The appeal of perfume is that it is at once ephemeral and empowering. It creates a shimmering invisible armor that lingers in a room long after its wearer has gone and infuses our imagination with a subtle power, hinting at a hidden identity. Mary Gaitskill More Quotes by Mary Gaitskill More Quotes From Mary Gaitskill I think that politics in most people's lives expresses itself like that: indirectly, in half thought-out opinions and feelings. And sometimes through a connection with something that is very real. But we don't have the knowledge or language to speak about it. Mary Gaitskill real feelings thinking I think politics are a part of life, so I have no resistance to it, but it's not something I set out to do. Mary Gaitskill thinking There isn't going to be anyone to tell you what to do most of the time. It has to be your own decision and you have to learn to trust that, or learn that it's wrong. The hard truth is that there are people who believe they're writers and work hard at it and are sincere about it, but they don't make it. You have to be prepared for that possibility. Mary Gaitskill hard-work believe people When you're writing a story, you're creating something of an artificial ending. Mary Gaitskill writing I think people hold back all kinds of things. And in a way, they just want to be nice. They want to be civil. Mary Gaitskill nice people thinking Partly, I'm worried that no one is saying anything because they are afraid of being seen as politically correct. Mary Gaitskill politically-correct worried When you approach the second half of your life, you start to unconsciously consider what you're passing on. As a writer, that's obviously part of what you're doing. And as a teacher, that's another way of passing on information, history, or whatever you have. Mary Gaitskill teacher People still think that a woman who doesn't have children or doesn't want children is really lacking in something. I've seen this over and over again in my life. I've had this thinking used against me repeatedly. I remember I had a therapist once, and I brought this up, and she said, "Well, I think women who don't have children feel very self-critical. They feel bad, so they think other people are critical in that way." Mary Gaitskill children people thinking I think women who are very creative and giving members of society can be respected and accepted. Mary Gaitskill creative giving thinking I think if a woman is very happy with herself and at ease with her choices, it goes a long way toward making other people feel at ease with her. Mary Gaitskill long people thinking It's bizarre: I've tried to understand why people are into Trump. I really don't think I can. I don't think it's as simple as just racism. I do think there's a fear that white people have, even if they don't have a vicious desire to do harm to black people, they fear losing their top spot. Mary Gaitskill racism simple thinking I focus more on the spiritual or psychic gains. Mary Gaitskill focus spiritual Stories mimic life like certain insects mimic leaves and twigs. Mary Gaitskill leaves like insects life My parents had met in high school and married right after my father came back from World War II. They honeymooned in Paris and returned to that city when my father, in college on the G.I. Bill, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. Mary Gaitskill city parents war father It's scary to me to watch the world around us get less and less physical while in the imaginary world of pop culture, aggressive impulses and fear reactions are floridly, furiously stoked and indulged. Mary Gaitskill me fear culture world What is faithfulness, anyway? Can you be unfaithful to your own feelings and faithful to someone else? Is it faithful to lie in bed night after night with someone you love but no longer desire while ardently dreaming of someone else? Mary Gaitskill lie you love night People sometimes turn out to be almost the opposite of how they present. It isn't because they're trying to fool you or because they're hypocrites. It's because they badly want to be that thing, and so they'll try to be it. Mary Gaitskill you fool sometimes people Writing requires an intense inner focus, and sometimes you need to express outward, physically or socially. Mary Gaitskill you focus writing sometimes Stories are the rich, unseen underlayer of the most ordinary moments. Mary Gaitskill most rich moments ordinary My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves. Mary Gaitskill perfume childhood mother memories
