--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alcoholics build defenses like the Dutch…" description: "\"“Alcoholics build defenses like the Dutch build dikes. I spent the first twelve years or so of my married life assuring myself that I “just liked to dr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/stephen-king-13_life_alcoholics-build-defenses-like-the-dutch_998987.jpg" --- # Alcoholics build defenses like the Dutch build dikes. I… ![“Alcoholics build defenses like the Dutch build dikes. I spent the first twelve years or so of my married life assuring myself that I “just liked to drink.” I also employed the world-famous Hemingway Defense. Although never clearly articulated (it would not be manly to do so), the Hemingway Defense…” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/stephen-king-13_life_alcoholics-build-defenses-like-the-dutch_998987.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/stephen-king-13_life_alcoholics-build-defenses-like-the-dutch_998987.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c50/stephen-king-13_life_alcoholics-build-defenses-like-the-dutch_998987.jpg) > ““Alcoholics build defenses like the Dutch build dikes. I spent the first twelve years or so of my married life assuring myself that I “just liked to drink.” I also employed the world-famous Hemingway Defense. Although never clearly articulated (it would not be manly to do so), the Hemingway Defense goes something like this: as a writer, I am a very sensitive fellow, but I am also a man, and real men don’t give in to their sensitivities. Only sissy-men do that. Therefore I drink. How else can I face the existential horror of it all and continue to work? Besides, come on, I can handle it. A real man always can.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## 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 rationalizes alcohol use through a masculine façade, exposing denial and self‑justification. **In simple terms:** He pretends drinking is a sign of strength, not weakness. Key Takeaway Question the “masculine” excuses you use for harmful habits. Themes addiction masculinity denial self‑justification Mood candid critical Type confessional analytical When to use this quote - stressful situations - creative work - social gatherings - personal crises Key Concepts psychology social pressure Questions to Reflect On - What “defenses” do you use to avoid confronting pain? - How does gender expectation shape coping strategies? A Different Perspective The narrative may romanticize self‑destructive behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcoholics Build](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics-build-2094864/) [Build Defenses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/build-defenses-1417746/) [Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway/) [Hemingway Defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway-defense-2094863/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Manly Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manly-hemingway-2094865/) [Married life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/married-life/) [Real man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-man/) [Real men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-men/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [We will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-build-our-defenses-beyond-challenge-lest-weakness-invite/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“People build defenses around a weakness, not around strength. Where self-esteem is strong, a defense is unnecessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/people-build-defenses-around-a-weakness-not-around-strength-where/) [David W. Earle LPC- Love is Not Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-w-earle-lpc-love-is-not-enough/) > [Each day is an opportunity to build the defenses of peace in the minds of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akrawi/each-day-is-an-opportunity-to-build-the-defenses-of-peace-in-the/) [Widad Akrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akrawi/) > [Hemingway sucks. If I set out to write that way, it would have been been hollow and lifeless because it wasn't me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/hemingway-sucks-if-i-set-out-to-write-that-way-it-would-have-been/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The separation of young single adults from (plain old) single adults is supposedly a precaution against older men courting girls as young as eighteen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hardy/the-separation-of-young-single-adults-from-plain-old-single-adults-is/) [Nicole Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hardy/) > [Married life is an existence with bars around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/married-life-is-an-existence-with-bars-around-it/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [“Then as now much time was spent arguing about the rights of women, husband-and-wife relationships and freedom and rights within marriage, but Natasha had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/then-as-now-much-time-was-spent-arguing-about-the-rights-of-women/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Married to Life,only death can divorce us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boat-grandberry/married-to-life-only-death-can-divorce-us/) [Boat\_Grandberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boat-grandberry/) > [I'm very old-fashioned. I believe that people should stay married for life, like pigeons and Catholics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-m-very-old-fashioned-i-believe-that-people-should-stay-married-for/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“... having been with Boaz for so long that she could predict every one of his moves, their sex life was more like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-antopol/having-been-with-boaz-for-so-long-that-she-could-predict-every-one-of/) [Molly Antopol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-antopol/) > [Married life had taught him the futility of arguing with a female in a dark-brown mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/married-life-had-taught-him-the-futility-of-arguing-with-a-female-in/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“How do I make