It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness
Interpretation
The quote depicts the emotional turmoil of feeling both intense pain and deep joy simultaneously.
Adrienne Rich highlights the complex nature of human emotions, suggesting that individuals often oscillate between feelings of pain, resentment, and vulnerability, alongside experiences of joy, tenderness, and fulfillment. This duality reflects the inherent ambivalence in relationships and personal experiences, where one can feel intense suffering and yet find moments of blissful gratification, emphasizing the intricate tapestry of human existence.
In practice
In a talk about emotional intelligence, one might use this quote to illustrate the complexity of human feelings.
My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness. Sometimes I seem to myself, in my feelings toward these tiny guiltless beings, a monster of selfishness and intolerance.
The word revolution itself has become not only a dead relic of Leftism, but a key to the deadendedness of male politics: the revolution of a wheel which returns in the end to the same place; the revolving door of a politics which has liberated women only to use them, and only within the limits of male tolerance.
A president cannot meaningfully honor certain token artists while the people at large are so dishonored.'β
There is no 'the truth','a truth' - truth is not one thing, or even a system. It is an increasing complexity. the pattern of the carpet is a surface. When we look closely, or when we become weavers, we learn of the tiny multiple threads unseen in the overall pattern, the knots on the underside of the carpet
It's as if, in the mother's eyes, her smile, her stroking touch, the child first reads the message:'You are there!'
Pride is a tricky, glorious, double-edged feeling.
We must never allow the voice of humanity within us to be silenced. It is humanity's sympathy with all creatures that first makes us truly human.
The only alternative to coexistence is codestruction.
Get to know other worlds, if only for comparison. I am near, too near for him to dream of me.
The type and formula of most schemes of philanthropy or humanitarianism is this: A and B put their heads together to decide what C shall be made to do for D. The radical vice of all these schemes, from a sociological point of view, is that C is not allowed a voice in the matter, and his position, character, and interests, as well as the ultimate effects on society through C's interests, are entirely overlooked. I call C the Forgotten Man.
Jesus was much more interested in the quality of the people's response to him than in the quantity of the crowd.
Sometimes we don't even realize what we really care about, because we get so distracted by the symbols.
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