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Quote by Milan Kundera

Work

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

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Author

Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera

Milan Kundera is a renowned Czech-French writer known for his profound psychological insights and unique narrative techniques. His works often explore themes of personal freedom, love, morality, and existentialism, with notable titles including 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' and 'The Joke'. more

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“On silence: Silence is an important language. Not speaking can be an intensely relational act. … Repression is a kind of silence, and also shapes voice. [p. 23] The silencer has power. The dominant culture defines what is spoken about, what is repressed. The effect on the non-dominant culture (in this case women or girls) is to learn the language of camouflage. She learns to disassociate from her own knowing and her own voice.[p. 50] from WOMEN VOICE AND WRITING”

“The truth was that they were longing to be alone in their own silence. They were used to big, open fields, slowly living their own life beside them. There, they were cemented, flesh to flesh, knowing in advance what the other was thinking about, knowing the word before it had left the mouth, knowing it even when it was still being formed with difficulty deep down in the breast. Here, the noise had cut them apart like a knife, and they had needed to touch each other by the arm or hand all day long to satisfy their hearts a little.”

“A voice came from his inside, and shook him up by the roots; the inner voice that had been drowned long back, somewhere deep within, by the noise of opinions of others; the voice that had been constantly screaming ever since, albeit failingly, from the depth to make itself heard; the voice that was now distinctly audible in silence, suggesting him to take a new path, a path that he would have to walk upon alone.”