I began to realize what everyone in the world knows and routinely forgets: that to be loved sexually is to be loved not for one's actual self but for one's ability to arouse desire in the other... Only the thoughts in one's mind or intuitions of the spirit can attract permanently... Vivian Gornick
About This Quote

The fact that we care about the things we care about is something we should all be proud of. Instead, we tend to take it as a weakness. We wonder if we are as special as other people think we are. This quote speaks to the importance of loving yourself enough to let yourself love others too.

Source: The Odd Woman And The City: A Memoir

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  1. My friendship with Leonard began with me invoking the laws of love: the ones that involved the expectancy. "We are one, " I decided shortly after we met. "You are me, and I am you, and it is our obligation to save each other." It...
  2. Wharton thought no one could have freedom, but James knew no one wanted freedom.
  3. I began to realize what everyone in the world knows and routinely forgets: that to be loved sexually is to be loved not for one's actual self but for one's ability to arouse desire in the other... Only the thoughts in one's mind or intuitions...
  4. As I saw myself moving ever farther toward the social margin, nothing healed me of a sore and angry heart like a walk through the city. To see in the street the fifty different ways people struggle to remain human - the variety and inventiveness...
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