--- title: "23 Way Quotes By Jeffrey Eugenides" description: "23 Way quotes by Jeffrey Eugenides. Plus more from Jeffrey Eugenides and more Way sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/jeffrey-eugenides-462_opened_the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-s_702328.png" --- > [The zipper opened all the way down our spines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-spines/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/jeffrey-eugenides-462_opened_the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-s_702328.png) > [Children learn to speak Male or Female the way they learn to speak English or French.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/children-learn-to-speak-male-or-female-the-way-they-learn-to-speak/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/jeffrey-eugenides-462_children_children-learn-to-speak-male-or-female-t_1228691.png) > [That's the way I will write characters, put a fair amount of myself in them, and then everyone else who was like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/that-s-the-way-i-will-write-characters-put-a-fair-amount-of-myself-in/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/jeffrey-eugenides-462_amount_that-s-the-way-i-will-write-characters-p_2352908.png) > [The only way we know it's true is that we both dreamed it. That's what reality is. It's a dream everyone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-only-way-we-know-it-s-true-is-that-we-both-dreamed-it-that-s-what/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/jeffrey-eugenides-462_dream_the-only-way-we-know-it-s-true-is-that-w_680037.png) > [The perishable nature of love is what gives love its profound importance in our lives. If it were endless, if it were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-perishable-nature-of-love-is-what-gives-love-its-profound/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4a/jeffrey-eugenides-462_doe_the-perishable-nature-of-love-is-what-gi_853159.png) > [If love were endless, if it were on tap, it wouldn't hit us the way it does. And we certainly wouldn't write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/if-love-were-endless-if-it-were-on-tap-it-wouldn-t-hit-us-the-way-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c41/jeffrey-eugenides-462_doe_if-love-were-endless-if-it-were-on-tap-i_869072.png) > [I live my own life and nurse my own wounds. It's not the best way to live. But it's the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-live-my-own-life-and-nurse-my-own-wounds-it-s-not-the-best-way-to/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/jeffrey-eugenides-462_life_i-live-my-own-life-and-nurse-my-own-woun_1247411.png) > [Added to their loveliness was a new mysterious suffering, perfectly silent, visible in the blue puffiness beneath their eyes or the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/added-to-their-loveliness-was-a-new-mysterious-suffering-perfectly/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/jeffrey-eugenides-462_blue_added-to-their-loveliness-was-a-new-myst_2353350.png) > [I mean, when I got to Brown, the place was riven, because you had older professors who were basically new critics and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-mean-when-i-got-to-brown-the-place-was-riven-because-you-had-older/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/jeffrey-eugenides-462_basically_i-mean-when-i-got-to-brown-the-place-was_1669701.png) > [The ideas for my books come about in two ways. There can be an intellectual idea that seems to be the reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-ideas-for-my-books-come-about-in-two-ways-there-can-be-an/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/jeffrey-eugenides-462_book_the-ideas-for-my-books-come-about-in-two_541787.png) > [If you think of even Tolstoy or a book like 'Anna Karenina,' you go from character to character, and each section is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/if-you-think-of-even-tolstoy-or-a-book-like-anna-karenina-you-go-from/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/jeffrey-eugenides-462_anna_if-you-think-of-even-tolstoy-or-a-book-l_1739565.png) > [The more she thought about it, the more Madeleine understood that extreme solitude didn't just describe the way she was feeling about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-more-she-thought-about-it-the-more-madeleine-understood-that/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/jeffrey-eugenides-462_extremes_the-more-she-thought-about-it-the-more-m_429410.png) > [Well, marriage doesn't function in the way it used to in terms of deciding our fate, but it's in our heads, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/well-marriage-doesn-t-function-in-the-way-it-used-to-in-terms-of/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae2/jeffrey-eugenides-462_action_well-marriage-doesn-t-function-in-the-wa_2462061.jpg) > [I studied English literature in the honors program, which means that you had to take courses in various centuries. You had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-studied-english-literature-in-the-honors-program-which-means-that/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b05/jeffrey-eugenides-462_books_i-studied-english-literature-in-the-hono_1186090.jpg) > [I think there's a real connection between acting and writing novels because the way I write characters has a little bit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-think-there-s-a-real-connection-between-acting-and-writing-novels/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/569/jeffrey-eugenides-462_acting_i-think-there-s-a-real-connection-betwee_2073043.jpg) > [My family suffered. My hair turned up in every corner, every drawer, every meal. Even in the rice puddings Tessie made, covering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/my-family-suffered-my-hair-turned-up-in-every-corner-every-drawer/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/325/jeffrey-eugenides-462_bars_my-family-suffered-my-hair-turned-up-in_2339247.png) > [We felt the imprisonment of being a girl, the way it made your mind active and dreamy, and how you ended