This proverb suggests that it is better to be genuinely who you are, even if it means being seen as foolish, rather than pretending to be something you are not just to please someone else, like your mother. It emphasizes the importance of authenticity and truthfulness in one’s character over conforming to others’ desires or expectations. An equivalent English proverb might be “Better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for who you are not.”.