Books Quote by Gertrude Stein
““It is a very strange feeling when one is loving a clock that is to every one of your class of living an ugly and a foolish one and one really likes such a thing and likes it very much and liking it is a serious thing, or one likes a colored handkerchief that is very gay and every one of your kind of living thinks it a very ugly or a foolish thing and thinks you like it because it is a funny thing to like it and you like it with a serious feeling, or you like eating something that is a dirty thing and no one can really like that thing or you write a book and while you write it you are ashamed for every one must think you a silly or a crazy one and yet you write it and you are ashamed, you know you will be laughed at or pitied by every one and you have a queer feeling and you are not very certain and you go on writing. Then someone says yes to it, to something you are liking, or doing or making and then never again can you have completely such a feeling of being afraid and ashamed that you had then when you were writing or liking the thing and not any one had said yes about the thing.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: “Three Lives”, 1909
Embracing unconventional passions despite fear and societal judgment fosters authentic self‑expression.
In simple terms: Love odd things despite shame.
Create despite fear of ridicule.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- writing workshops
- avant‑garde art
- personal journaling
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What “ugly” passions do you hide?
- How can you validate your unique interests?
Societal pressure may suppress innovation.