If a victory is told in detail, one can no longer distinguish it from a defeat.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
But for me there is neither Monday nor Sunday: there are days which pass in disorder, and then, sudden lightning like this one. Nothing has changed and yet everything is different. I can't describe it, it's like the Nausea and yet it's just the opposite: at last an adventure happens to me and when I question myself I see that it happens that I am myself and that I am here; I am the one who splits in the night, I am as happy as the hero of a novel.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the nature of existence and personal experience, emphasizing moments of profound change and realization amidst the chaos of daily life.
In this quote, Sartre captures the idea that amidst the monotony of life, there can be transformative moments that are both disorienting and enlightening. He expresses a sense of awakening to his own identity, suggesting that even when everything seems unchanged externally, profound internal shifts can occur, leading to a feeling of happiness and adventure akin to that of a character in a story. This introspection highlights the relationship between one's perception and their experience of life.
Themes
ExistenceIdentityTransformationAwarenessExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about personal growth.
More from Jean-Paul Sartre
All quotes →All I want is' - and he uttered the final words through clenched teeth and with a sort of shame - 'to retain my freedom.' I should myself have thought,' said Jacques, 'that freedom consisted in frankly confronting situations into which one had deliberately entered, and accepting all one's responsibilities. But that, no doubt, is not your view.
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If you are lonely when you're alone, you are in bad company.
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A kiss without a moustache, they said then, is like an egg without salt; I will add to it: and it is like Good without Evil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
I wanted pure love: foolishness; to love one another is to hate a common enemy: I will thus espouse your hatred. I wanted Good: nonsense; on this earth and in these times, Good and Bad are inseparable: I accept to be evil in order to become good.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
Night is falling: at dusk, you must have good eyesight to be able to tell the Good Lord from the Devil.
Jean-Paul SartreRead
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But you see," said Roark quietly, "I have, let’s say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. I’ve chosen the work I want to do. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself to sixty years of torture. And I can find the joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. But the best is a matter of standards—and I set my own standards. I inherit nothing. I stand at the end of no tradition. I may, perhaps, stand at the beginning of one.
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