---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This book is my obliging you. This is a…"
description: "\"“This book is my obliging you. This is a book I never would have dared write, if I did not feel protected and obligated by your madness.”\" — Hélène Cixous"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/675/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_book_this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-b_1035070.jpg"
---

#  This book is my obliging you. This is a book I never would…

![“This book is my obliging you. This is a book I never would have dared write, if I did not feel protected and obligated by your madness.” quote by Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/675/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_book_this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-b_1035070.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/675/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_book_this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-b_1035070.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/675/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_book_this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-b_1035070.jpg)

> ““This book is my obliging you. This is a book I never would have dared write, if I did not feel protected and obligated by your madness.””

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Writing becomes possible when one feels compelled by another's madness.

**In simple terms:** Madness of inspires writing.

Key Takeaway

Embrace collaborative madness.

Themes

literature creativity collaboration

Mood

introspective provocative

Type

philosophical artistic

When to use this quote

- writing workshops
- artistic collaborations
- experimental prose

Key Concepts

feminist theory post‑structuralism

Questions to Reflect On

- Whose madness fuels your work?
- When does influence become constraint?

A Different Perspective

Dependence on another may limit autonomy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [We all know of families who have obligated themselves for more than they could pay. There is a world of heartache behind such cases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/we-all-know-of-families-who-have-obligated-themselves-for-more-than/)

[Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/)

> [“Not every musician should be obligated to reassure us that we are not zombies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-lanza/not-every-musician-should-be-obligated-to-reassure-us-that-we-are-not/)

Joseph Lanza

> [You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-wright-edelman/you-re-not-obligated-to-win-you-re-obligated-to-keep-trying-to-do-the/)

[Marian Wright Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-wright-edelman/)

> [“The nature of men is such that they find themselves obligated as much for the benefits they confer as for those they receive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/the-nature-of-men-is-such-that-they-find-themselves-obligated-as-much/)

[Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [In the music world, when we're making work, we are obligated to no longer be completely free from what we are to someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-avett/in-the-music-world-when-we-re-making-work-we-are-obligated-to-no/)

[Scott Avett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-avett/)

> [“Love made things compulsory. Like was so optional. People were usually obligated to love their family, but they picked friends they liked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-noffke/love-made-things-compulsory-like-was-so-optional-people-were-usually/)

[Sarah Noffke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-noffke/)

> [To be a Christian is to be obligated to be charitable. This is true whether you are rich or poor, healthy or ill, old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/to-be-a-christian-is-to-be-obligated-to-be-charitable-this-is-true/)

[Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/)

> [We're not obligated to watch ourselves be dissolved away simply because it's not fair that we're so big and powerful. And a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-re-not-obligated-to-watch-ourselves-be-dissolved-away-simply/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [“I never have time to write, and I always have a thousand distractions in my way. But still, I write. I write because I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/i-never-have-time-to-write-and-i-always-have-a-thousand-distractions/)

[Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/)

> [People can just put their cash away and continue to make money and never give back because they just do not care, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninja/people-can-just-put-their-cash-away-and-continue-to-make-money-and/)

Ninja

> [God is not obligated to anoint what He does not initiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/god-is-not-obligated-to-anoint-what-he-does-not-initiate/)

[Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/)

> [We ought to get out of the judging business. We should leave it up to God to determine who belongs in one arena or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/we-ought-to-get-out-of-the-judging-business-we-should-leave-it-up-to/)

[Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/)

> [I have not eaten enough of the tree of knowledge, though in my profession I am obligated to feed on it regularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-have-not-eaten-enough-of-the-tree-of-knowledge-though-in-my/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [“Those you love the most are not obligated to love you back – and often won’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steffan-piper/those-you-love-the-most-are-not-obligated-to-love-you-back-and-often/)

[Steffan Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steffan-piper/)

> [“The worst feeling when speaking with someone or receiving a gift from them is knowing they feel obligated to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/the-worst-feeling-when-speaking-with-someone-or-receiving-a-gift-from/)

[Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/)

## More by Hélène Cixous

> [“(Because Jonah’s real story is the one never told: never was he as stupendously happy as during those three days and three nights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/because-jonah-s-real-story-is-the-one-never-told-never-was-he-as/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“I, too, overflow; my desires have invented new desires, my body knows unheard-of songs. Time and again I, too, have felt so full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/i-too-overflow-my-desires-have-invented-new-desires-my-body-knows/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [What happens: events interiors, snatch them from the cradle, from the source. I want to watch watching arrive. I want to watch arrivances. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/what-happens-events-interiors-snatch-them-from-the-cradle-from-the/)

[Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“And I? I drink, I burn, I gather dreams. And sometimes I tell a story. Because Promethea asks me for a bowl of words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/and-i-i-drink-i-burn-i-gather-dreams-and-sometimes-i-tell-a-story/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“The author of what I describe is not myself, it is the Other. First of all it is you, it is the woman, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/the-author-of-what-i-describe-is-not-myself-it-is-the-other-first-of/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [Perhaps what I do not manage to operate rapidly enough is the passage between the outside and the inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/perhaps-what-i-do-not-manage-to-operate-rapidly-enough-is-the-passage/)

[Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“To fly/steal is woman’s gesture, to steal into language to make it fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/to-fly-steal-is-woman-s-gesture-to-steal-into-language-to-make-it-fly/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“Those I love go in the direction of what they call the last hour—what Clarice Lispector calls, “the hour of the star,” “the hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/those-i-love-go-in-the-direction-of-what-they-call-the-last-hour-what/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“...and this morning I am without fire, my marrow is ash, I am very sad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/and-this-morning-i-am-without-fire-my-marrow-is-ash-i-am-very-sad/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [Me too, I make do, I anoint what cannot be fixed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/me-too-i-make-do-i-anoint-what-cannot-be-fixed/)

[Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“Writing, in its noblest function, is the attempt to unerase, to unearth, to find the primitive picture again, ours, the one that frightens us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/writing-in-its-noblest-function-is-the-attempt-to-unerase-to-unearth/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“Here I am now. And it is hell. Paradise? Yes, I still am here, but who? only myself, with my small waist, my small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/here-i-am-now-and-it-is-hell-paradise-yes-i-still-am-here-but-who/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“Knowledge from experience: the heart goes blind because the need is stronger than anything else. Your ego is blind, your id is eager. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/knowledge-from-experience-the-heart-goes-blind-because-the-need-is/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“I see nothing. I do not move. It is an empty time, animal time, vigilant, I am submerged, under the earth and under time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/i-see-nothing-i-do-not-move-it-is-an-empty-time-animal-time-vigilant/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

> [“Go, fly, swim, bound descend, cross, love the unknown, love the uncertain, love what has not yet been seen, love no one, whom you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/go-fly-swim-bound-descend-cross-love-the-unknown-love-the-uncertain/)

[Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

[Explore all 121 Hélène Cixous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/)

## More Book quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/)

[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/)

> [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/)

[Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

[Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“This book is my obliging you. This is a book I never would have dared write, if I did not feel protected and obligated by your madness.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Hélène Cixous"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-book-i-never-would-have-dared/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-book-i-never-would-have-dared/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/675/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_book_this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-b_1035070.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/675/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_book_this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-b_1035070.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/675/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_book_this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-b_1035070.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“This book is my obliging you. This is a book I never would have dared write, if I did not feel protected and…” — Hélène Cixous",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Hélène Cixous",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“This book is my obliging you....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-book-i-never-would-have-dared/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/this-book-is-my-obliging-you-this-is-a-book-i-never-would-have-dared/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
