Childhood is the world of miracle and wonder; as if creation rose, bathed in the light, out of the darkness, utterly new and fresh and astonishing. The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish us.
Eugene IonescoRead
Since the death instinct exists in the heart of everything that lives, since we suffer from trying to repress it, since everything that lives longs for rest, let us unfasten the ties that bind us to life, let us cultivate our death wish, let us develop it, water it like a plant, let it grow unhindered. Suffering and fear are born from the repression of the death wish.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote explores the concept of the 'death instinct' and suggests that embracing our mortality can lead to a more liberated existence.
Eugene Ionesco's quote delves into the philosophical idea that a fundamental aspect of living beings is the 'death instinct', which is often suppressed. He proposes that rather than fighting against this inherent desire for rest and freedom from suffering, we should acknowledge it and cultivate it, allowing ourselves to confront our fears and embrace the idea of mortality. This perspective argues that true liberation comes from accepting our existential realities.
Themes
DeathInstinctFreedomSufferingPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophy class discussing existentialism, a student might quote Ionesco to initiate a debate on mortality.
More from Eugene Ionesco
All quotes →No society has been able to abolish human sadness, no political system can deliver us from the pain of living, from our fear of death, our thirst for the absolute. It is the human condition that directs the social condition, not vice versa.
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Drama lies in extreme exaggeration of the feelings, an exaggeration that dislocates flat everyday reality.
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Language should almost break up or explode in its fruitless effort to contain so many meanings.
Eugene IonescoRead
The brightest light, the light of Italy, the purest sky of Scandinavia in the month of June is only a half-light when one compares it to the light of childhood. Even the nights were blue.
Eugene IonescoRead
Why do people always expect authors to answer questions? I am an author because I want to ask questions. If I had answers, I'd be a politician.
Eugene IonescoRead
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