up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/we-felt-the-imprisonment-of-being-a-girl-the-way-it-made-your-mind-2/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/818/jeffrey-eugenides-462_active_we-felt-the-imprisonment-of-being-a-girl_1362445.jpg) > [I tell my students that when you write, you should pretend you’re writing the best letter you ever wrote to the smartest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-tell-my-students-that-when-you-write-you-should-pretend-you-re/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/jeffrey-eugenides-462_assuming_i-tell-my-students-that-when-you-write-y_1847913.png) > [We value love not because it's stronger than death but because it's weaker. Say what you want about love: death will finish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/we-value-love-not-because-it-s-stronger-than-death-but-because-it-s/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c25/jeffrey-eugenides-462_death_we-value-love-not-because-it-s-stronger_1575766.png) > [If I write a character, instead of looking from the outside, like maybe a journalist would, trying to describe them physically and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/if-i-write-a-character-instead-of-looking-from-the-outside-like-maybe/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3d/jeffrey-eugenides-462_character_if-i-write-a-character-instead-of-lookin_1065139.png) > [I was directed because I knew I wanted to be a novelist, but I didn't have a very good job or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-was-directed-because-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-a-novelist-but-i-didn-t/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/jeffrey-eugenides-462_among_i-was-directed-because-i-knew-i-wanted-t_1334025.png) > [I was aware that you weren't supposed to write about suburbia, that it was undignified in some way, the subject matter not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to-write-about-suburbia-that-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/jeffrey-eugenides-462_enough_i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to_40771.jpg) > [Planning is for the world's great cities, for Paris, London, and Rome, for cities dedicated, at some level, to culture. Detroit, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/planning-is-for-the-world-s-great-cities-for-paris-london-and-rome-2/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cities_planning-is-for-the-world-s-great-cities_2261339.png) ## Other authors on Way ## More by Jeffrey Eugenides > [“Only the Lisbon house remained dark, a tunnel, an emptiness, past our smoke and flames.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/only-the-lisbon-house-remained-dark-a-tunnel-an-emptiness-past-our/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“She had just started living like a grown-up and she'd never felt more vulnerable, frightened or confused in her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/she-had-just-started-living-like-a-grown-up-and-she-d-never-felt-more/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [It's often said that a traumatic experience early in life marks a person forever, pulls her out of line, saying, "Stay there. Don't move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/it-s-often-said-that-a-traumatic-experience-early-in-life-marks-a/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Adolescents tend to seek love where they can find it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/adolescents-tend-to-seek-love-where-they-can-find-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“The window was still open,” Mr Lisbon said. “I don’t think we’d ever remembered to shut it. It was all clear to me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-window-was-still-open-mr-lisbon-said-i-don-t-think-we-d-ever/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I was aware that you weren't supposed to write about suburbia, that it was undignified in some way, the subject matter not momentous enough.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to-write-about-suburbia-that-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Dr. Armonson stitched up her wrist wounds. Within five minutes of the transfusion he declared her out of danger. Chucking her under the chin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/dr-armonson-stitched-up-her-wrist-wounds-within-five-minutes-of-the/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“I don't approve of women driving, mind you. And now they get to vote!" He grumbled to himself. "Remember that play we saw ("The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-don-t-approve-of-women-driving-mind-you-and-now-they-get-to-vote-he/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Her face was calm, but inside she was tense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/her-face-was-calm-but-inside-she-was-tense/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I know that attaching memories to books may be going out of the world, but while it lasts, it's a strong record of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-know-that-attaching-memories-to-books-may-be-going-out-of-the-world/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I spend most of every day writing. I like to write every day if I can. I don't start extremely early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-spend-most-of-every-day-writing-i-like-to-write-every-day-if-i-can/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Maybe the best proof that the language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/maybe-the-best-proof-that-the-language-is-patriarchal-is-that-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [We knew that Cecilia had killed herself because she was a misfit, because the beyond called to her, and we knew that her sisters,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/we-knew-that-cecilia-had-killed-herself-because-she-was-a-misfit/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [You can tell when something's not moving forward anymore. When the doubts you have about it don't go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/you-can-tell-when-something-s-not-moving-forward-anymore-when-the/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Normality wasn't normal. It couldn't be. If normality were normal, everybody could leave it alone. They could sit back and let normality manifest itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/normality-wasn-t-normal-it-couldn-t-be-if-normality-were-normal/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/jeffrey-eugenides/#itemlist", "name": "23 Way Quotes By Jeffrey Eugenides", "numberOfItems": 23, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The zipper opened all the way down our spines.