Parents can only give good advice or put them [children] on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.

The remark draws a boundary between guidance and self-determination. Parents may offer counsel, model values, and create conditions that encourage good choices, but they cannot ultimately “make” a child’s character. The quote emphasizes moral agency: character is formed through one’s own decisions, habits, and responses to circumstance. In a broader sense, it also resists fatalism—suggesting that even under strong external pressures (family expectations, social environment), individuals retain responsibility for who they become. The line’s enduring appeal comes from its balanced view: it neither dismisses parental influence nor excuses personal accountability.