Biographies Quote by Kate Zambreno
“The biographies of the great men see their excesses as signs of their greatness. But Jean Rhys, in her biography, is read as borderline; Anaïs Nin is borderline; Djuna is borderline; etc. etc. Borderline personality disorder being an overwhelmingly gendered diagnosis. I write in Heroines: “The charges of borderline personality disorder are the same charges against girls writing literature, I realize - too emotional, too impulsive, no boundaries."”
About This Quote
Source Book: Heroines by Kate Zambreno, 2021
The quote critiques how society labels women’s emotional intensity as pathology, linking it to gender bias in literary criticism and mental health diagnosis.
In simple terms: Women’s passion is unfairly pathologized.
Challenge gendered stereotypes in art and psychiatry.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- authorial voice
- academic discourse
- creative writing
- mental health advocacy
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does labeling affect women writers?
- What alternatives exist to gendered diagnostics?
The claim may overgeneralize individual experiences.