For me, it is freedom, freedom from everything: when I write, I'm not a woman. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Moroccan. I can reinvent myself, and I can reinvent the world.
Leila SlimaniRead
As a mother, you're only allowed to talk about the 'good' moments - not the ones when you've had enough and want to be on your own. Or just want to be a woman, not a mother.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the societal expectation for mothers to only share positive experiences of motherhood, neglecting their own personal needs and struggles.
In this quote, Leila Slimani reflects on the pressure placed on mothers to present a facade of constant joy and fulfillment in their parenting roles. It criticizes the stigma surrounding discussions of the challenges of motherhood, suggesting that mothers often feel isolated in their desire for personal space and identity outside of being a parent. The quote encourages a more honest dialogue about the complexities of motherhood.
Themes
MotherhoodIdentitySocietyParentingSelf-Care
In practice
Example use cases
During a parenting panel discussion, this quote can be shared to highlight the importance of honest conversations about motherhood.
More from Leila Slimani
All quotes βAuthorities in Rabat believe that if we create a Moroccan character, even in a work of fiction, we are responsible for the image of Moroccan women.
Leila SlimaniRead
I remember that the first time I looked at my son, of course I felt love. But I think the first feeling was not love: it was fear. Someone is needing me. If something happens to him, what am I going to do? Maybe I won't survive if something happens to him? The fear was as big as the love.
Leila SlimaniRead
One of the big mistakes of the Moroccan elite and the elite in the Muslim world was to be afraid of the conservatives. They are fighting for their ideas. Why shouldn't we fight for our ideas?
Leila SlimaniRead
I, too, am interested in identity and Islam, which is what people expect of us. But one must not write what is expected. It's important for North African writers to show they have other things to say.
Leila SlimaniRead
In Morocco, there is an insistence on authority. Children are not encouraged to speak up in front of their parents. My parents were not like this. I was the kind of girl who could tell her father, 'No, what you are saying is totally untrue, and I don't agree with you.'
Leila SlimaniRead
Similar quotes
At best the family teaches the finest things human beings can learn from one another generosity and love. But it is also, all too often, where we learn nasty things like hate, rage and shame.
Barbara EhrenreichRead
I was raised in a sort of village. I have a huge family, and I think there is strength in that. It helped me to deal with some of the complications of living in the South because I always felt like I belonged, no matter what.
Chadwick BosemanRead
We're good at taking care of little kids, and spend a lot of energy teaching them things like how to read. But when kids get as tall as their parents and can look them in the eyes, we tend to drop the ball - at a time they most need a loving consistent community of adults, be it parents, aunts, uncles, or others.
Laurie Halse AndersonRead
It is from God that parents receive their children, and it is to God that they should lead them.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
I am convinced that if we as a society work diligently in every other area of life and neglect_x000D_ _x000D_ the family, it would be analogous to straightening deck chairs on the Titanic.
Stephen CoveyRead
Raising children is a creative endeavor, an art rather than a science.
Bruno BettelheimRead