“Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the sexes.”

Oscar Wilde quotes
  • October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900
  • Irish
  • Author, poet, playwright
  • Written novels, plays, and poems such as “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” “The Importance of Being Earnest,” and “Salome,” he had a great influence on British literature in the late 19th century through his witty social criticism and humor.

Quote

“Women are never disarmed by compliments. Men always are. That is the difference between the sexes.”

Explanation

In this quote, Oscar Wilde humorously and cynically comments on the differences in how women and men respond to compliments. Wilde suggests that while women are often immune to flattery and do not easily let compliments influence them, men, on the other hand, are easily disarmed or charmed by them. The implication is that women, in Wilde’s view, may be more self-assured or less susceptible to the praise of others, whereas men are more vulnerable or easily swayed by flattery and praise.

This remark plays on Wilde’s characteristic wit and satire of gender roles, implying that while both sexes may play certain games with social interactions, they do so in different ways. He subtly critiques how society perceives gender in relation to emotional vulnerability and the ability to handle external validation. Men may feel affirmed or flattered by compliments in a way that exposes their fragility, while women are more likely to be unaffected, presenting a façade of strength or independence.

In modern contexts, this quote can be interpreted as a reflection of how gender dynamics often play out in social interactions. While Wilde’s words are delivered with irony, they also reveal the underlying expectations placed on each gender when it comes to how they receive and react to compliments. The quote invites us to reflect on how compliments are received and the ways in which society’s assumptions about gender influence how we express and respond to praise.


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