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I Who Have Never Known Men

Book by Jacqueline Harpman · 11 quotes · Science Fiction, Feminism, Humanity

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I Who Have Never Known Men Quotes

“Nothing was ordinary, since nothing had ever happened to me.”

Philosophy Science Fiction

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“Sometimes, I used to sit under the sky, on a clear night, and gaze at the stars, saying, in my croaky voice: “Lord, if you’re up there somewhere, and you aren’t too busy, come and say a few words to me, because I’m very lonely and it would make me so happy.” Nothing happened. So I reckon that humanity— which I wonder whether I belong to —really had a very vivid imagination.”

God Existentialism

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“They bustled around chatting. It was the first time I listened closely, and I was astonished at how much they had to say, the passion with which they repeated the same thing in ten different ways so as to avoid noticing, in fact, that they had absolutely nothing to say to each other for ages, but human beings need to speak, otherwise they lose their humanity”

Humanity Conversation Interpersonal Relationships

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“Even now, I like to look in the mirror. Over the years, I’ve followed the progress of the wrinkles furrowing my brow. My cheeks have grown thinner and my lips have become pale, but it’s all me and I feel a sort of fondness for the reflection in the mirror. [...] I was just over forty. That was twenty-two years ago. I suppose I am an old woman, but I still love looking at my face. I don’t know if it’s beautiful or ugly, but it is the only human face I ever see. I smile at it and receive a friendly smile back.”

Humanity Loneliness Vanity

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“Because I want to know! Sometimes, you can use what you know, but that's not what counts most. I want to know everything there is to know. Not because it's any use, but for the pleasure of knowing, and now I demand that you teach me everything you know, even if I will never be able to use it.”

Education Knowledge Learning Right To Education Right To Information

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“She wondered when it had dawned on us that we where as much prisoners out in the open as we had been behind bars.”

Inspirational Science Fiction Deep Prisoner

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“Soy el retoño estéril de una raza de la que no sé nada, ni siquiera si ha desaparecido”

Fiction Fantasy Feminism Science Fiction Literary Fiction Dystopia Adult Classics Book Club Audiobook

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“I knew nothing about him, but I knew nothing about myself, except that, one day, I too would die and that, like him, I would prop myself up and remain upright, looking straight ahead until the last, and, when death triumphed over my gaze, I would be like a proud monument raised with hatred in the face of silence.”

Death Feminism Tragedy Resilience

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“No life is ordinary. No life is without hope, without light, even during the unimaginable.”

Life Inspirational Hope

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“They’d been custodians of the absurd, carrying out orders whose purpose they were unaware of, themselves having to submit to incomprehensible rules, and perhaps they had no more idea of our identity than we did of theirs.”

Prison Camps Jailor

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men

“Only now, I tell myself that what I'd felt for her, the trust that slowly built up, the constant preference for her company and the joy each time I was reunited with her after an expedition were probably what the women called love.”

Love Friendship Sisterhood

Book:I Who Have Never Known Men

Source: I Who Have Never Known Men