The only ones who have an innate good and honorable spirit, I think, are fools and the absurdly fortunate. Anyone who has struggled and suffered cannot say the same.
[...]
In the absence of it, it is best to be aware of one's shortcomings. You say you feel bitterness and resentment easily, but perhaps it is your awareness of that fact which pushes you to try to set bitterness aside.
Likewise, I know that I am untrusting, cynical, and prone to cruelty towards those with less strong spines than my own. But I am aware of these traits, and I do make an effort to rectify them where I can.
...I suppose hardship does force change in people. Though I would not mind a world where people could be foolish and absurdly fortunate.
[ he doesn't like when people are inconsiderate, but he doesn't like how so many of the residents here are shaped by their suffering. ]
I think that your efforts to be better are commendable, especially here, where we are so often driven to be our worst selves. You are self-aware beyond your years. I maintain that you are... a valiant sort, Harrowhark. But you give me too much credit in return—I am simply very practiced at pretending to be someone else.
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You may have the wrong impression of me.
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[ he's not really a good person. ]
I feel that there are very few of us that are always good and honorable in spirit.
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[she considers this.]
The only ones who have an innate good and honorable spirit, I think, are fools and the absurdly fortunate. Anyone who has struggled and suffered cannot say the same.
[...]
In the absence of it, it is best to be aware of one's shortcomings. You say you feel bitterness and resentment easily, but perhaps it is your awareness of that fact which pushes you to try to set bitterness aside.
Likewise, I know that I am untrusting, cynical, and prone to cruelty towards those with less strong spines than my own. But I am aware of these traits, and I do make an effort to rectify them where I can.
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[ he doesn't like when people are inconsiderate, but he doesn't like how so many of the residents here are shaped by their suffering. ]
I think that your efforts to be better are commendable, especially here, where we are so often driven to be our worst selves. You are self-aware beyond your years. I maintain that you are... a valiant sort, Harrowhark. But you give me too much credit in return—I am simply very practiced at pretending to be someone else.