The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anais NinRead
Not afraid of poverty and drabness and who is untouched by it, untouched by the drunkenness of her friends; (she) who judges, selects, discards people with severity, who knows, when she is telling her endless anecdotes, that they are ways of escape, keeping herself all the more secret behind that profuse talk.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on a person's complexity and the way they navigate social interactions while maintaining a guarded inner self.
Anais Nin's quote delves into the intricate nature of human relationships and personal identity. It describes an individual who, despite experiencing the challenges of poverty and the superficiality of social connections, remains selective and discerning in her interactions. Her storytelling serves as both a means of connection and a protective barrier, highlighting the duality of seeking connection while longing for privacy and self-preservation.
Themes
RelationshipsSelf-PreservationComplexitySocialAnecdotes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared in a discussion about the complexities of friendships during a book club meeting.
More from Anais Nin
All quotes →Anxiety is love's greatest killer, because it is like the stranglehold of the drowning.
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We celebrate peace. Yet we pay no attention to the ways of curing aggression in human beings. And when one sees in psychoanalysis hostility disappearing as people conquer their fears, one wonders if the cure is not there.
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The impetus to grow and live intensely is so powerful in me I cannot resist it. I will work, I will love my husband, but I will fulfill myself.
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We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
Anais NinRead
But I lie. I embellish. My words are not deep enough. They disguise, they conceal. I will not rest until I have told of my descent into a sensuality which was as dark, as magnificent, as wild, as my moments of mystic creation have been dazzling, ecstatic, exalted.
Anais NinRead
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