--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must kill the false woman who is…" description: "\"We must kill the false woman who is preventing the live one from breathing.\" — Helene Cixous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_breathing_we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-prev_2451539.jpg" --- # We must kill the false woman who is preventing the live… ![“We must kill the false woman who is preventing the live one from breathing.” quote by Helene Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_breathing_we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-prev_2451539.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_breathing_we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-prev_2451539.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_breathing_we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-prev_2451539.jpg) > “We must kill the false woman who is preventing the live one from breathing.” [Helene 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. A false, oppressive identity is suffocating authentic, living self‑expression. **In simple terms:** Oppressive falsehoods silence true selves. Key Takeaway Identify and reject false narratives. Themes identity oppression authenticity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - social movements - mental health Key Concepts feminist theory psychoanalysis Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize the “false woman” in your life? - What steps can you take to let the “live one” breathe? A Different Perspective True self may be hidden by external expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) [False Woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-woman-575414/) [Kill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill/) [Kill False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kill-false-575413/) [Live Breathing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-breathing-575416/) [Woman Preventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woman-preventing-575415/) ## Related quotes > [I couldn't live without you. I'd be breathing... But I wouldn't be alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shianne-fair/i-couldn-t-live-without-you-i-d-be-breathing-but-i-wouldn-t-be-alive/) [Shianne Fair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shianne-fair/) > [To live is not breathing it is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/to-live-is-not-breathing-it-is-action/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The attempt is to kill the false "I", so that the real "I", the Lord, will reign. "I the Lord thy God am a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-attempt-is-to-kill-the-false-i-so-that-the-real-i-the-lord-will/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“If you imagine, friend, that I do not have those black serpents in the pit of my body, that I am not crushed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wakoski/if-you-imagine-friend-that-i-do-not-have-those-black-serpents-in-the/) [Diane Wakoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wakoski/) > [An artful or false woman shall set thy pillow with thorns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/an-artful-or-false-woman-shall-set-thy-pillow-with-thorns/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) > [How easy it is for the proper-false in woman's waxen hearts to set their forms!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/how-easy-it-is-for-the-proper-false-in-woman-s-waxen-hearts-to-set/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An inconstant woman is one who is no longer in love; a false woman is one who is already in love with another person;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/an-inconstant-woman-is-one-who-is-no-longer-in-love-a-false-woman-is/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Breathing is the first act of life and the last. Our very life depends on it. Since we cannot live without breathing it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pilates/breathing-is-the-first-act-of-life-and-the-last-our-very-life-depends/) [Joseph Pilates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pilates/) > [Not everybody that is alive is living, dont just live because you are still breathing, instead breath because you are living, there's much to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaze-olamiday/not-everybody-that-is-alive-is-living-dont-just-live-because-you-are/) [Blaze Olamiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaze-olamiday/) > [Breathing is meditation; life is a meditation. You have to breathe in order to live, so breathing is how you get in touch with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willow-smith/breathing-is-meditation-life-is-a-meditation-you-have-to-breathe-in/) [Willow Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willow-smith/) > [I wish," Jared began, and stopped, breathing in. "Do you remember how you used to believe I wasn't real? Sometimes I wish that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-wish-jared-began-and-stopped-breathing-in-do-you-remember-how-you/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [People don't think much about breathing. Of all the things we take for granted, breathing has to be number one - even though it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/people-don-t-think-much-about-breathing-of-all-the-things-we-take-for/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) ## More by Helene 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 Helene Cixous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) ## More Breathing quotes > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“As long as we’re breathing, we have a chance to start over and build a stable future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/as-long-as-we-re-breathing-we-have-a-chance-to-start-over-and-build-a/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [People don't think much about breathing. Of all the things we take for granted, breathing has to be number one - even though it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/people-don-t-think-much-about-breathing-of-all-the-things-we-take-for/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [I wish," Jared began, and stopped, breathing in. "Do you remember how you used to believe I wasn't real? Sometimes I wish that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-wish-jared-began-and-stopped-breathing-in-do-you-remember-how-you/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [Breathing is give(carbon dioxide) and take(oxygen), such is life, find balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-williams/breathing-is-give-carbon-dioxide-and-take-oxygen-such-is-life-find/) [Marcel Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-williams/) > [I'll probably be writing as long as I'm breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/i-ll-probably-be-writing-as-long-as-i-m-breathing/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [For me writing is like breathing. I could not live without breathing and I could not live without writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/for-me-writing-is-like-breathing-i-could-not-live-without-breathing/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [I’m in, Cat. I’d never leave you. Especially when you’ve got death breathing down your neck.” “Very funny,” I retorted, since Bones was inches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/i-m-in-cat-i-d-never-leave-you-especially-when-you-ve-got-death/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [He’d moved toward me again. His hands released mine and moved to my waist, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one breathing heavily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/he-d-moved-toward-me-again-his-hands-released-mine-and-moved-to-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [My worry is that opera will become an historic art form as opposed to a living, breathing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-fleming/my-worry-is-that-opera-will-become-an-historic-art-form-as-opposed-to/) [Renee Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-fleming/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [I’m exactly right for you, Bella. It would have been effortless for us — comfortable, easy as breathing. I was the natural path your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-m-exactly-right-for-you-bella-it-would-have-been-effortless-for-us/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) [Browse all 1,666 Breathing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must kill the false woman who is preventing the live one from breathing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Helene Cixous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-preventing-the-live-one-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breathing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-preventing-the-live-one-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_breathing_we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-prev_2451539.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_breathing_we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-prev_2451539.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/667/h-l-ne-cixous-3823_breathing_we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-prev_2451539.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must kill the false woman who is preventing the live one from breathing.” — Helene 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": "Helene Cixous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We must kill the false woman...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-preventing-the-live-one-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/we-must-kill-the-false-woman-who-is-preventing-the-live-one-from/#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 } } ] } ```