--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was no such thing as perfect…" description: "\"There was no such thing as perfect privacy, life was a perpetual concert-hall recital with a captive audience.\" — Rohinton Mistry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de1/rohinton-mistry-4393_audience_there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-priva_1463148.png" --- # There was no such thing as perfect privacy, life was a… ![“There was no such thing as perfect privacy, life was a perpetual concert-hall recital with a captive audience.” quote by Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de1/rohinton-mistry-4393_audience_there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-priva_1463148.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de1/rohinton-mistry-4393_audience_there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-priva_1463148.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de1/rohinton-mistry-4393_audience_there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-priva_1463148.png) > “There was no such thing as perfect privacy, life was a perpetual concert-hall recital with a captive audience.” [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes modern life as constantly observed, lacking true privacy, likening it to a perpetual performance. **In simple terms:** Life lacks privacy, like a constant public performance. Key Takeaway Seek moments of privacy. Themes privacy surveillance modern society Mood cynical contemplative Type observational critical When to use this quote - social media use - urban living - workplace openness - family gatherings Key Concepts sociology technology personal freedom Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect your privacy? - What does privacy mean to you? A Different Perspective Privacy may be impossible to achieve fully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Concerts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerts/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Privacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privacy/) [Recitals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recitals/) ## Related quotes > [My favorite job is being a father. I have four girls now. They're a captive audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-willis/my-favorite-job-is-being-a-father-i-have-four-girls-now-they-re-a/) [Bruce Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-willis/) > [They say, 'TV is not a captive audience,' but it definitely is. You can easily switch off the bloody television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/they-say-tv-is-not-a-captive-audience-but-it-definitely-is-you-can/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [It's weird, I actually like doing interviews now. Ever since I gave up therapy, it's my only time with a captive audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/it-s-weird-i-actually-like-doing-interviews-now-ever-since-i-gave-up/) [Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/) > [In cinema, you have a captive audience, but to grab the attention of a housewife, who is in the middle of her household work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amrita-rao/in-cinema-you-have-a-captive-audience-but-to-grab-the-attention-of-a/) [Amrita Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amrita-rao/) > [“You think you can start tomorrow? I need a break." "Only if you can free me from this beast of a chair," I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myra-mcentire/you-think-you-can-start-tomorrow-i-need-a-break-only-if-you-can-free/) [Myra McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myra-mcentire/) > [Movies always had a captive audience, so they were able to do deeper, more complex things. Television was always about, 'Look at me now!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-jenkins/movies-always-had-a-captive-audience-so-they-were-able-to-do-deeper/) [Patty Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-jenkins/) > [On an independent film you're lucky if you get one, but ostensibly the job is the same. There's very little difference, apart from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/on-an-independent-film-you-re-lucky-if-you-get-one-but-ostensibly-the/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [Ever since I gave up therapy, it's my only time with a captive audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/ever-since-i-gave-up-therapy-it-s-my-only-time-with-a-captive-audience/) [Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/) > [Advertising in the past has been predicated on a mass market and a captive audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/advertising-in-the-past-has-been-predicated-on-a-mass-market-and-a/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [In TV the main purpose is to have them keep their hands off the dial. In movies, where you have a captive audience, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bass/in-tv-the-main-purpose-is-to-have-them-keep-their-hands-off-the-dial/) [Saul Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bass/) > [When you think about brands and movie studios and everybody who is trying to reach millennials, having a captive audience in the back of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-carter/when-you-think-about-brands-and-movie-studios-and-everybody-who-is/) [Troy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-carter/) > [It would drive the photographers crazy because I would giggle and tell jokes. I was gregarious, and looking back, I realize I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/it-would-drive-the-photographers-crazy-because-i-would-giggle-and/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [I was a drama teacher, so I had the opportunity to show off in front of a captive audience. I essentially did 13 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/i-was-a-drama-teacher-so-i-had-the-opportunity-to-show-off-in-front/) [Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/) > [MARRIAGE, A legal custom which turns a man into the captive audience of his wife;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/marriage-a-legal-custom-which-turns-a-man-into-the-captive-audience/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [. . . this life is a perpetual chequer-work of good and evil, pleasure and pain. When in possession of what we desire, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-de-rabutin-chantal-marquise-de-sevigne/this-life-is-a-perpetual-chequer-work-of-good-and-evil-pleasure-and/) [Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sevigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-de-rabutin-chantal-marquise-de-sevigne/) ## More by Rohinton Mistry > [You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/you-have-to-maintain-a-fine-balance-between-hope-and-despair/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“What sense did the world make? Where was God, the Bloody Fool? Did He have no notion of fair and unfair? Couldn't He read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-sense-did-the-world-make-where-was-god-the-bloody-fool-did-he/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [Lately you are brooding too much about rights. Give up this dangerous habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/lately-you-are-brooding-too-much-about-rights-give-up-this-dangerous/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [Flirting with madness was one thing; when madness started flirting back, it was time to call the whole thing off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/flirting-with-madness-was-one-thing-when-madness-started-flirting/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“But since the world is imperfect, we must put blinders on the senses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/but-since-the-world-is-imperfect-we-must-put-blinders-on-the-senses/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“And the further they go, the more they'll remember, they can take it from me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/and-the-further-they-go-the-more-they-ll-remember-they-can-take-it/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [World can be a bewildering place,and dreams and ambitions are often paths to the most pernicious of traps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/world-can-be-a-bewildering-place-and-dreams-and-ambitions-are-often/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“In those days," continued Ishvar, "it seemed to me that that was all one could expect in life. A harsh road strewn with sharp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/in-those-days-continued-ishvar-it-seemed-to-me-that-that-was-all-one/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“God is dead," said Maneck. "That's what a German philosopher wrote." She was shocked. "Trust the Germans to say such things," she frowned. "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/god-is-dead-said-maneck-that-s-what-a-german-philosopher-wrote-she/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“Where humans were concerned, the only emotion that made sense was wonder, at their ability to endure; and sorrow, for the hopelessness of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/where-humans-were-concerned-the-only-emotion-that-made-sense-was/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [“I've done lots of jobs. Right now, I'm a hair collector." "That's good", said Ishvar tentatively. "What do you have to do as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/i-ve-done-lots-of-jobs-right-now-i-m-a-hair-collector-that-s-good/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [If there was an abundance of misery in the world, there was also sufficient joy, yes - as long as one knew where to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/if-there-was-an-abundance-of-misery-in-the-world-there-was-also/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [The whole quilt is much more important than any single square.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/the-whole-quilt-is-much-more-important-than-any-single-square/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [...there was another, gorier parturition, when two nations incarnated out of one. A foreigner drew a magic line on a map and called it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/there-was-another-gorier-parturition-when-two-nations-incarnated-out/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) [Explore all 110 Rohinton Mistry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. 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My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was no such thing as perfect privacy, life was a perpetual concert-hall recital with a captive audience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rohinton Mistry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-privacy-life-was-a-perpetual/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Audience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-privacy-life-was-a-perpetual/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de1/rohinton-mistry-4393_audience_there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-priva_1463148.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de1/rohinton-mistry-4393_audience_there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-priva_1463148.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de1/rohinton-mistry-4393_audience_there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-priva_1463148.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There was no such thing as perfect privacy, life was a perpetual concert-hall recital with a captive audience.” — Rohinton Mistry", "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": "Rohinton Mistry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There was no such thing as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-privacy-life-was-a-perpetual/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfect-privacy-life-was-a-perpetual/#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 } } ] } ```