"The Mandarins" Quotes
"The Mandarins" follows the intertwining lives of a group of intellectuals in post-World War II Paris as they navigate love, politics, and personal growth.
fiction | 760 pages | Published in 2005
Quotes
Freedom is a gift, but it is also a conquest.
Existence is a conquest, and we are fighting for it every hour.
Intelligence is not a matter of age or experience, but of temper.
One is not born a woman, but becomes one.
The only drama that really interests me and that I should always be willing to depict anew is the debate of the individual with whatever keeps him from being authentic, with whatever is opposed to his integrity.
To be free is not to have the power to do anything you like; it is to be able to surpass the given towards an open future.
I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. No one knows me or loves me completely. I have only myself.
One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, and compassion.
Art is an attempt to integrate evil.
To lose confidence in one's body is to lose confidence in oneself.
