quote · Legacy record
Most of our platitudes notwithstanding, self-deception remains the most difficult deception. The tricks that work on others count for nothing in that very well-lit back alley where one keeps assignation with oneself: no winning smiles will do here, no prettily drawn lists of good intentions. One shuffles flashily but in vain through one's marked cards- the kindness done for the wrong reason, the apparent triumph which involved no real effort, the seemingly heroic act into which one had been shamed.
Most of our platitudes notwithstanding, self-deception remains the most difficult deception. The tricks that work on others count for nothing in that very well-lit back alley where one keeps assignation with oneself: no winning smiles will do here, no prettily drawn lists of good intentions. One shuffles flashily but in vain through one's marked cards- the kindness done for the wrong reason, the apparent triumph which involved no real effort, the seemingly heroic act into which one had been shamed.
Approximate author period: c. 1977 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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- Author or tradition
- Joan Didion
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1977 AD · modern
Approximate author-period anchor from life dates 1934 to 2021; Wikidata Q267691, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q267691 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 424460; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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