My reaction to porno films is as follows: After the first ten minutes, I want to go home and screw. After the first twenty minutes, I never want to screw again as long as I live.
Erica JongRead
All natural disasters are comforting because they reaffirm our impotence, in which, otherwise, we might stop believing. At times it is strangely sedative to know the extent of your own powerlessness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Natural disasters highlight our lack of control, providing a strange sense of comfort in our powerlessness.
This quote by Erica Jong suggests that the occurrence of natural disasters confronts us with the reality of our own limitations and vulnerabilities. While facing such disasters can be frightening, there is an ironic sense of solace in realizing that we are not alone in our struggles against nature's overwhelming forces; it reminds us of our shared experience of powerlessness and can even be a source of emotional relief.
Themes
Natural DisastersPowerlessnessComfortLimitationsPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about resilience during crises, this quote can help illustrate the idea that acknowledging our limits can be comforting.
More from Erica Jong
All quotes →I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.
Erica JongRead
No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool. Writers, alas, have to be fools in public, while the rest of the human race can cover its tracks.
Erica JongRead
My generation was not only maligned in book reviews and attacked in graduate school but we lived to see our adored and adorable daughters wonder why feminism had become a dirty word.
Erica JongRead
Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.
Erica JongRead
I believe that women should live for love, for motherhood and for intellect, and I believe we shouldn't have to choose. And I believe that's always been difficult for women, to express themselves intellectually, maternally, and passionately.
Erica JongRead
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