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
He destroyed in her the knowing, doubting, sophisticated Ella, and again and again he put her intelligence to sleep, and with her willing connivance, so that she floated darkly on her love for him, on her naivety, which is another word for a spontaneous creative faith. And when his own distrust of himself destroyed this woman-in-love, so that she began thinking, she would fight to return to naivety.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores how love can lead to a loss of self-awareness and critical thinking, emphasizing a desire to return to a simpler state of being.
In this quote, Doris Lessing illustrates the complexity of love and its impact on one's identity and intellect. The protagonist's relationship leads to the suppression of her critical thinking and sophistication, as she becomes enveloped in her love. Eventually, when doubts arise about the authenticity of this love, she longs to reclaim her former naivety—an innocent faith that allows for deeper emotional experiences. The quote captures the tension between love and self-identity, suggesting that sometimes, in the depths of love, individuals might forsake their critical minds for emotional bliss.
Themes
LoveNaivetyIdentityRelationshipsIntelligence
In practice
Example use cases
During a romantic dinner, one might share this quote to highlight the complexities of love.
More from Doris Lessing
All quotes →In 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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