Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a sense of the past.
Susan SontagRead
It is not suffering as such that is most deeply feared but suffering that degrades.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People fear not just suffering, but suffering that diminishes their humanity or dignity.
Susan Sontag's quote suggests that the fear we have about suffering is less about the pain itself and more about the loss of dignity and humanity that can accompany it. It emphasizes that the experience of suffering is profound not only in its intensity but also in its potential to degrade a person's sense of self and worth.
Themes
SufferingFearDignityHumanityDegradation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the implications of mental health issues.
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Gide and I have attained such perfect intellectual communion that I experience the appropriate labor pains for every thought he gives birth to!
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Volume depends precisely on the writer's having been able to sit in a room every day, year after year, alone.
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In NY sensuality completely turns into sexuality - no objects for the senses to respond to, no beautiful river, houses, people. Awful smells of the street, and dirt... Nothing except eating, if that, and the frenzy of the bed.
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It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment the other person may just walk off with your skin.
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