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I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life. I want to be a woman and to be a man, to have many friends and to have loneliness, to work much and write good books, to travel and enjoy myself, to be selfish and to be unselfish… You see, it is difficult to get all which I want. And then when I do not succeed I get mad with anger.
Simone De Beauvoir
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote expresses a deep yearning for a rich and fulfilling existence, encompassing both extremes of human experience.

Simone De Beauvoir's quote captures the complexity of human desires and the inherent contradictions within them. It illustrates a longing for a full spectrum of life's experiences, from companionship to solitude, selfishness to selflessness, and creativity to leisure. This struggle to attain a wide array of desires reflects the frustration and anger that can arise when one feels unable to achieve a well-rounded and satisfying life.

Themes

DesireFulfillmentLifeContradictionExperience

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a motivational speech about embracing life's complexities.

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