--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didn't grasp that desire and duty could…" description: "\"“I didn't grasp that desire and duty could rival each other, least of all that they most often did.”\" — Susan Choi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/susan-choi-21843_adulthood_i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-coul_825007.jpg" --- # I didn't grasp that desire and duty could rival each… ![“I didn't grasp that desire and duty could rival each other, least of all that they most often did.” quote by Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/susan-choi-21843_adulthood_i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-coul_825007.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/susan-choi-21843_adulthood_i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-coul_825007.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/susan-choi-21843_adulthood_i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-coul_825007.jpg) > ““I didn't grasp that desire and duty could rival each other, least of all that they most often did.”” [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire and duty can conflict, yet they often intersect, revealing that personal wishes may align with obligations. **In simple terms:** Desire and duty sometimes clash but also align. Key Takeaway Recognize where personal goals meet responsibilities. Themes conflict ethics self-discovery Mood introspective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - family obligations - creative projects Key Concepts desire vs duty moral dilemmas personal growth Questions to Reflect On - When have you felt desire and duty at odds? - Can conflict become a source of growth? A Different Perspective Not all duties are fulfilling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adulthood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) ## Related quotes > [“Before that night, I didn't grasp that the shadows that sometimes crossed her face weren't momentary clouds passing in front of the sun. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsey-philpot/before-that-night-i-didn-t-grasp-that-the-shadows-that-sometimes/) Chelsey Philpot > [If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/if-something-burns-your-soul-with-purpose-and-desire-it-s-your-duty/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“First, our common desire and duty as Christians must be to enter into the full purpose of God for us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-w-stott/first-our-common-desire-and-duty-as-christians-must-be-to-enter-into/) [John R.W. Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-w-stott/) > [Let others laugh when you sacrifice desire to duty, if they will. You have time and eternity to rejoice in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/let-others-laugh-when-you-sacrifice-desire-to-duty-if-they-will-you/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [One of the promising indications of a renewal in the Church's missionary consciousness in recent decades, has been the growing desire of many lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/one-of-the-promising-indications-of-a-renewal-in-the-church-s/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [The first duty of a Christian, of a disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, is to deny himself. 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That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-ve-never-written-a-book-with-an-outline-or-a-predetermined-theme-it/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [It's still funny for me to think of myself as someone who writes historical fiction because it seems like a really fusty, musty term,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/it-s-still-funny-for-me-to-think-of-myself-as-someone-who-writes/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [I stopped writing short fiction early on - I was never really good at it, and I never liked the results. So I stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-stopped-writing-short-fiction-early-on-i-was-never-really-good-at/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [“And I remembered now, too, my inadvertent youthful condescension, when the woman had said, apologizing for some information she couldn't recall, "I still remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/and-i-remembered-now-too-my-inadvertent-youthful-condescension-when/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [“Something crossed his face, a pure motion like wind over water--I couldn't have guessed what emotion it was. "I'll miss you," he said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/something-crossed-his-face-a-pure-motion-like-wind-over-water-i/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [I was the daughter of an immigrant, raised to feel that I needed to get excellent, flawless grades and a full scholarship and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-was-the-daughter-of-an-immigrant-raised-to-feel-that-i-needed-to/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [“I couldn't let you believe we'd keep going, when we'd already lasted too long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-couldn-t-let-you-believe-we-d-keep-going-when-we-d-already-lasted/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) > [All sorts of creative communities are withering in New York because it's too hard to live here. It's ridiculous how expensive it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/all-sorts-of-creative-communities-are-withering-in-new-york-because/) [Susan Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) [Explore all 28 Susan Choi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/) ## More Adulthood quotes > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. 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Česky: „Být dospělým neznamená zabít…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebasti-n-wortys/english-being-an-adult-doesn-t-mean-killing-the-child-we-once-were-it/) [Sebastián Wortys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebasti-n-wortys/) > [“I wondered what a man I had encountered the day before on the plane en route to Chicago's O'Hare airport would have made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-moss/i-wondered-what-a-man-i-had-encountered-the-day-before-on-the-plane/) [Robert Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-moss/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. 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Their tailored clothes and unbending hairdos, their clipboards and laser…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-baume/the-entrepreneurs-are-only-about-my-age-probably-younger-but-they-don/) [Sara Baume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-baume/) [Browse all 651 Adulthood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I didn't grasp that desire and duty could rival each other, least of all that they most often did.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Choi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-could-rival-each-other-least-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adulthood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-could-rival-each-other-least-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/susan-choi-21843_adulthood_i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-coul_825007.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/susan-choi-21843_adulthood_i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-coul_825007.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b28/susan-choi-21843_adulthood_i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-coul_825007.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I didn't grasp that desire and duty could rival each other, least of all that they most often did.” — Susan Choi", "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": "Susan Choi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-choi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I didn't grasp that desire and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-could-rival-each-other-least-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-choi/i-didn-t-grasp-that-desire-and-duty-could-rival-each-other-least-of/#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 } } ] } ```