--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Chekhov understood that people are…" description: "\"Chekhov understood that people are mysterious and can't be reduced to what we nowadays call 'motivation.'\" — Tom Stoppard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/tom-stoppard-437_call_chekhov-understood-that-people-are-myste_3128409.png" --- # Chekhov understood that people are mysterious and can't be… ![“Chekhov understood that people are mysterious and can't be reduced to what we nowadays call 'motivation.'” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/tom-stoppard-437_call_chekhov-understood-that-people-are-myste_3128409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/tom-stoppard-437_call_chekhov-understood-that-people-are-myste_3128409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/tom-stoppard-437_call_chekhov-understood-that-people-are-myste_3128409.png) > “Chekhov understood that people are mysterious and can't be reduced to what we nowadays call 'motivation.'” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People's inner lives are complex and cannot be fully explained by simple drives. **In simple terms:** Humans are more than just motivation. Key Takeaway Accept mystery in others. Themes psychology human nature complexity Mood curious reflective Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - relationships - leadership - creative collaboration Key Concepts existentialism depth intrigue Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor unseen motives? - What assumptions limit understanding? A Different Perspective Motivation alone oversimplifies behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I love to be with my son and my grandchildren, like normal people. 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I also feel that people are mysterious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-guess-in-my-own-life-privacy-anonymity-and-the-mystery-of-being/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [China was not at all what I expected it to be. I had an image of China as a very quaint and mysterious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/china-was-not-at-all-what-i-expected-it-to-be-i-had-an-image-of-china/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [But sometimes you can't figure everything out because you can't ever really understand other people. You can't understand why they do what they do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-landay/but-sometimes-you-can-t-figure-everything-out-because-you-can-t-ever/) [William Landay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-landay/) > [I think probably I've been influenced by Chekhov and Walt Disney, if you see what I mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-think-probably-i-ve-been-influenced-by-chekhov-and-walt-disney-if/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [One of the reasons why there are so many versions of Chekhov is that translations date in a way that the original doesn't; translations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/one-of-the-reasons-why-there-are-so-many-versions-of-chekhov-is-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Very often in Chekhov, where he exhibits a little bit of human behavior that you recognize as true, you give a little laugh. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/very-often-in-chekhov-where-he-exhibits-a-little-bit-of-human/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [In Chekhov, everything blends into its opposite, just fractionally, and this is sort of unsettling. 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For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... 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After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. 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