It's easier for the former masters to put aside the masks that hid their humanity than for the former slaves to recognise the faces underneath. Or to trust that this is not a new mask these are wearing.
Nadine GordimerRead
What is the purpose of writing? For me personally, it is really to explain the mystery of life, and the mystery of life includes, of course, the personal, the political, the forces that make us what we are while there's another force from inside battling to make us something else.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing serves to explore and explain the complexities of life, including personal and societal influences.
In this quote, Nadine Gordimer reflects on the profound purpose of writing as a means of uncovering the intricacies of human existence. She suggests that writing not only articulates the mysteries of life but also addresses the interplay between external societal forces and internal struggles, highlighting the duality of human experience and identity in expressing what it means to be alive.
Themes
WritingLifeMysteryExpressionIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to inspire participants to explore deeper themes in their work.
More from Nadine Gordimer
All quotes →The gap between the committed and the indifferent is a Sahara whose faint trails, followed by the mind's eye only, fade out in sand.
Nadine GordimerRead
Perhaps the best definition of progress would be the continuing efforts of men and women to narrow the gap between the convenience of the powers that be and the unwritten charter.
Nadine GordimerRead
Art defies defeat by its very existence, representing the celebration of life, in spite of all attempts to degrade and destroy it.
Nadine GordimerRead
A truly living human being cannot remain neutral.
Nadine GordimerRead
If people would forget about utopia! When rationalism destroyed heaven and decided to set it up here on earth, that most terrible of all goals entered human ambition. It was clear there'd be no end to what people would be made to suffer for it.
Nadine GordimerRead
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