--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Failure make people bitter and cruel…" description: "\"Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_failure-make-people-bitter-and-cruel-suc_2868906.jpg" --- # Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the… ![“Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_failure-make-people-bitter-and-cruel-suc_2868906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_failure-make-people-bitter-and-cruel-suc_2868906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/w-somerset-maugham-237_bitter_failure-make-people-bitter-and-cruel-suc_2868906.jpg) > “Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Experiencing failure can harden a person, while success can foster growth and virtue. **In simple terms:** Failure can make you harsh; success can soften you. Key Takeaway Seek humility regardless of outcome. Themes character growth humility success failure Mood reflective inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career setbacks - relationship challenges - financial loss - personal achievements - leadership decisions Key Concepts psychology ethics personal development Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay compassionate after a setback? - What habits keep success from inflating ego? A Different Perspective Success does not automatically improve character; it requires conscious effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Solitude makes us tougher towards ourselves and tenderer towards others. In both ways it improves our character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/solitude-makes-us-tougher-towards-ourselves-and-tenderer-towards/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Failure may be cruel, but success is crueller still. The gods are usurers, you know; they lend to mortals, but they exact a desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-cecil-thurston/failure-may-be-cruel-but-success-is-crueller-still-the-gods-are/) [Katherine Cecil Thurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-cecil-thurston/) > [“Failure should not make us bitter, nor should it make us want to give up. It should make us brighter and wiser.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlena-jackson/failure-should-not-make-us-bitter-nor-should-it-make-us-want-to-give/) [Charlena Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlena-jackson/) > [It feels bad when a film doesn't work; everyone puts in a lot of effort to make a movie. The positive side to failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-kapoor/it-feels-bad-when-a-film-doesn-t-work-everyone-puts-in-a-lot-of/) [Shahid Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-kapoor/) > [The terror of failure can make you feel like a failure. So a bunch of people think you're not very good at your thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/the-terror-of-failure-can-make-you-feel-like-a-failure-so-a-bunch-of/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [You never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are capable. I did my best. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/you-never-fail-if-you-know-in-your-heart-that-you-did-the-best-of-2/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [I had my dreams, and even though everyone told me that they weren't practical, I knew in my heart that this is what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/i-had-my-dreams-and-even-though-everyone-told-me-that-they-weren-t/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [“So, I must be taken as I have been made. The success is not mine, the failure is not mine, but the two together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/so-i-must-be-taken-as-i-have-been-made-the-success-is-not-mine-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Nobody asks to you about your failure, but everyone will make fun of you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/nobody-asks-to-you-about-your-failure-but-everyone-will-make-fun-of/) Mak\_786 > [Congealed thinking is the forerunner of failure... make sure you are always receptive to new ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-crane/congealed-thinking-is-the-forerunner-of-failure-make-sure-you-are/) [George W. Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-crane/) > [The dream is real, my friends. The failure to make it work is the unreality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-cade-bambara/the-dream-is-real-my-friends-the-failure-to-make-it-work-is-the/) [Toni Cade Bambara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-cade-bambara/) > [For me, utter failure is to make a film that people pay their money to go see and they don't like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/for-me-utter-failure-is-to-make-a-film-that-people-pay-their-money-to/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [“Failure itself is a relative concept. If my metric had been to become an anarcho-communist revolutionary, then my complete failure to make any money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/failure-itself-is-a-relative-concept-if-my-metric-had-been-to-become/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [“Failure to make a decision was in itself a decision—he”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/failure-to-make-a-decision-was-in-itself-a-decision-he/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [You learn more from failure than success. Don't let failure stop you from moving forward. Failure should make you more determined to your cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/you-learn-more-from-failure-than-success-don-t-let-failure-stop-you/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Bitter quotes > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Troy was a sweet, good man. We just were never destined to be married. We just didn't have the same values. But I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-pleshette/troy-was-a-sweet-good-man-we-just-were-never-destined-to-be-married/) [Suzanne Pleshette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-pleshette/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [One may have been a fool, but there's no foolishness like being bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-norris/one-may-have-been-a-fool-but-there-s-no-foolishness-like-being-bitter/) [Kathleen Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-norris/) > [“I doubt taking in a sullen, bitter, teenage girl with more issues than National Geographic is at the center of the vision board for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katja-millay/i-doubt-taking-in-a-sullen-bitter-teenage-girl-with-more-issues-than/) [Katja Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katja-millay/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Life is too bitter already, without territories and wars and noble feuds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-too-bitter-already-without-territories-and-wars-and-noble/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With every interview you feel like you lose a piece of yourself, and with every bad review you become just that little bit more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-march/with-every-interview-you-feel-like-you-lose-a-piece-of-yourself-and/) [Jane March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-march/) > [“Without the bitter, the sweet ain’t as sweet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-the-bitter-the-sweet-ain-t-as-sweet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I refuse to be one of those artists who, 10 years from now, they're bitter about the rise and the fall of their career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-bryan/i-refuse-to-be-one-of-those-artists-who-10-years-from-now-they-re/) [Luke Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-bryan/) > [“In these days in which we live, when existence has become a thing of infinite complexity and fate, if it slips us a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/in-these-days-in-which-we-live-when-existence-has-become-a-thing-of/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) Browse all 1,923 Bitter quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Failure make people bitter and cruel. Success improves the character of the man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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