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Quote by Djuna Barnes

“I tell you, Madame, if one gave birth to a heart on a plate, it would say 'Love' and twitch like the lopped leg of a frog.”

Quote by Djuna Barnes

Work

Nightwood

Nightwood is a complex and haunting narrative that delves into the psychological and emotional complexities of its characters. The story is set against the backdrop of the turbulent period following World War I, offering a glimpse into the lives of individuals grappling with their identities and desires. The novel is known for its poetic prose and its exploration of the nature of love, the struggle for self-acceptance, and the search for belonging. more

Author

Djuna Barnes
Djuna Barnes

Djuna Barnes, an American writer, was born on June 12, 1892, and died on June 18, 1982. She is known for her unique literary style and profound modernist thoughts. more

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“And this is how it happens. Someone does something shit to you, makes you suffer, maybe you die, and you get tunnel vision for the revenge you want to feel in your hands—The punishment you believe you deserve to dole out. You come back to find the fucker that ruined your life and you’ll do anything you can to get them back. You can’t see anything else and everyone becomes collateral damage to the pain you have to cause or the justice you have to find. It hurts too much to think of what someone else took from you, that you can’t see anything outside of the future you can’t grasp anymore. Then, when you hurt someone else because your focus is on whoever fucked you up, they come back feeling the same pain, same anger, their future taken from them too and it just keeps going, again and again, over and over, until everyone’s been promised mutual destruction by proximity and nothing else matters. No one cares about any story that’s not their own. The pain caused is invisible to everyone else until it becomes personal and everyone’s reaching for the thing that blew their lives to pieces. Regret and rage are toxic seeds, planted to consume the heart.”