--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only…" description: "\"Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only self-reliant women love when they abandon their self-reliance. When a strong woman recklessly throws away her..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/thomas-hardy-410_abandon_bathsheba-loved-troy-in-the-way-that-onl_1546026.jpg" --- # Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only self-reliant… ![“Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only self-reliant women love when they abandon their self-reliance. When a strong woman recklessly throws away her strength she is worse than a weak woman who has never any strength to throw away. One source of her inadequacy is the novelty of the occasion. She…” quote by Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/thomas-hardy-410_abandon_bathsheba-loved-troy-in-the-way-that-onl_1546026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/thomas-hardy-410_abandon_bathsheba-loved-troy-in-the-way-that-onl_1546026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/735/thomas-hardy-410_abandon_bathsheba-loved-troy-in-the-way-that-onl_1546026.jpg) > “Bathsheba loved Troy in the way that only self-reliant women love when they abandon their self-reliance. When a strong woman recklessly throws away her strength she is worse than a weak woman who has never any strength to throw away. One source of her inadequacy is the novelty of the occasion. She has never had practice in making the best of such a condition. Weakness is doubly weak by being new.” [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A self‑reliant woman loses her inner strength when she abandons independence, becoming more fragile than someone who never possessed strength. **In simple terms:** Abandoning independence weakens more than lacking strength Key Takeaway Maintain self‑reliance while adapting to new challenges Themes independence strength gender roles Mood reflective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship dynamics - personal growth Key Concepts self‑reliance vulnerability social expectations Questions to Reflect On - How does independence change when love enters? - Can strength be rebuilt after loss? A Different Perspective Strength can be eroded by novelty and loss of practice ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inadequacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequacy/) [Novelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelty/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self reliance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-reliance/) [Self reliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-reliant/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Strong woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-woman/) [Strong women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-women/) [Weak women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak-women/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) [Woman Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-strength/) ## Related quotes > [A strong woman who recklessly throws away her strength, she is worse than a weak woman who has never had any strength to throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/a-strong-woman-who-recklessly-throws-away-her-strength-she-is-worse/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [“I'm not surprised he wants to challenge me here, where no one can protect me. He thinks I'm a weak woman. He thinks wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-day-gilbert/i-m-not-surprised-he-wants-to-challenge-me-here-where-no-one-can/) [Heather Day Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-day-gilbert/) > [If you are involved with a weak woman, you will always end up sharing her. Beat up one guy, another one will be texting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/km-ii/if-you-are-involved-with-a-weak-woman-you-will-always-end-up-sharing/) [KM II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/km-ii/) > [As a girl I am weak, as a woman I am strong, and determined to never bow my head to wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/as-a-girl-i-am-weak-as-a-woman-i-am-strong-and-determined-to-never/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [There is a biological power that is intrinsic to the woman, to the female condition. Because you are able to give life. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gioconda-belli/there-is-a-biological-power-that-is-intrinsic-to-the-woman-to-the/) [Gioconda Belli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gioconda-belli/) > [“Like a turnip such a head could be blown away very easily. For where a man was weak, a woman has unmanned him. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/like-a-turnip-such-a-head-could-be-blown-away-very-easily-for-where-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Wouldst thou, then, have preferred the condition of a weak woman, exposed to all evil and capable of none?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wouldst-thou-then-have-preferred-the-condition-of-a-weak-woman/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [A strong woman can handle a strong man. 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Amy Pond? Hardly weak women. It's the exact opposite. You could accuse me of having a fetish for powerful, sexy women who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/river-song-amy-pond-hardly-weak-women-it-s-the-exact-opposite-you/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [It is not possible to be truly balanced in one's views of an abuser and an abused woman. As Dr. Judith Herman explains eloquently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/it-is-not-possible-to-be-truly-balanced-in-one-s-views-of-an-abuser/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) ## More by Thomas Hardy > [“He grew away from old associations, and saw something new in life and humanity. 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Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. 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