When a man modifies or adorns a woman's name, or dispatches an endearment into her vicinity, he is attempting at once to alter and deny her, to dilute the privacy of the category she has inherited and to require that she respond as someone quite less than herself.

Ben Marcus
About This Quote

When a man modifies or adorns a woman's name, or dispatches an endearment into her vicinity, he is attempting at once to alter and deny her, to dilute the privacy of the category she has inherited and to require that she respond as someone quite less than herself. This quote by Susan Sontag is more widely known as “The Myth of Sisyphus." The myth of Sisyphus describes the way in which humans are constantly forcing themselves to adapt to changes in the world, despite internal resistance. There are three major components to this myth: 1) the myth of "inheritance," which is the idea that one's self is passed down from generation to generation; 2) the myth of transformation, which is the idea that humanity must change in order to survive; and 3) the myth of necessity, which is the idea that human beings must adapt in order for them to survive.

Source: Notable American Women

Some Similar Quotes
  1. A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. - Jane Austen
  2. I would always rather be happy than dignified. - Unknown
  3. Well, it seems to me that the best relationships - the ones that last - are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like... - Gillian Anderson
  4. It’s probably not just by chance that I’m alone. It would be very hard for a man to live with me, unless he’s terribly strong. And if he’s stronger than I, I’m the one who can’t live with him. … I’m neither smart nor stupid,... - Coco Chanel
  5. I am not an angel, ' I asserted; 'and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself. Mr. Rochester, you must neither expect nor exact anything celestial of me - for you will not get it, any more than I shall... - Unknown
More Quotes By Ben Marcus
  1. Until the notion of Helmet-Assisted Life catches on with more people, you may be seen as a threat if you wear a helmet during moments of intimacy. Yet it might also be true that relaxed intimacy cannot occur unless the head is fully protected.
  2. When a man modifies or adorns a woman's name, or dispatches an endearment into her vicinity, he is attempting at once to alter and deny her, to dilute the privacy of the category she has inherited and to require that she respond as someone quite...
  3. Suspense left my life a long time ago, now it has returned. I do not care for it.
  4. What treaty is it that finally separates those two territories, the hard resolve of our exteriors and the terrible disaster on our insides?
  5. It was hard not to realize what kind of kid his parents wished they'd had, and when he thought about that kind of kid it was tempting for Paul to want to track, hunt, and eat the little thing.
Related Topics