Claire Messud Quotes

Claire Messud is a talented novelist known for her literary works that delve into complex emotions and human relationships. Through her storytelling, she has captured the hearts of readers, earning praise for her literary prowess. Claire Messud's novels have been critically acclaimed and have earned her recognition as a significant voice in contemporary literature. Her contributions to the world of writing continue to be celebrated by readers and fellow authors alike.

As any of us approaches middle age, we inevitably come up against our limitations: the realization that certain dearly-held fantasies may not be realized; that circumstances have thwarted us; that even with intention and will we may not be able to set our ship back on the course we'd planned.

I went around in my teens and early 20s thinking that life was a con trick. I had managed to grow up believing in all sorts of romantic ideas about hard work and justice and truth, and it seemed the real world was much more complicated and shaded than I wanted to believe.

My mother turned 40 in 1973. So in 1970 - when 'The Female Eunuch' came out and Ms. magazine was founded - my mom was 37 with two children, and she was just that little bit too old, and the circumstances of her life were set up in a certain way that for her to fulfill her ambitions and dreams, she would have had to break with the family.

I believe that, in an ideal world, writers would feel free to write what matters to them without having to consider success, failure, the market, etc.

Place and displacement have always been central for me. A type of insecurity goes with that: you are always following the cues, like learning the dance steps when the dance is already under way.

In the world I've lived in, gay marriage, for example, seems completely logical. And yet there are many people who don't live in that world.

I don't trust people who are likable.

Discovering the context

The quote suggests a skepticism towards individuals who are universally likable, indicating a belief that likability can sometimes be deceptive or superficial, and that true trustworthiness may lie beyond mere charm or popularity.

Women's anger is very scary to people, and to no one more than to other women, who think, 'My goodness, if I let the lid off, where would we be?'

We live in a culture that wants to put a redemptive face on everything, so anger doesn't sit well with any of us. But I think women's anger sits less well than anything else.

I have always been interested in that relationship between what happens in our head and what happens in the world.

If you live in a family or have five roommates, there's some sort of reality check, but when you live alone, there's a lot more leeway for your fantasy life to be more and more a part of your everyday life.

It's still unacceptable for women to have negative emotions, especially anger, and I was trying to write against that.

A painting lets us know how somebody literally saw things. A piece of music is another language that transmits a whole wealth of emotion and wordless experience. But writing is special in the way at allows us to temporarily enter another person's world, to step outside the boundaries of our own time and space.

For me, the ages between 9 and 12 were great because it was before you wore any masks, and you had some autonomy in the world. You had some freedom, and you felt you had unlimited ambition. It's when you thought, 'I'm going to write plays. I'm going to be president. I'm going to do this; I'm going to do that.' And then it all falls apart.

Claire Messud Quotes

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