--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I think about the sly…" description: "\"Sometimes I think about the sly, flickering line that separates being spared from being rejected. Sometimes I think of the ancient gods who demanded th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/tana-french-1016_ancient_sometimes-i-think-about-the-sly-flickeri_316000.png" --- # Sometimes I think about the sly, flickering line that… ![“Sometimes I think about the sly, flickering line that separates being spared from being rejected. Sometimes I think of the ancient gods who demanded that their sacrifices be fearless and without blemish, and I wonder whether, whoever or whatever took Peter and Jamie away, it decided I wasn't good…” quote by Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/tana-french-1016_ancient_sometimes-i-think-about-the-sly-flickeri_316000.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/tana-french-1016_ancient_sometimes-i-think-about-the-sly-flickeri_316000.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa8/tana-french-1016_ancient_sometimes-i-think-about-the-sly-flickeri_316000.png) > “Sometimes I think about the sly, flickering line that separates being spared from being rejected. Sometimes I think of the ancient gods who demanded that their sacrifices be fearless and without blemish, and I wonder whether, whoever or whatever took Peter and Jamie away, it decided I wasn't good enough.” [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The line between acceptance and rejection is thin; fear of being deemed unworthy can haunt us. **In simple terms:** Fear of rejection shapes self‑worth. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront fear of rejection. Themes identity fear acceptance Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - career evaluation - relationship building - creative pursuits - personal growth Key Concepts psychology existential dread Questions to Reflect On - What does being “spared” mean to you? - How do you measure personal worth? A Different Perspective Rejection can also motivate improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Demanded Sacrifices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demanded-sacrifices-1266263/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Fearless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearless/) [Good enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-enough/) [Jamie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jamie/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peter/) [Rejected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejected/) [Rejected Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejected-think-2989037/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [Sacrifices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifices/) [Sacrifices Fearless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifices-fearless-2989038/) [Sly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sly/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Spared Rejected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spared-rejected-2989039/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [People in the East looked toward the West with longing. 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Very often I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-evans/i-m-sometimes-called-a-documentary-photographer-but-a-man-operating/) [Walker Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-evans/) > [The eye is the casement at which the heart generally looks out. Many a woman who will not show herself at the door, has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-eye-is-the-casement-at-which-the-heart-generally-looks-out-many-a/) [Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/) > [The most domestic cat, which has lain on a rug all her days, appears quite at home in the woods, and, by her sly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-most-domestic-cat-which-has-lain-on-a-rug-all-her-days-appears/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Strange priests are they who never straightly walk But all aslant through sideways passage stalk Who never seek their goals in forward lines But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-fiske/strange-priests-are-they-who-never-straightly-walk-but-all-aslant/) [Willard Fiske](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-fiske/) > [In politics, Bugs Bunny always beats Daffy Duck. Daffy's always going berserk, jumping up and down, yelling. Bugs's got that sly smile, like he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-greenfield/in-politics-bugs-bunny-always-beats-daffy-duck-daffy-s-always-going/) [Jeff Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-greenfield/) > [Her underwear, her jeans, the comforter, my corduroys and my boxers between us, I thought. Five layers, and yet I felt it, the nervous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/her-underwear-her-jeans-the-comforter-my-corduroys-and-my-boxers/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Tana French > [“...the solitude was intoxicating. On my first night there I lay on my back on the sticky carpet for hours, in the murky orange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/the-solitude-was-intoxicating-on-my-first-night-there-i-lay-on-my/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“I remember this country back when I was growing up. 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I feel ridiculously lucky that this is what I get to do all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-love-writing-i-feel-ridiculously-lucky-that-this-is-what-i-get-to/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“…out here in the real world, my man, you would be amazed how seldom murder has to break into people’s lives. Ninety-nine times out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/out-here-in-the-real-world-my-man-you-would-be-amazed-how-seldom/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“Before I could get my bearings he was on top of me and shoving my face down into the dirt. He was bigger and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/before-i-could-get-my-bearings-he-was-on-top-of-me-and-shoving-my/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [We think of mortality so little these days... I thought of the stern Victorian determination to keep death in mind, the uncompromising tombstones. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/we-think-of-mortality-so-little-these-days-i-thought-of-the-stern/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [I read a lot. I always have, but in those two years I gorged myself on books with a voluptuous, almost erotic gluttony. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/i-read-a-lot-i-always-have-but-in-those-two-years-i-gorged-myself-on/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [“For ten years Dublin’s been changing faster than our minds can handle. 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Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/) [Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/) > [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/) [Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/) > [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. 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