--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With this purpose, the author chose for…" description: "\"“With this purpose, the author chose for the subject of his story a woman named Catherine Hayes, who was burned at Tyburn, in 1726, for the deliberate ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_books_with-this-purpose-the-author-chose-for-t_277374.jpg" --- # With this purpose, the author chose for the subject of his… ![“With this purpose, the author chose for the subject of his story a woman named Catherine Hayes, who was burned at Tyburn, in 1726, for the deliberate murder of her husband, under very revolting circumstances. Mr. Thackeray’s aim obviously was to describe the career of this wretched woman and her…” quote by William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_books_with-this-purpose-the-author-chose-for-t_277374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_books_with-this-purpose-the-author-chose-for-t_277374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/820/william-makepeace-thackeray-74_books_with-this-purpose-the-author-chose-for-t_277374.jpg) > ““With this purpose, the author chose for the subject of his story a woman named Catherine Hayes, who was burned at Tyburn, in 1726, for the deliberate murder of her husband, under very revolting circumstances. Mr. Thackeray’s aim obviously was to describe the career of this wretched woman and her associates with such fidelity to truth as to exhibit the danger and folly of investing such persons with heroic and romantic qualities.”” [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author uses a condemned woman’s story to warn against glorifying immoral characters. **In simple terms:** Romanticizing villains is dangerous. Key Takeaway Avoid idealizing immoral people. Themes morality heroism historical narrative gender crime Mood cautionary reflective Type critical historical ethical When to use this quote - literary criticism - ethical storytelling - historical analysis Key Concepts romanticism danger fidelity to truth Questions to Reflect On - What qualities do we risk celebrating in flawed figures? - How does truthfulness affect moral perception? A Different Perspective Romanticizing evil can mislead audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Author Chose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-chose-2698153/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Burned Tyburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burned-tyburn-2698154/) [Hayes Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hayes-burned-2698152/) [Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thackeray-270083/) [Thackeray Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thackeray-aim-2698151/) ## Related quotes > [“As you can see,” Daisy said, “one glass is filled with soap water, one with clear, and one with blue laundry water. The other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/as-you-can-see-daisy-said-one-glass-is-filled-with-soap-water-one/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“This is Thackeray’s first full-length novel, which appeared in serialised instalments in Fraser’s Magazine between May 1839 and February 1840. 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Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Charming Alnaschar visions! it is the happy privilege of youth to construct you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/charming-alnaschar-visions-it-is-the-happy-privilege-of-youth-to/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [To see a young couple loving each other is no wonder; but to see an old couple loving each other is the best sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-see-a-young-couple-loving-each-other-is-no-wonder-but-to-see-an/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [An immense percentage of snobs, I believe, is to be found in every rank of this mortal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/an-immense-percentage-of-snobs-i-believe-is-to-be-found-in-every-rank/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Vanity is often the unseen spur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/vanity-is-often-the-unseen-spur/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [A good laugh is sunshine in the house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/a-good-laugh-is-sunshine-in-the-house/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Novelty has charms that our minds can hardly withstand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/novelty-has-charms-that-our-minds-can-hardly-withstand/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [“Picture to yourself, O fair young reader, a worldly, selfish, graceless, thankless, religionless old woman, writhing in pain and fear, and without her wig.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/picture-to-yourself-o-fair-young-reader-a-worldly-selfish-graceless/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Certain opuscules, denominated 'Christmas Books,' with the ostensible intention of swelling the tide of exhilaration, or other expansive emotions, incident upon the exodus of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/certain-opuscules-denominated-christmas-books-with-the-ostensible/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Explore all 384 William Makepeace Thackeray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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