It is dangerous to be an American Negro male. America has never wanted its Negroes to be men, and does not, generally, treat them as men. It treats them as mascots, pets, or things.
James A. BaldwinRead
The face of a lover is an unknown, precisely because it is invested with so much of oneself. It is a mystery, containing, like all mysteries, the possibility of torment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The face of a lover represents deep emotional investment and mystery, which can lead to both joy and pain.
James A. Baldwin explores the complexity of love, emphasizing that the beloved's face symbolizes an intimate connection filled with personal emotions and vulnerabilities. This profound investment in love can make the beloved seem enigmatic, creating a sense of mystery that can evoke both passion and potential suffering.
Themes
LoveMysteryEmotionsConnectionInvestment
In practice
Example use cases
In a wedding speech to express the depth of my feelings for my partner.
More from James A. Baldwin
All quotes βThe white man discovered the Cross by way of the Bible, but the black man discovered the Bible by way of the Cross.
James A. BaldwinRead
Those kids aren't dumb. But the people who run these schools want to make sure they don't get smart: they are really teaching the kids to be slaves.
James A. BaldwinRead
Experience, which destroys innocence, also leads one back to it.
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The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
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The trick is to love somebody.... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
James A. BaldwinRead
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He takes her in his arms He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you But he thinks this is a lie, so he says in the end You're dead, nothing can hurt you which seems to him a more promising beginning, more true.
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Thoroughly convinced of the impossibility of his own suit, a high resolve constrained him not to injure that of another. This is a lover's most stoical virtue, as the lack of it is a lover's most venial sin.
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We walked at night towards a cafe blooming with Japanese lanterns and I followed your white shoes gleaming like radium in the damp darkness. Rising off the water, lights flickered an invitation far enough away to be interpreted as we liked; to shimmer glamourously behind the silhouette of retrospective good times when we still believed in summer hotels and the philosophies of popular songs.
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Love is eternal, the aspect may change, but not the essence.
Vincent Van GoghRead
The only reason I don't throw myself into your arms, kiss you and make love with you now is that I lack the courage and am afraid of loving you.
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No woman is worth more than a fiver unless you're in love with her. Then she's worth all she costs you.
W. Somerset MaughamRead