The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anais NinRead
The child in me could not die as it should have died, because according too legends it must find its father again. The old legends knew, perhaps, that in absence the father becomes glorified, deified, eroticized, and this outrage against God the Father has to be atoned for. The human father has to be confronted and recognized as human, as man who created a child and then, by his absence, left the child fatherless and then Godless.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the enduring impact of a father's absence on a child's identity and development.
In this quote, Anais Nin explores the profound influence of a father's absence on a child's psyche, suggesting that legends perpetuate the idea of a child's search for their father as a means of understanding and reconciling their own identity. This absence can lead to an idealization of the father figure, complicating the child's development and relationship with both earthly and divine authority, ultimately urging the acknowledgment of one's human father as flawed yet pivotal in shaping their existence.
Themes
FatherAbsenceChildIdentityLegends
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on parental impact in psychology class.
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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.
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