“You're not going to get any true confessions out of me," she said. "I'm a Leo, and our thing is changing the subject.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“That’s what she was, Joanna felt suddenly. That’s what they all were, all the Stepford wives: actresses in commercials, pleased with detergents and floor wax, with cleansers, shampoos, and deodorants. Pretty actresses, big in the bosom but small in the talent, playing housewives unconvincingly, too nicey-nice to be real.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“I want you to know I won't always be here,' Fertility says, 'but I'll always find you.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“What’s the going price for a stay-in-the-kitchen wife with big boobs and no demands?”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“They never stop, these Stepford wives. They something something all their lives. Work like robots. Yes, that would fit. They work like robots all their lives.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“That green stuff outside is grass, and the yellow stuff coming down on it is sunshine.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“No, thanks, we’re not keen on cat pix.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“And you’ll put a deposit on the house tomorrow?”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“What’s wrong with Bill McCormick? Can’t he run a washer? I thought he was one of our aerospace brains.” “He’s taking care of Marge,” Kit said, folding the T-shirt. “These things came out nice and white, didn’t they?” She put the folded T-shirt into the laundry basket, smiling. Like an actress in a commercial. That’s what she was, Joanna felt suddenly. That’s what they all were, all the Stepford wives: actresses in commercials, pleased with detergents and floor wax, with cleansers, shampoos, and deodorants. Pretty actresses, big in the bosom but small in the talent, playing suburban housewives unconvincingly, too nicey-nice to be real.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“One great difference between good writing, that readers overlook, and bad writing, that they fail to notice, has to do with the number of rewrites and revisions usually required by the former. It isn’t at all easy to write clear, declarative prose—transparency evolves from ruthless cutting and trimming and is hard work—while lumpy, tangle-footed writing flows from the pen as if inspired by the Muse.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
“Today the combat takes a different shape; instead of wishing to put man in a prison, woman endeavors to escape from one; she no longer seeks to drag him into the realms of immanence but to emerge, herself, into the light of transcendence. Now the attitude of the males creates a new conflict: it is with a bad grace that the man lets her go.”
― Ira Levin, quote from The Stepford Wives
Ira Levin
Born place: in The Bronx, New York City, New York, The United States
Born date August 27, 1929
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“Sounds like you still need to learn the parts of a woman, Pick said. Next time you guys are together, don't be afraid to explore. She won't mind. If you're touching, licking, kissing, and nibbling on every little place you go, she'll actually appreciate it. Trust me. Get down there at eye level with everything and just . . . look around. Test it out with your tongue. She'll let you know what she does and doesn't like.”
― Linda Kage, quote from Be My Hero
“You are a passenger. We are all, often, passengers. The boat, history, is going somewhere. You are not the captain. But you have excellent accommodations. Of course, down there in the hold are famished immigrants or enslaved Africans or press-ganged tars. You can’t help them—you do feel sorry for them—and you can’t control the captain, either. Cosseted though you may be, you are actually quite powerless. A gesture on your part might relieve your bad conscience, if you have a bad conscience, but would not materially improve their situation. How would it help them to give up your own spacious cabin, with the room you require for your copious belongings, since, although those below have very few belongings, there are so many of them? The food you are eating would never be enough to feed all of them; indeed, if prepared with them in mind as well, it would no longer be as refined; and of course the view would be spoiled (crowds spoil a view, crowds litter, etc.). So you have no choice but to enjoy the excellent food and the view. Nevertheless, assuming you are not indifferent, you think a lot about what is going on. Even if it is not your responsibility, how can it be your responsibility, you are still a participant and a witness. (First- or second-class passengers, these are the points of view from which most accounts of history are written.) And if those being persecuted are those who might have had accommodations as agreeable as your own, people of your own rank or who have your interests, you are far less likely to be indifferent to their present distress. Of course, you cannot prevent them from being punished if they are in fact guilty. But, assuming you are not indifferent, that you are a decent person, you will try to intervene when you can. Counsel leniency. Or at least prudence. The”
― Susan Sontag, quote from The Volcano Lover: A Romance
“And it now occurred to me that maybe the whole point was, in fact, to lose yourself. But not in the sense of confusion--in the sense of connection to something bigger than yourself...Getting lost to be found.”
― Tanuja Desai Hidier, quote from Born Confused
“Oh.” Elfrida made much effort not to appear too astonished. She had never seen any person in her life less likely to be a minister’s wife.”
― Rosamunde Pilcher, quote from Winter Solstice
“make decisions based on hope, not fear.”
― Sophie Hannah, quote from The Other Half Lives
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The Hourglass DoorBookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
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