--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Egypt.mother of civilization, dreaming…" description: "\"Egypt.mother of civilization, dreaming herself through the centuries. Dreaming us all, her children: those who stay and work for her and complain of he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ahdaf-soueif-21720_bitterness_egypt-mother-of-civilization-dreaming-he_420315.jpg" --- # Egypt.mother of civilization, dreaming herself through the… ![“Egypt.mother of civilization, dreaming herself through the centuries. Dreaming us all, her children: those who stay and work for her and complain of her, and those who leave and yearn for her and blame her with bitterness for driving them away.” quote by Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ahdaf-soueif-21720_bitterness_egypt-mother-of-civilization-dreaming-he_420315.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ahdaf-soueif-21720_bitterness_egypt-mother-of-civilization-dreaming-he_420315.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4dd/ahdaf-soueif-21720_bitterness_egypt-mother-of-civilization-dreaming-he_420315.jpg) > “Egypt.mother of civilization, dreaming herself through the centuries. Dreaming us all, her children: those who stay and work for her and complain of her, and those who leave and yearn for her and blame her with bitterness for driving them away.” [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage portrays Egypt as a timeless mother figure, both nurturing and burdensome, evoking love, resentment, and longing among its people. **In simple terms:** Egypt is seen as a caring yet demanding mother. Key Takeaway Recognize both gratitude and critique toward heritage. Themes heritage identity home diaspora nostalgia Mood reflective poignant Type cultural philosophical When to use this quote - expatriates feeling homesickness - locals working for the nation - tourists experiencing cultural weight Key Concepts maternal symbolism nationalism dual sentiment Questions to Reflect On - How does your relationship with your homeland shape your identity? - What responsibilities arise from feeling both love and resentment? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex socio-political realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bitterness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) [Blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blame/) [Centuries Dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centuries-dreaming-3728582/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Dreaming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-dreaming-3728581/) [Complaining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complaining/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Egypt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egypt/) [Egypt Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egypt-mother-3728579/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Mother Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother-civilization-3728580/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [Repression is the enemy of civilization - so keep dreaming, because the dreams we dream today will provide the love, the compassion, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-platt/repression-is-the-enemy-of-civilization-so-keep-dreaming-because-the/) [Marc Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-platt/) > [And Egypt ? What is Egypt strenght?her resilience ?her ability to absorb poeple and events into the pores of her being? is that true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/and-egypt-what-is-egypt-strenght-her-resilience-her-ability-to-absorb/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-he-were-allowed-contact-with-foreigners-he-would-discover-that/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We hope that more assistance will be available to the nations of the region, to include Egypt, on the three pillars that I discussed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/we-hope-that-more-assistance-will-be-available-to-the-nations-of-the/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [Many people are quick to say that we are not recognized by Muslims in the East . And I start with the Honorable Elijah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/many-people-are-quick-to-say-that-we-are-not-recognized-by-muslims-in/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [There’s one thing that’s been 'learned' maybe from Tunisia and Egypt that I think is a mistake. And that is that the existing ruler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sharp/there-s-one-thing-that-s-been-learned-maybe-from-tunisia-and-egypt/) [Gene Sharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-sharp/) > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [We were the outliers: my mother was the only Western woman (khawagayya, in Egyptian Arabic) to have married into the family, and during my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shereen-el-feki/we-were-the-outliers-my-mother-was-the-only-western-woman-khawagayya/) [Shereen El Feki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shereen-el-feki/) > [ Our revolution is like Wikipedia, okay? Everyone is contributing content, \[but\] you don't know the names of the people contributing the content. This is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wael-ghonim/our-revolution-is-like-wikipedia-okay-everyone-is-contributing/) [Wael Ghonim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wael-ghonim/) > [I just always loved mythology, ever since I was a kid. Greek mythology was something I remember learning about in fourth grade, and Egypt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-larson/i-just-always-loved-mythology-ever-since-i-was-a-kid-greek-mythology/) [Brie Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-larson/) > [“...he was one of the great intellectuals of the 1940s who completed their higher studies in the West and returned to their country to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/he-was-one-of-the-great-intellectuals-of-the-1940s-who-completed/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. 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Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Its up to any government to decide how to react to the denial of basic human rights anywhere in the world, including Egypt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/its-up-to-any-government-to-decide-how-to-react-to-the-denial-of/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [ The best way to marginalize the Muslim Brotherhood \[in Egypt\] is in the ballot box, not through arrests and killing people. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/the-best-way-to-marginalize-the-muslim-brotherhood-in-egypt-is-in-the/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) ## More by Ahdaf Soueif > [“There have been those among us who have been so dazzled by the might and technological wizardy of Europe that they have been rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/there-have-been-those-among-us-who-have-been-so-dazzled-by-the-might/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [“It was too cold to dream”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/it-was-too-cold-to-dream/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [And Egypt ? 