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Busy man Quote by William Wilkie Collins

“At the age when we are all of us most apt to take our colouring, in the form of a reflection from the colouring of other people, he had been sent abroad, and had been passed on from one nation to another, before there was time for any one colouring more than another to settle itself on him firmly…” quote by William Wilkie Collins
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““At the age when we are all of us most apt to take our colouring, in the form of a reflection from the colouring of other people, he had been sent abroad, and had been passed on from one nation to another, before there was time for any one colouring more than another to settle itself on him firmly. As a consequence of this, he had come back with so many different sides to his character, all more or less jarring with each other, that he seemed to pass his life in a state of perpetual contradiction with himself. He could be a busy man, and a lazy man; cloudy in the head, and clear in the head; a model of determination, and a spectacle of helplessness, all together. He had his French side, and his German side, and his Italian side--the original English foundation showing through, every now and then, as much as to say, "Here I am, sorely transmogrified, as you see, but there's something of me left at the bottom of him still.””

William Wilkie Collins

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Moonstone, 1868

A man’s multicultural upbringing creates a fragmented identity, leading to internal contradictions and shifting personas.

In simple terms: Multiple cultural influences can cause inner conflict.

Key Takeaway

Seek integration of diverse selves.

Themes

identity culture conflict self‑image contradiction

Mood

introspective conflicted

Type

Busy man:0 Character-defining:0 Lazy man:0 Mind:0 Sent Abroad:0 Helplessness French:0 Colouring People:0 Spectacle Helplessness:0 Man Cloudy:0

When to use this quote

  • travel
  • immigration
  • personal development
  • cultural assimilation

Key Concepts

psychology post‑colonial theory identity formation

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do you reconcile conflicting cultural sides?
  • What core values anchor you?
A Different Perspective

Balancing many influences can be overwhelming.

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