The despondency that follows makes me feel somewhat like a shipwrecked man who spies a sail, sees himself saved, and suddenly remembers that the lens of his spyglass has a flaw, a blurred spot -- the sail he has seen.
Jean GenetRead
It's a true image, born of a false spectacle.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that reality is often obscured by illusions or façades.
Jean Genet's quote reflects the idea that what we perceive as true or real can often be influenced by deceptive appearances. It implies that genuine understanding or insight can emerge even from misleading or artificial situations, encouraging a deeper exploration of reality beyond superficial judgments.
Themes
RealityIllusionPerceptionTruthAppearance
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion about the nature of truth.
More from Jean Genet
All quotes →Erotic play discloses a nameless world which is revealed by the nocturnal language of lovers. Such language is not written down. It is whispered into the ear at night in a hoarse voice. At dawn it is forgotten.
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I'm homosexual. How and why are idle questions. It's a little like wanting to know why my eyes are green.
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I wanted to swallow myself by opening my mouth very wide and turning it over my head so that it would take in my whole body, and then the Universe, until all that would remain of me would be a ball of eaten thing which little by little would be annihilated: that is how I see the end of the world.
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I decided to be what crime made of me.
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Anyone who hasn't experienced the ecstasy of betrayal knows nothing about ecstasy at all.
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