Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

“Oh no, I do not gloat over my own person, I do not get all hot wrestling with my soul in a darkened room; I have no desires, save the desire to express myself — in defiance of all the world's muteness.”

Quote by Vladimir Nabokov

Book:Invitation to a Beheading
Create image

Work

Invitation to a Beheading

In this thought-provoking work, the protagonist is a nameless individual who is destined for death. The narrative delves into his thoughts and reflections as he awaits his fate, questioning the nature of reality and the meaning of life. The novel is known for its surreal and dreamlike quality, with a narrative structure that blurs the lines between the real and the imagined. more

Author

Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov

Russian-born American novelist, best known for his novel 'Lolita'. Nabokov is renowned for his unique literary style and profound use of language and symbolism. more

You May Also Like

“Kiss her. Slowly, take your time, there’s no place you’d rather be. Kiss her but not like you’re waiting for something else, like your hands beneath her shirt or her skirt or tangled up in her bra straps. Nothing like that. Kiss her like you’ve forgotten any other mouth that your mouth has ever touched. Kiss her with a curious childish delight. Laugh into her mouth, inhale her sighs. Kiss her until she moans. Kiss her with her face in your hands. Or your hands in her hair. Or pulling her closer at the waist. Kiss her like you want to take her dancing. Like you want to spin her into an open arena and watch her look at you like you’re the brightest thing she’s ever seen. Kiss her like she’s the brightest thing you’ve ever seen. Take your time. Kiss her like the first and only piece of chocolate you’re ever going to taste. Kiss her until she forgets how to count. Kiss her stupid. Kiss her silent. Come away, ask her what 2+2 is and listen to her say your name in answer.”

LoveRomanceDesireRelationshipLustKiss
Author:Azra.T
Create image

“Just as mind rises up and rebels at un unskillful attempt to subdue it in meditation, a relationship will fall apart if the partners are not respectful of each other's differences. Separateness and connection make each other possible; they are not mutually exclusive.”

LoveDesireRelationshipsDifferencesBuddhismConnectionRomantic LoveCouplesSeparateness
Book:Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart: A Buddhist Perspective on Wholeness
Create image

“We are part of the same society. We are part of the same humanity. When humanity is happy, we will be happy. When humanity is peaceful, our own lives are peaceful. ... We must develop the sense of 'we'. Once you're able to develop that sense of common humanity and the oneness of humanity, then naturally you will want all others to be free from suffering and enjoy happiness. The desire for happiness is a natural instinct shared by everyone.”

HappinessDesireSufferingHumanitySocietyHappyPeaceful
Book:The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
Create image

“Patience's breath caught. Her lids fell. Wordlessly, she lifted her face, offering her lips. He took them, took her- as their lips fused, Patience felt his hands slide lower, deliberately tracing the ripe hemispheres of her bottom. He filled his hands, then kneaded- heat spread, prickling over her skin, leaving it fevered. Cupping her firm flesh, he molded her to him, easing her deeper into the V of his braced thighs. She felt the evidence of his desire, felt the hard, heavy, throbbing reality pressed against her soft belly. He held her there, senses fully awake, fully aware, for one achingly intense instant, then his tongue slowly surged, thrusting deep into the softness of her mouth. Patience would have gasped, but she couldn't. The evocative caress, his unhurried possession of her mouth, sent heat rolling through her. It pooled, hot and heavy, in her loins. As the kiss drew her in, drew her deeper, a heady languor spread, weighting her limbs, slowing her senses. But not muting them. She was achingly aware. Aware of the hardness that surrounded her, of the steely flex of hard muscle about her. Of her tightly furled nipples pressed hard to the wall of his chest; of the softness of her thighs held intimately against him. Of the relentless, driving passion he ruthlessly held back. That last was a temptation, but one so potently, preeminently dangerous not even she dared prod it. Not yet. There were other things she'd yet to learn.”