my married life wonderful instead of “nothing special”? (I would rather have a minute of wonderful than a lifetime of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-budzinski/how-do-i-make-my-married-life-wonderful-instead-of-nothing-special-i/) [Karen Budzinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-budzinski/) > [“It is lack of communication that leads to unhappy marriage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-is-lack-of-communication-that-leads-to-unhappy-marriage/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Christian marriage is that sacrament which builds up the community of the Church and of society. Marriage has been inscribed in creation's design by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/christian-marriage-is-that-sacrament-which-builds-up-the-community-of/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [I wanted to have a peaceful married life with my wife, so we both moved to Sydney in Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-roy/i-wanted-to-have-a-peaceful-married-life-with-my-wife-so-we-both/) [Rahul Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-roy/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... 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The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Hemingway quotes > [“Do you read them? Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald?" "Only if I have to. I try to avoid old dead white men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/do-you-read-them-faulkner-hemingway-fitzgerald-only-if-i-have-to-i/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [Hemingway said the only way to write about a place is to leave it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/hemingway-said-the-only-way-to-write-about-a-place-is-to-leave-it/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [The key for me with historical characters is they're interesting because they're human beings. A little bit of Hemingway goes a long way here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hirst/the-key-for-me-with-historical-characters-is-they-re-interesting/) [Michael Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hirst/) > [“But writers and their woes: they couldn't be parted. Not for anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wood/but-writers-and-their-woes-they-couldn-t-be-parted-not-for-anything/) [Naomi Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wood/) > [Hemingway sucks. If I set out to write that way, it would have been been hollow and lifeless because it wasn't me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/hemingway-sucks-if-i-set-out-to-write-that-way-it-would-have-been/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“All right, said Nick. Let's get drunk. All right, Bill said. Let's get really drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-right-said-nick-let-s-get-drunk-all-right-bill-said-let-s-get/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Ernest Hemingway was always uneasy in New York and liked being there less than in any other city he frequented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-hotchner/ernest-hemingway-was-always-uneasy-in-new-york-and-liked-being-there/) [A. E. Hotchner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-hotchner/) > [Helpful to me over the years was some of Ernest Hemingway's writing, for example A Farewell to Arms. You have characters who speak Italian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-penkov/helpful-to-me-over-the-years-was-some-of-ernest-hemingway-s-writing/) [Miroslav Penkov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-penkov/) > [“The Purdey was not a Purdey but a straight-stocked long-barreled Scott live-pigeon full choke in both barrels thai I had bought from a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-purdey-was-not-a-purdey-but-a-straight-stocked-long-barreled/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I was writing novels in high school and apprenticed myself in a way both to Faulkner and to Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-was-writing-novels-in-high-school-and-apprenticed-myself-in-a-way/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did I know him? Did I love him? You ask me that? I knew him like you know nobody in the world, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/did-i-know-him-did-i-love-him-you-ask-me-that-i-knew-him-like-you/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The priest was good but dull. The officers were not good but dull. The King was good but dull. The wine was bad but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-priest-was-good-but-dull-the-officers-were-not-good-but-dull-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We knew what we had and what it meant, and though so much had happened since for both of us, there was nothing like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-mclain/we-knew-what-we-had-and-what-it-meant-and-though-so-much-had-happened/) [Paula McLain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-mclain/) > [I don't think I have even achieved fame. Of course, Hemingway says that fame is death's little sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/i-don-t-think-i-have-even-achieved-fame-of-course-hemingway-says-that/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [Wanted to write fiction since I was 11, since I first read 'In Our Time' by Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/wanted-to-write-fiction-since-i-was-11-since-i-first-read-in-our-time/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) [Browse all 244 Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemingway/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Alcoholics build defenses like the Dutch build dikes. I spent the first twelve years or so of my married life assuring myself that I “just liked to drink.” I also employed the world-famous Hemingway Defense. Although never clearly articulated (it would not be manly to do so), the Hemingway Defense goes something like this: as a writer, I am a very sensitive fellow, but I am also a man, and real men don’t give in to their sensitivities. Only sissy-men do that. Therefore I drink. How else can I face the existential horror of it all and continue to work? Besides, come on, I can handle it. 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