in a muddle of eras, and some of my ideas belong to today, and some to an ancient past, and some to periods of time that seem more relevant to my parents than to me. If I could sort them and control them I might know better where I stand, but when I most want to be contemporary the Past keeps pushing in, and when I long for the Past (like when I wish Tadeusz had not died, and were with me now to guide and explain and help me to find where I belong in life) the Present cannot be pushed away. When I hear girls I know longing to be what they call liberated, and when I hear others rejoicing in what they think of as liberation, I feel a fool, because I simply do not know where I stand.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robertson Davies" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge-such-thoughts-i-must-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge-such-thoughts-i-must-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/958/robertson-davies-834_time_can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge_1978491.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/958/robertson-davies-834_time_can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge_1978491.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/958/robertson-davies-834_time_can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge_1978491.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge such thoughts? I must be modern; I live now. But like everybody…” — Robertson Davies", "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": "Robertson Davies", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Can I be a modern girl,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge-such-thoughts-i-must-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/can-i-be-a-modern-girl-if-i-acknowledge-such-thoughts-i-must-be/#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 } } ] } ```