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What is it the I'll want from you? Not love: that would be too much to ask. Not forgiveness, which isn't yours to bestow. Only a listener, perhaps; only someone who will see me. Don't prettify me though, whatever else you do: I have no wish to be a decorated skull. But I leave myself in your hands. What choice do I have? By the time you read this last page, that- if anywhere- is the only place I will be.
Margaret Atwood
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Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote expresses a desire for genuine understanding and presence from another person rather than superficial affection or forgiveness.

In this quote, Margaret Atwood conveys the profound need for authentic connection, emphasizing that true companionship isn't about love or forgiveness but rather the simple act of being listened to and seen for who one truly is. The speaker longs for a relationship that values honesty and transparency over idealized perceptions, indicating a vulnerability that comes with sharing oneself completely, especially in a time of need.

Themes

ListeningUnderstandingVulnerabilityAuthenticityRelationships

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be shared during a discussion about the importance of communication in relationships.

More from Margaret Atwood

If I am good enough and quiet enough, perhaps after all they will let me go; but it’s not easy being quiet and good, it’s like hanging on to the edge of a bridge when you’ve already fallen over; you don’t seem to be moving, just dangling there, and yet it is taking all your strength.
Margaret AtwoodRead
I would like to believe this is a story I’m telling. I need to believe it. I must believe it. Those who can believe that such stories are only stories have a better chance. If it’s a story I’m telling, then I have control over the ending. Then there will be an ending, to the story, and real life will come after it. I can pick up where I left off.
Margaret AtwoodRead
What else can I do? Once you've gone this far you aren't fit for anything else. Something happens to your mind. You're overqualified, overspecialized, and everybody knows it. Nobody in any other game would be crazy enough to hire me. I wouldn't even make a good ditch-digger, I'd start tearing apart the sewer-system, trying to pick-axe and unearth all those chthonic symbols - pipes, valves, cloacal conduits... No, no. I'll have to be a slave in the paper-mines for all time.
Margaret AtwoodRead
We love each other, that’s true whatever it means, but we aren’t good at it; for some it’s a talent, for others only an addiction.
Margaret AtwoodRead
I've learned quite a lot, over the years, by avoiding what I was supposed to be learning.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Knowing too much about other people puts you in their power, they have a claim on you, you are forced to understand their reasons for doing things and then you are weakened.
Margaret AtwoodRead

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