For my peculiar face, I look best when I look as though I'm not wearing make-up.
Lauren BacallRead
He named me. He liked the sound of it. And I said, well, all right. I felt a little odd about it. I don't understand all that name changing business anyway... No, he felt that Lauren Bacall was better sounding than Betty Bacall. He had a vision of his own. He was a svengali. He wanted to mold me. He wanted to control me. And he did until Mr. Bogart got involved.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the complexities of identity and the influence others have on shaping who we become.
In this quote, Lauren Bacall discusses her feelings about her name change and how it symbolizes the control and vision that others, particularly a significant figure in her life, had over her. She reflects on the tension between personal identity and external expectations, noting how the desire to mold a persona can lead to discomfort yet also to a profound transformation, especially when another strong presence, like Humphrey Bogart, intervened.
Themes
IdentityControlTransformationPersonal GrowthExternal Influence
In practice
Example use cases
To illustrate the impact of identity on personal growth during a seminar on self-discovery.
More from Lauren Bacall
All quotes →I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.
Lauren BacallRead
I was this kid, and I was scared to death of all these pros around me... My head would shake, and my hands would shake, and I discovered if I kept my head down and looked up, my head would not shake, so I started to do that when I could, when it was appropriate in a scene.
Lauren BacallRead
When everything happens to you when you're so young, you're very lucky, but by the same token, you're never going to have that same feeling again. The first time anything happens to you - your first love, your first success - the second one is never the same.
Lauren BacallRead
I wasn't brought up as a society girl to go to balls and be a debutante and marry the social set and money and go to parties. No one in my family lived like that. And I never wanted to live like that. I was brought up to believe in work. I always wanted a career. Always.
Lauren BacallRead
Well, the people I've known I must say are extraordinary. When I think about some of them, I can't believe that I knew them all. And I think the reason I knew most of them at the beginning was because they were of Bogie's generation, 25 years my senior, not mine. But they were the most talented people of all.
Lauren BacallRead
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