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Quote by John Irving

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John Irving
John Irving

John Irving is an American novelist known for his intricate narrative structures and profound character development. His works often explore themes of family, love, morality, and identity, enjoying great popularity among readers. more

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“Suppose the looking glass smashes, the image disappears, and the romantic figure with the green of forest depths all about it is there no longer, but only that shell of a person which is seen by other people - what an airless, shallow, bald, prominent world it becomes! A world not to be lived in. As we face each other in omnibuses and underground railways we are looking into the mirror that accounts for the vagueness, the gleam of glassiness, in our eyes.”

PeopleWorldPersonsEyeFacesFiguresAccountsMirrorsGreenDepthGlassesDisappearForestsShellsShallowProminentGleamRailwayVagueness
Book:A arte da brevidade: Contos
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“What's wrong with men?" Tenar inquired cautiously. As cautiously, lowering her voice, Moss replied, "I don't know, my dearie. I've thought on it. Often I've thought on it. The best I can say it is like this. A man's in his skin, see, like a nut in its shell." She held up her long, bent, wet fingers as if holding a walnut. "It's hard and strong, that shell, and it's all full of him. Full of grand man-meat, man-self. And that's all. That's all there is. It's all him and nothing else, inside.”

IfsKnowsMenLongI CanSelfHardStrongVoiceSkinsFingersMeatNutsWetShellsBentMossWalnuts
Author:Ursula K. Le Guin
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“If women had power, what would men be but women who can't bear children? And what would women be but men who can?" "Hah!" went Tenar; and presently, with some cunning, she said, "Haven't there been queens? Weren't they women of power?" "A queen's only a she-king," said Ged. She snorted. "I mean, men give her power. They let her use their power. But it isn't hers, is it? It isn't because she's a woman that she's powerful, but despite it.”

IfsMenGivingMeanChildrenSaidUsePowerfulHavensBearsKingsDespiteQueensCunningGedMean Man
Author:Ursula K. Le Guin
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“What is a woman's power then?" she asked. "I don't think we know." "When has a woman power because she's a woman? With her children, I suppose. For a while..." "In her house, maybe." She looked around the kitchen. "But the doors are shut," she said, "the doors are locked." "Because you're valuable." "Oh yes. We're precious. So long as we're powerless.”

ThinkingKnowsChildrenLongSaidHouseDoorsValuableKitchenLockedPowerlessWomen Power
Book:Tehanu: The Fourth Book of Earthsea
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“We're standing on the deck that's all wooden like the deck of a ship. There's fuzz on it, little bundles. Grandma says it's some kind of pollen from a tree. "Which one?" I'm staring up at all the differents. "Can't help you there, I'm afraid." In Room we knowed what everything was called but in the world there's so much, persons don't even know the names.”

KnowsWorldKindLittlesPersonsHelpingNamesRoomsTreeStandingShipsStaringGrandmaDeckBundlesPollen
Author:Emma Donoghue
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