Wit & Attitude Quote by Katharine Hepburn

Regret is Hepburn’s chosen antidote to nostalgia’s soft-focus lie. She doesn’t romanticize the past or perform remorse as confession; she treats it as a basic cognitive function. The line has her trademark snap: “if you have any sense” lands like a raised eyebrow, and the kicker - “maybe you’re stupid” - is less insult than sorting mechanism. Either you learn, or you’re advertising that you can’t.

The intent is defensive and liberating at once. Hepburn refuses the cultural demand that public women package their lives as either immaculate success stories or tragic cautionary tales. By normalizing regret (“I’m sure everyone does”) she pulls it out of the shame closet, but then immediately weaponizes it against complacency. Regret becomes proof of growth, a sign you’ve outlived earlier versions of yourself.

Subtext: she’s also rejecting the era’s preference for female charm over female judgment. Hepburn’s persona - brisk, unsentimental, allergic to fuss - often read as “difficult,” a label that usually meant “not easily managed.” Here, she flips the script: what’s truly embarrassing isn’t messing up; it’s being so self-satisfied you can’t even recognize a mess.

Context matters. Hepburn lived through Hollywood’s studio system, moral policing, and decades of press scrutiny, all while building a career on independence and blunt intelligence. The quote carries the authority of someone who’s been misread, survived it, and kept her own standards anyway. She’s telling you: regret isn’t a scandal. It’s a sign you’re awake.