"Society mends its wounds. And that's invariably true in all the tragedies, in the comedies as well. And certainly in the histories"
About this Quote
The intent is partly dramaturgical. Heston is talking like a man steeped in narratives with built-in closure: tragedies that purge, comedies that reset, histories that canonize. By claiming it’s “invariably true,” he’s defending the idea that stories (and cultures) are resilient by design. That word “invariably” is doing a lot of work; it smuggles in inevitability, the promise that the arc bends toward restoration.
The subtext, though, is more complicated: wounds “mend” without necessarily healing cleanly. Mending can leave scars, and scars can be mistaken for strength. In a country that loves redemption arcs, the line flatters our preference for recovery over reckoning - for a repaired facade over a deep audit of what caused the injury.
Context matters. Heston’s public persona blended moral certainty, American mythmaking, and an almost Old Testament confidence in order. Read that way, the quote is less an observation than a credo: history is survivable, disruption is temporary, the system returns. It’s comforting, cinematic, and quietly political.
Quote Details
| Topic | Peace |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Heston, Charlton. (2026, January 16). Society mends its wounds. And that's invariably true in all the tragedies, in the comedies as well. And certainly in the histories. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/society-mends-its-wounds-and-thats-invariably-132121/
Chicago Style
Heston, Charlton. "Society mends its wounds. And that's invariably true in all the tragedies, in the comedies as well. And certainly in the histories." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/society-mends-its-wounds-and-thats-invariably-132121/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Society mends its wounds. And that's invariably true in all the tragedies, in the comedies as well. And certainly in the histories." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/society-mends-its-wounds-and-thats-invariably-132121/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.









