I am a person who continually destroys the possibilities of a future because of the numbers of alternative viewpoints I can focus on the present.
Doris LessingRead
You cannot escape the fact that women mould your first five years, whether you like it or not. And I can't say I do like it very much.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the significant impact women have during early childhood development.
Doris Lessing emphasizes the undeniable influence that women, often mothers or caregivers, have on shaping a person's formative years. She acknowledges that this influence is profound and lasting, regardless of one's feelings about it. The quote suggests an exploration of the complex relationship between upbringing and identity, showcasing both admiration and ambivalence towards this experience.
Themes
WomenInfluenceChildhoodDevelopmentFamilyUpbringing
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about parenting styles, one might refer to this quote to highlight the role of women in early childhood.
More from Doris Lessing
All quotes βIn the writing process, the more the story cooks, the better. The brain works for you even when you are at rest. I find dreams particularly useful. I myself think a great deal before I go to sleep and the details sometimes unfold in the dream.
Doris LessingRead
Humanity's legacy of stories and storytelling is the most precious we have. All wisdom is in our stories and songs. A story is how we construct our experiences. At the very simplest, it can be: 'He/she was born, lived, died.' Probably that is the template of our stories - a beginning, middle, and end. This structure is in our minds.
Doris LessingRead
There is a great line of women stretching out behind you into the past, and you have to seek them out and find them in yourself and be conscious of them.
Doris LessingRead
The World War I, I'm a child of World War I. And I really know about the children of war. Because both my parents were both badly damaged by the war. My father, physically, and both mentally and emotionally. So, I know exactly what it's like to be brought up in an atmosphere of a continual harping on the war.
Doris LessingRead
You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn't care a damn about anybody else at all. But writing can't be a way of life - the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such a way that your writing emerges from it.
Doris LessingRead
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