"Harold, like the rest of us, had many impressions which saved him the trouble of distinct ideas"
About this Quote
The subtext is a critique of a culture that mistakes feeling informed for being thoughtful. "Impressions" arrive easily - from gossip, class prejudice, a persuasive sermon, the mood of a room - and they flatter the self because they feel like personal insight. "Distinct ideas", by contrast, require boundaries: definition, evidence, the humility of being wrong. Eliot's joke is that Harold's mind is not empty; it's crowded. His interior life is busy with half-formed reactions that give him the sensation of having opinions without the burden of actually thinking them through.
The kicker is "like the rest of us". Eliot doesn't isolate Harold as a villain; she implicates the reader in the same cognitive laziness. It's a Victorian observation with an unnervingly modern pulse: the way ambient takes, vibes, and inherited narratives can masquerade as thought. Eliot's intent isn't just to mock; it's to diagnose how moral and intellectual complacency becomes respectable when it's shared.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reason & Logic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Eliot, George. (2026, January 17). Harold, like the rest of us, had many impressions which saved him the trouble of distinct ideas. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/harold-like-the-rest-of-us-had-many-impressions-35219/
Chicago Style
Eliot, George. "Harold, like the rest of us, had many impressions which saved him the trouble of distinct ideas." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/harold-like-the-rest-of-us-had-many-impressions-35219/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Harold, like the rest of us, had many impressions which saved him the trouble of distinct ideas." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/harold-like-the-rest-of-us-had-many-impressions-35219/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