DesirePassionArousalPatience And Vane
Book:A Rake's Vow
Create image

“I'm renowned within the ton as being cool under fire- around you, I'm never cool. I'm heated- I seethe- I burn with desire. If I'm in the same room, all I can think about is heat- your heat- and how you'll feel around me." Patience felt the heat rise, a real force between them. "I've gained the reputation of being the soul of discretion- now look at me. I've seduced my godmother's niece- and been seduced by her. I share her bed openly, even under my godmother's roof." His lips twisted wryly. "So much for discretion." He drew a deep breath; his chest brushed her breasts. "And as for my vaunted, up-until-you 'legendary' control- the instant I'm inside you that evaporates like water on hot steel." What prompted her Patience never knew. His lips were so close- with her teeth, she nipped the lower. "I told you to let go- I won't break." The tension, pouring off him in waves, eased, just a little. He sighed, and rested his forehead on hers. "I don't like losing control- it's like losing myself- in you." She felt him gather himself, felt the tension swell and coalesce about them. "It's giving myself to you- so that I'm in your keeping." The words, low and gravelly, rolled through her; closing her eyes, she drew in a shallow breath. "And you don't like doing that." "I don't like it- but I crave it. I don't approve of it, yet I yearn for it." His words feathered her cheek, then his lips touched hers. "Do you understand? I haven't any choice." Patience felt his chest swell as he drew a deep breath. "I love you." She shivered, eyes shut tight, and felt the world shift about her. "Losing myself in you- giving my heart and soul into your keeping- is part of that." His lips brushed hers in an inexpressibly tender caress. "Trusting you is part of that. Telling you I love you is part of that." His lips touched hers; Patience didn't wait for more. She kissed him. Letting go of the post, she slid her hands up, framing his face, so she could let him know- let him feel- her response to all he'd said. He felt it, sensed it- and reacted; his arms locked tight about her. She couldn't breathe, but she didn't care. All she cared about was the emotion that held them, that flowed so effortlessly between them. Silver and gold, it wound about them, investing each touch with its magic. Silver and gold, it shimmered about them, and quivered in their fractured breaths. It was immediate compulsion and future promise, heavenly delight and earthly pleasure. It was here and now- and forever.”

DesirePassionTrue LoveI Love YouDeclaration Of LovePatience And VaneVane Cynster
Book:A Rake's Vow
Create image

“Shall I speak of the consequence One, that your attention causes? Words you utter keep me stunned, My heart stops up at your gazes. I am known to have just one gift; To feel things with intense passion Yet it happens to consume me; A divine fire, I cannot abandon. In sleepless nights I sing to you A song, however, incomplete. On bright days I write you letters; Ardent proses, yet bittersweet. I am indeed burned with desire; The consequence you must construe If this is the damage of attention Imagine, what your love will do.”

LoveHeartDesirePoetryAttentionFireConsequenceDream Girl
Author:Zubair Ahsan
Create image

“He'd finally found her alone and in the perfect location. The stillroom, tucked away on the ground floor of one wing, was private, and contained no daybed, chaise, or similar piece of furniture. In his present state, that was just as well. A gentleman should not, after all, go too far with the lady he intended making his wife before informing her of that fact. The absence of any of the customary aids to seduction should make coming to the point easy, after which they could retire to some place of greater comfort, so he could be comfortable again. The thought- of how he would ease the discomfort that had dogged him for the past days- wound his spring a notch tighter.”

DesireSeductionVane Cynster
Book:A Rake's Vow
Create image

“In the long run, the pessimism of reactionaries never proves to be justified, but neither does the optimism of revolutionaries. The expansion of human potential that the latter expect from the final, complete liberation of desire never turns out to be the triumph that they expect. Either the liberated desire is channeled into competitive directions that, though enormously creative, are ultimately disappointing, or it simply ends up in sterile conflict and anarchic confusion, with a corresponding increase in the sense of anguish. There is good reason for this. Modern people still fondly imagine that their discomfort and unease is the product of the straight-jacket that religious taboos, cultural prohibitions, and, in our day, even the legal forms of protection guaranteed by the judicial system place upon desire. They think that once this confinement is over, desire will be able to blossom forth; its wonderful innocence will finally be able to bear fruit. None of this comes true.”

DesireIllusionsMimetic
Author:René Girard
Create image