Beautiful woman Quote by Michel Leiris
““Pessimism is a towering skyscraper eighty stories high in the suburbs of the soul at the end of a long avenue with waste ground on either side and a few poorly-stocked little shops. Several ultra-fast staircases give access to the building, running up from the cellars to the roof-gardens. The comfort of this place leaves nothing to be desired and only the greatest luxury is acceptable, but every Friday the residents gather on the ground floor to read from a bible bound in the skin of a blind man. The psalmic words they intone rise up through the pipes, sigh in the stoves and sweep the chimneys coated inside with black grease which leaves dirt on the skin. Water runs constantly in the bathrooms and the showers beat down on the numbered bodies, peppering them with sand. On Sundays the bed linen unrolls by itself and nobody makes love. For this tower block, like an obscure phallus scraping the vulva of the sky, is usually a hive of sexual activity. The most beautiful woman lives there, but no-one has ever known her. It is said, that dressed in furs and feathers, she keeps herself shut away in a first-floor apartment as if in a white safe. Her windows are scissors which cut short both shadow and breath. Her name is AURORA.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Tower of Souls, 1972
A vivid metaphor describing how pessimism builds an oppressive, luxurious yet barren mental fortress that isolates and contaminates daily life.
In simple terms: Pessimism creates a hollow, luxurious prison in the mind.
Recognize and dismantle mental barriers.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal reflection
- therapy
- creative writing
- philosophical discussion
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does your inner narrative shape your reality?
- What would the tower look like without pessimism?
The metaphor may over‑dramatize negativity, ignoring resilience.