You refuse to own yourself, you permit others to do it for you Margaret Atwood More Quotes by Margaret Atwood More Quotes From Margaret Atwood Every utopia - let's just stick with the literary ones - faces the same problem: What do you do with the people who don't fit in? Margaret Atwood sticks faces people I'll make you mine, lovers said in old books. They never said, I'll make you me. Margaret Atwood lovers said book The Three of them were beautiful, in the way all girls of that age are beautiful. It can't be helped, that sort of beauty, nor can it be conserved; it's a freshness, a plumpness of the cells, that's unearned and temporary, and that nothing can replicate. None of them was satisfied with it, however; already they were making attempts to alter themselves into some impossible, imaginary mould, plucking and pencilling away at their faces. I didn't blame them, having done the same once myself. Margaret Atwood cells girl beautiful An eye for an eye only leads to more blindness. Margaret Atwood eye inspirational life We thought we were running away from the grownups, and now we are the grownups. Margaret Atwood running-away romance running Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one. Margaret Atwood shocked capable mother We'll choose knowledge no matter what, we'll maim ourselves in the process, we'll stick our hands into the flames for it if necessary. Curiosity is not our only motive; love or grief or despair or hatred is what drives us on. We'll spy relentlessly on the dead; we'll open their letters, we'll read their journals, we'll go through their trash, hoping for a hint, a final word, an explanation, from those who have deserted us--who've left us holding the bag, which is often a good deal emptier than we'd supposed. Margaret Atwood flames grief hands I've never bought into any sort of hard and fast, this-box/that-box characterization. People are individuals. Yes, they may be expected to be a particular way. But that doesn't mean they're going to be that way. Margaret Atwood may mean people You quickly find, when you are a hand-reader as I am, that nothing interests people so much as themselves. Margaret Atwood interest hands people I didn't much like it, this grudge-holding against the past. Margaret Atwood grudge past Whatever the scientists may come up with, writers and artists will continue to portray altered mental states, simply because few aspects of our nature fascinate people so much. The so-called mad person will always represent a possible future for every member of the audience - who knows when such a malady may strike? Margaret Atwood mad artist people Don't let the bastards grind you down. Margaret Atwood cheer-up latin graduation But my dreaming self refuses to be consoled. It continues to wander, aimless, homeless, alone. It cannot be convinced of its safety by any evidence drawn from my waking life. Margaret Atwood safety self dream There may not be one Truth - there may be several truths - but saying that is not to say that reality doesn't exist. Margaret Atwood may reality It wasn't so easy though, ending the war. A war is a huge fire; the ashes from it drift far, and settle slowly. Margaret Atwood ashes fire war We pulled the seeds out and scattered them on their flossy parachutes, leaving only the leathery brownish yellow tongue, soft as the inside of an elbow. Margaret Atwood elbows leaving yellow To live in prison is to live without mirrors. To live without mirrors is to live without the self. Margaret Atwood prison mirrors self Where there's a doctor it's always a bad sign. Even when they are not doing the killing themselves it means a death is close, and in that way they are like ravens or crows. Margaret Atwood ravens doctors mean Optimism means better than reality; pessimism means worse than reality. I'm a realist. Margaret Atwood optimistic mean reality The cat jumps up on the bed and tries to get onto my head. It's his way of telling whether or not i'm dead. If i'm not, he wants to be scratched; if i am - he'll think of something Margaret Atwood cat trying thinking
