In apartments and cottages, on the street and in the train... I listen... More and more, I turn into one large ear, always turning to another person.
Svetlana AlexievichRead
All of history misses out on the history of the soul. Human passions are so often not included in history.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights that traditional history often neglects the emotional and spiritual aspects of human experience.
Svetlana Alexievich suggests that while history typically focuses on events, dates, and facts, it frequently overlooks the profound inner lives of individuals and the passions that drive human actions. This oversight diminishes our understanding of what it means to be human, as the emotional and spiritual narratives play a crucial role in shaping history alongside the tangible events recorded.
Themes
HistorySoulHuman PassionsEmotionsSpirituality
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of understanding emotional narratives in education, one might use this quote to emphasize the need for a more holistic view of history.
More from Svetlana Alexievich
All quotes βThe subjects I wanted to write about - the mystery of the human soul, evil - didn't interest newspapers, and news reporting bored me.
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'Women's' war has its own colors, its own smells, its own lighting, and its own range of feelings. There are no heroes and incredible feats; there are simply people who are busy doing inhumanly human things.
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There is no need to give in to the compromise that totalitarian regimes always count on.
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I've been searching for a genre that would be most adequate to my vision of the world to convey how my ear hears and my eyes see life. I tried this and that, and finally, I chose a genre where human voices speak for themselves. But I don't just record a dry history of events and facts; I'm writing a history of human feelings.
Svetlana AlexievichRead
From the point of view of art, the butcher and the victim are equal as people. You need to see the people.
Svetlana AlexievichRead
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