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I beg him to take heart, for our Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/i-fancy-he-is-attempting-to-purge-himself-of-all-manner-of-things-i/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [“Ya Ummi(my mother), I cannot live my life with a woman who has no key to my mind and does not share my concerns.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/ya-ummi-my-mother-i-cannot-live-my-life-with-a-woman-who-has-no-key/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [It is that happy stretch of time when the lovers set to chronicling their passion. When no glance, no tone of voice is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/it-is-that-happy-stretch-of-time-when-the-lovers-set-to-chronicling/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [“The encompassing silence and the ease(or difference) of my companions have left my soul free to contemplate, to drink in the wonder of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/the-encompassing-silence-and-the-ease-or-difference-of-my-companions/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [I now find myself looking at every sentence, every image, that purports to tell the West about the Arabs and the Muslims with this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/i-now-find-myself-looking-at-every-sentence-every-image-that-purports/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [“and the thought of relieving my mourning, even slightly, for a moment filled me with a kind of fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/and-the-thought-of-relieving-my-mourning-even-slightly-for-a-moment/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [“Every day she waits for night-time. She goes to bed at half past eight because that is the earliest time she can imagine going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/every-day-she-waits-for-night-time-she-goes-to-bed-at-half-past-eight/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [“I suppose it has been said that art sometimes benefits from a touch of madness”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/i-suppose-it-has-been-said-that-art-sometimes-benefits-from-a-touch/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [Tell me, if you thought a man had a tendresse for you, but he wasn't doing anything about it. And you wanted to hurry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/tell-me-if-you-thought-a-man-had-a-tendresse-for-you-but-he-wasn-t/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [“Palestinian weddings are celebrated over coffee, but when a young man is killed his mother is held up over his grave. 'Trill out your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/palestinian-weddings-are-celebrated-over-coffee-but-when-a-young-man/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) > [If people can write to each other across space, why can they not write across time too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahdaf-soueif/if-people-can-write-to-each-other-across-space-why-can-they-not-write/) [Ahdaf Soueif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) [Explore all 28 Ahdaf Soueif quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahdaf-soueif/) ## More Bitterness quotes > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If Japanese tea 'stands,' it acquires a coarse bitterness and an unwholesome astringency. Milk and sugar are not used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-bird/if-japanese-tea-stands-it-acquires-a-coarse-bitterness-and-an/) [Isabella Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-bird/) > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“What?" I ask. I try not to get snappy with her. She hasn't really done anything wrong. Falling in love with Turner isn't a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/what-i-ask-i-try-not-to-get-snappy-with-her-she-hasn-t-really-done/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [“The fairest things have fleetest end, Their scent survives their close: But the rose’s scent is bitterness To him that loved the rose. —Francis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-rule/the-fairest-things-have-fleetest-end-their-scent-survives-their-close/) [Ann Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-rule/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. With this creed, revenge never worries my heart, degradation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/life-appears-to-me-too-short-to-be-spent-in-nursing-animosity-or/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“No," I say. "I didn't know that," and as I say it I feel flooded with bitterness at all the things Ingrid kept secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lacour/no-i-say-i-didn-t-know-that-and-as-i-say-it-i-feel-flooded-with/) [Nina LaCour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lacour/) > [Forgiving someone who've done you wrong or didn't treat you right could mean that you are allowing yourself to end up away from bitterness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-t-pascua/forgiving-someone-who-ve-done-you-wrong-or-didn-t-treat-you-right/) [April T Pascua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-t-pascua/) > [You cannot be inspired if you are surrounded with negativity, open the door and step into the inspirational garden of nature. Do not let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/you-cannot-be-inspired-if-you-are-surrounded-with-negativity-open-the/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-horne/it-s-not-the-load-that-breaks-you-down-it-s-the-way-you-carry-it/) [Lena Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-horne/) > [Not forgiving prolongs hurt and anger and leads to smoldering resentment, which will make us miserable until it kills us. Resentment destroys the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-walters/not-forgiving-prolongs-hurt-and-anger-and-leads-to-smoldering/) [Richard Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-walters/) > [Let us not give in to pessimism, to that bitterness that the devil offers us every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/let-us-not-give-in-to-pessimism-to-that-bitterness-that-the-devil/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Sometimes it is good to remind ourselves how bitterness tastes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rin-chupeco/sometimes-it-is-good-to-remind-ourselves-how-bitterness-tastes/) [Rin Chupeco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rin-chupeco/) > [What folly made young people, even those in middle age, think they were immortal? How much better, their lives, if they could remember the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohinton-mistry/what-folly-made-young-people-even-those-in-middle-age-think-they-were/) [Rohinton Mistry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohinton-mistry/) > [Be sure there is something waiting for you after much patience, to astonish you to a degree, that you forget the bitterness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/be-sure-there-is-something-waiting-for-you-after-much-patience-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) [Browse all 1,210 Bitterness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bitterness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Egypt.mother of civilization, dreaming herself through the centuries. 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