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey Eugenides" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-spines/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/jeffrey-eugenides-462_opened_the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-s_702328.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/jeffrey-eugenides-462_opened_the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-s_702328.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/jeffrey-eugenides-462_opened_the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-s_702328.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The zipper opened all the way down our spines.” — Jeffrey Eugenides", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Children learn to speak Male or Female the way they learn to speak English or French.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey Eugenides" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/children-learn-to-speak-male-or-female-the-way-they-learn-to-speak/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/jeffrey-eugenides-462_children_children-learn-to-speak-male-or-female-t_1228691.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/jeffrey-eugenides-462_children_children-learn-to-speak-male-or-female-t_1228691.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59d/jeffrey-eugenides-462_children_children-learn-to-speak-male-or-female-t_1228691.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Children learn to speak Male or Female the way they learn to speak English or French.” — Jeffrey Eugenides", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's the way I will write characters, put a fair amount of myself in them, and then everyone else who was like that person, I will pick and choose.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey Eugenides" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/that-s-the-way-i-will-write-characters-put-a-fair-amount-of-myself-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/jeffrey-eugenides-462_amount_that-s-the-way-i-will-write-characters-p_2352908.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/jeffrey-eugenides-462_amount_that-s-the-way-i-will-write-characters-p_2352908.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/jeffrey-eugenides-462_amount_that-s-the-way-i-will-write-characters-p_2352908.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That's the way I will write characters, put a fair amount of myself in them, and then everyone else who was…” — Jeffrey Eugenides", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only way we know it's true is that we both dreamed it. 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My hair turned up in every corner, every drawer, every meal. Even in the rice puddings Tessie made, covering each little bowl with wax paper before putting it away in the fridge--even into these prophylactically secure desserts my hair found its way! Jet black hairs wound themselves around bars of soap. They lay pressed like flower stems between the pages of books. They turned up in eyeglass cases, birthday cards, once--I swear--inside an egg Tessie had just cracked. 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And so, for a long time, that kept me from writing about it. But once I began, I realized it was just as interesting as anywhere else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey Eugenides" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to-write-about-suburbia-that-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/jeffrey-eugenides-462_enough_i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to_40771.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/jeffrey-eugenides-462_enough_i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to_40771.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcb/jeffrey-eugenides-462_enough_i-was-aware-that-you-weren-t-supposed-to_40771.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was aware that you weren't supposed to write about suburbia, that it was undignified in some way, the…” — Jeffrey Eugenides", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 23, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Planning is for the world's great cities, for Paris, London, and Rome, for cities dedicated, at some level, to culture. Detroit, on the other hand, was an American city and therefore dedicated to money, and so design had given way to expediency.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeffrey Eugenides" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/planning-is-for-the-world-s-great-cities-for-paris-london-and-rome-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cities_planning-is-for-the-world-s-great-cities_2261339.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cities_planning-is-for-the-world-s-great-cities_2261339.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4b/jeffrey-eugenides-462_cities_planning-is-for-the-world-s-great-cities_2261339.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Planning is for the world's great cities, for Paris, London, and Rome, for cities dedicated, at some level…” — Jeffrey Eugenides", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/jeffrey-eugenides/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/jeffrey-eugenides/", "name": "Way Quotes by Jeffrey Eugenides", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/jeffrey-eugenides/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b65/jeffrey-eugenides-462_opened_the-zipper-opened-all-the-way-down-our-s_702328.png" }, "description": "23 Way quotes by Jeffrey Eugenides. 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