About this quote

Wilde flips traditional Victorian morality on its head to mock the double standards of his era. Society often demanded purity from women while granting men the freedom to build their lives. This sharp observation values lived experience over naive innocence. It suggests that a person with a history is far more interesting than someone who has never been tested by life. Do you value people for their potential, or for the scars and stories they carry?

When to use it

• You are discussing dating preferences with a friend and explaining why you prefer partners who have gone through a few messy relationships rather than someone who has never been tested.
• A startup founder is hiring and chooses a candidate with a colorful history of failed ventures over a fresh graduate with a perfect GPA, telling her partner that mistakes make people interesting.
• During a dinner party, you find yourself bored by the overly polite guests and slip away to talk to the one eccentric guest who has lived in five different countries and has stories to tell.