I've been fascinated by Machiavelli since I was very young. I've always felt that he had a bad rap from history, and that he was actually a person quite unlike what we now think of as Machiavellian. He was a republican. He disliked totalitarian government.
I seem to have fallen for women with missing parents. Goodness knows what it signifies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects a complex attraction to individuals who have experienced parental loss, hinting at deeper emotional connections.
Salman Rushdie's quote reveals a nuanced attraction to women who have faced the challenge of parental absence. This attraction may signify a desire to connect on a deeper emotional level, perhaps due to shared experiences of loss or a recognition of the resilience such individuals demonstrate. The statement also hints at an exploration of the implications of this pattern in relationships, inviting contemplation on how our past experiences shape our romantic choices.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on relationships, this quote can highlight the complexities of attraction based on past experiences.
More from Salman Rushdie
All quotes βKilling people because you don't like their ideas - it's a bad thing.
faith without doubt is addiction
I am clearly vulnerable to these more passionate and volatile unstable relationships. I am trying to not be so vulnerable.
In India, as elsewhere in our darkening world, religion is the poison in the blood. Where religion intervenes, mere innocence is no excuse. Yet we go on skating around this issue, speaking of religion in the fashionable language of 'respect.' What is there to respect in any of this, or in any of the crimes now being committed almost daily around the world in religion's dreaded name?
Reality is a question of perspective; the further you get from the past, the more concrete and plausible it seems - but as you approach the present, it inevitably seems more and more incredible.
Similar quotes
My dad's a beautiful man, but like a lot of Mexican men, or men in general, a lot of men have a problem with the balance of masculinity and femininity - intuition and compassion and tenderness - and get overboard with the macho thing. It took him a while to become more, I would say, conscious, evolved.
It felt very good to have him walking beside her. Good like rest and quiet, like something you could live without but you needed anyway. That you had to learn how to miss, and then you'd never stop missing it.
I've been accused of being too flexible, too willing to mold myself to men, and that's something I'm constantly working on.
One of the things I really love about restaurants is that in many ways, they are the ultimate democratic institutions, where you get to walk in the door, plunk down your money, and for however long that you're there, you can be anyone you want to be.
No one would feel embarrassed about seeking help for a child if they broke their arm - and we really should be equally ready to support a child coping with emotional difficulties.
Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good.