Mother Night Quotes
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Source: Mother Night
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be very careful what we pretend to be.
Context
Kurt Vonnegut is a perfect mix of totally weird and totally wise. Never is that more clear than here, in the opening lines of his introduction to his novel Mother Night.
The quote is preceded by Vonnegut telling us that it's actually the moral of the story (although he claims it isn't a marvelous moral; he's just telling us because he happens to know it). The whole thing sets up what is to become of protagonist Howard Campbell's life as his identity is in flux.
Where you've heard it
You might hear this quote used to express the power of the human mind or imagination and the danger of dreaming too much (...or method acting). It's sort of a "be careful what you wish for" type of deal, where we begin to assume the qualities of the person we create for ourselves.
Sure, it sounds harmless enough when you're five years old and pretending to be an astronaut, but when you start pretending to be a Nazi propagandist…needless to say things could get a little dicey.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Morals for everyone!