The despondency that follows makes me feel somewhat like a shipwrecked man who spies a sail, sees himself saved, and suddenly remembers that the lens of his spyglass has a flaw, a blurred spot -- the sail he has seen.
Jean GenetRead
Anyone who hasn't experienced the ecstasy of betrayal knows nothing about ecstasy at all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Betrayal can lead to profound emotional experiences, highlighting the complexity of human feelings.
Jean Genet's quote suggests that the experience of betrayal is essential for understanding deep feelings of joy and ecstasy. It posits that without experiencing the pain and complexity of betrayal, one remains unaware of the full spectrum of emotional highs and lows that life can offer, thereby missing a core aspect of human experience.
Themes
BetrayalEcstasyExperienceEmotionLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the depth of human emotions at a literature club.
More from Jean Genet
All quotes →Erotic play discloses a nameless world which is revealed by the nocturnal language of lovers. Such language is not written down. It is whispered into the ear at night in a hoarse voice. At dawn it is forgotten.
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I'm homosexual. How and why are idle questions. It's a little like wanting to know why my eyes are green.
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I wanted to swallow myself by opening my mouth very wide and turning it over my head so that it would take in my whole body, and then the Universe, until all that would remain of me would be a ball of eaten thing which little by little would be annihilated: that is how I see the end of the world.
Jean GenetRead
I decided to be what crime made of me.
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It's a true image, born of a false spectacle.
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