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Mary McCarthy

Mary McCarthy Quotes

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Mary McCarthy was a prominent American author born on June 21, 1912, and passed away on October 25, 1989. Known for her incisive social criticism and nuanced portrayal of human nature, she is considered one of the most influential figures in 20th-century American literature.

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All Ifs Literature People Venice Men World Character Feels Kind Real Looks Behinds Believe Doe Europe Facts Hero Lying Mass Modern

Famous Mary McCarthy Quotes

“What I really do is take real plums and put them in an imaginary cake. If you're interested in the cake, you get rather annoyed with people saying what species the real plum was.”

People Ifs Real Species Cake Imaginary Annoyed Plums

Author:Mary McCarthy

“I was going to get myself recognized at any price. If I could not win fame by goodness, I was ready to do it by badness.”

Ifs Winning Ready Fame Goodness If I Could Badness

Author:Mary McCarthy

“If you want to be your own master ... always be surprised by evil; never anticipate it.”

Ifs Want Evil Masters Anticipate

Book:Mary McCarthy: Novels 1963-1979

Source: Mary McCarthy: Novels 1963-1979

“Laughter is the great antidote for self-pity, maybe a specific for the malady, yet probably it does tend to dry one's feelings out a little, as if by exposing them to a vigorous wind.”

Ifs Littles Doe Self Feelings Wind Laughter Pity Dry Antidote Vigorous Self Pity Exposing Malady

Author:Mary McCarthy

“In politics, it seems, retreat is honorable if dictated by military considerations and shameful if even suggested for ethical reasons.”

Ifs Reason Seems Politics Military Politician Consideration Ethical Honorable Retreat Shameful

Author:Mary McCarthy

“What's the use of falling in love if you both remain inertly as you were?”

Ifs Use Fall Falling In Love

Author:Mary McCarthy

“If someone tells you he is going to make a 'realistic decision', you immediately understand that he has resolved to do something bad.”

Ifs Decision Realistic Bad Decision

Author:Mary McCarthy

“The American character looks always as if it had just had a rather bad haircut, which gives it, in our eyes at any rate, a greater humanity than the European, which even among its beggars has all too much a professional air.”

Ifs Giving Looks Character Eye Humanity Greater Too Much Air Rate Beggar Haircuts American Character Bad Haircuts

Author:Mary McCarthy

“If one means by style the voice, the irreducible and always recognizable and alive thing, then of course style is really everything.”

Ifs Mean Courses Voice Alive Style

Author:Mary McCarthy

“I shall never send for a priest or recite an Act of Contrition in my last moments. I do not mind if I lose my soul for all eternity. If the kind of God exists Who would damn me for not working out a deal with Him, then that is unfortunate. I should not care to spend eternity in the company of such a person.”

Ifs Should Mind Kind Persons Soul Moments Care Lasts Loses Deals Company Eternity Work Out My Soul Damn Priests Unfortunate God Exists Contrition

Author:Mary McCarthy

“If you talked or laughed in church, told lies, had impure thoughts or conversations, you were bad; if you obeyed your parents or guardians, went to confession and communion regularly, said prayers for the dead, you were good.”

Ifs Said Character Lying Parent Church Prayer Conversation Laughed Confession Communion Guardian Good Character Impure Thoughts

Book:The company she keeps

Source: The company she keeps

“In moments of despair, we look on ourselves lead-enly as objects; we see ourselves, our lives, as someone else might see them and may even be driven to kill ourselves if the separation, the "knowledge," seems sufficiently final.”

Ifs Looks May Moments Seems Might Our Lives Objects Despair Finals Driven Separation

Book:On the contrary

Source: On the contrary

“Labor is work that leaves no trace behind it when it is finished, or if it does, as in the case of the tilled field, this product of human activity requires still more labor, incessant, tireless labor, to maintain its identity as a 'work' of man.”

Ifs Men Humans Doe Stills Literature Behinds Cases Fields Identity Products Activity Labor Finished Human Activity Incessant

Book:On the contrary

Source: On the contrary

About the Author

Born: June 21, 1912
Died: October 25, 1989
Known for: Author
Quotes: 139

Related Topics

Ifs Literature People Venice Men World Character Feels Kind Real Looks Behinds Believe Doe Europe Facts Hero Lying Mass Modern

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The humanist in the bathtubRelated source material

On the contraryRelated source material

A Bolt from the Blue and Other EssaysRelated source material

Venice observedRelated source material

The company she keepsRelated source material

Mary McCarthy: Novels 1963-1979Related source material

Occasional proseRelated source material

The Stones of FlorenceRelated source material

Memories Of A Catholic GirlhoodRelated source material

Intellectual Memoirs: New York, 1936-1938Related source material

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