The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.
Anais NinRead
Often, though, the passivity of the woman's role weighs on me, suffocates me. Rather than wait for his pleasure, I would like to take it, to run wild. Is it that which pushes me into lesbianism? It terrifies me. Do women act thus? Does June go to Henry when she wants him? Does she mount him? Does she wait for him? He guides my inexperienced hands. It is like a forest fire, to be with him. New places of my body are aroused and burnt. He is incendiary. I leave him in an unquenchable fever.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores a woman's struggle with passivity in relationships and her desire for agency.
In this quote, Anais Nin reflects on the limitations imposed on women within romantic relationships and acknowledges the suffocating nature of passivity. She expresses a desire for more active participation and control over her sexual identity and relationships, suggesting a complex interplay of desire, fear, and empowerment. The metaphor of fire illustrates the intensity of her feelings, depicting both the passion and the potential destruction that such emotions can bring.
Themes
PassivityDesireAgencyRelationshipsWomenExploration
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on women's empowerment, this quote can illustrate the importance of taking agency in one’s life.
More from Anais Nin
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We celebrate peace. Yet we pay no attention to the ways of curing aggression in human beings. And when one sees in psychoanalysis hostility disappearing as people conquer their fears, one wonders if the cure is not there.
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The impetus to grow and live intensely is so powerful in me I cannot resist it. I will work, I will love my husband, but I will fulfill myself.
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We have been poisoned by fairy tales.
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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.
Anais NinRead
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