Throughout her writing career, the Brazilian author of The Hour of the Star has imparted a great deal of wisdom. Although they lose some of their extrapolated values from context, Clarice Lispector’s quotes are undeniably the best among those by other writers of the past century in terms of providing great advice applicable to both your personal and professional life.
1. “Who has not asked himself at some time or other: am I a monster or is this what it means to be a person?”
Everyone has, at some point in their lives, asked themselves questions about their daily activities. Because everyone feels they are doing something wrong at some point, which causes them to scrutinize their personality and question themselves.
2. “Everything in the world began with a yes. One molecule said yes to another molecule and life was born.”
Everything is dependent on the consent of another person. If one part of your body does not agree to obey something, the other part of your body cannot obey the idea you devised.
3. “So long as I have questions to which there are no answers, I shall go on writing.”
It is not always possible to get the correct answer or answer to the questions you are looking for. There are some things that exist without any meaning or explanation, and we sometimes have to accept them as questions.
4. “I only achieve simplicity after putting in a lot of effort.”
There are people around us, or it could just be us, who are unlucky with our birth date or brain IQ, so we sometimes have to work harder than others to get what we want.
5. “The world’s continual breathing is what we hear and call silence.”
There are things all around us that are beyond human comprehension and will never be understood.
6. “We don’t hear the earth breathing, but it must because we won’t be here long if it doesn’t.”
Things were so good that they were on the verge of becoming disastrous, because what is fully mature is on the verge of rotting. Things can be so good for so long, but there comes a point when they start to become bad or evil. We have to be careful about it.
7. “And I want to be held down. I don’t know what to do with the horrifying freedom that can destroy me.”
We find ourselves free of household or family members when we reach the age of 18. Which can be frightening at times because we sometimes do things that we shouldn’t do at that age, and those things can ruin our lives for the rest of our lives, so it is critical to always have someone above us who holds us tight. It can be our family, friends, or anyone close to us.
8. “Do you ever find it strange to be yourself?”
People try to become someone who is liked by others, but when they try to be someone else for a long time, they lose themselves, and when they finally try to become the person they are, they are questioned about their true identity.
9. “I write and that way rid myself of me and then at last I can rest.”
The author used to write about it and get rid of those things when people were stressed about their problems and stress, which made them depressed about themselves.
10. “I write as if to save somebody’s life. Probably on my own. Life is a kind of madness that death makes. Long live the dead, because we live in them.”
I write about things that I believe can save someone’s life or that motivate me in my daily life, and I strive to provide the best and highest quality content for the audience. And doing so never disappoints the general public.
11. “She believed in angels, and because she believed, they existed.”
It all comes down to the belief game; if you believe you can, you will. If you believe you can do it, you will. At the same time, if you believe that all of this is beyond your control and work, you will not. You have my approval. It’s all about what you believe.
12. “And it’s inside myself that I must create someone who will understand.”
You will never meet someone with whom you can discuss your responsibilities and share details about your day. That is why it is critical to befriend yourself, because you will be the only one who will ultimately be with you until the end of life.
13. “I’ve never been free in my whole life. Inside, I’ve always chased myself. I’ve become intolerable to myself. I live in a very lacerating duality. I’m seemingly free, but I’m a prisoner inside of me.”
While we strive to be someone else, we lose sight of the fact that we are the main characters in our lives. There will be no one else to come and protect you. And we forget our true selves until we try to fit in with society. And which, in the end, will never satisfy you with yourself because your true identity is imprisoned within you.
14. “The mystery of human destiny is that we are fated but that we have the freedom to fulfill or not fulfill our fate: realization of our fated destiny depends on us. While inhuman beings like the cockroach realize the entire cycle without going astray because they make no choices.”
We all have faith and destiny in our lives, which is the secret of human life. But it is entirely up to us whether we fulfill our destiny or not. If we work hard, we can fulfill our faith and take what we deserve; otherwise, you will receive what the archivers have left.
15. “When I suddenly see myself in the depths of the mirror, I am frightened. I scarcely believe that I have limits, that I am outlined and defined. I feel myself to be dispersed in the atmosphere, thinking inside other creatures, living inside things beyond myself. When I suddenly see myself in the mirror, I am not startled because I find myself ugly or beautiful. I discover, in fact, that I possess another quality. When I haven’t looked at myself for some time, I almost forget that I am human, I tend to forget my past, and I find myself with the same deliverance from purpose and conscience as something that is barely alive. I am also surprised as I gaze into the mirror. I see with open eyes that there is so much in me beyond what is known, so much that remains ever silent.”
When we look in the mirror, we may see someone with lofty ambitions and lofty goals. A man with a bright future. But when it comes to real life, we may not be doing what we deserve, and now is the time to take your image seriously. If you can’t be honest with yourself, you’ll never discover your true self.
16. “Holding someone’s hand was always my idea of joy. Often, before falling asleep – in that small struggle not to lose consciousness and enter the greater world – often, before having the courage to go toward the greatness of sleep, I pretend that someone is holding my hand and I go, go toward the enormous absence of form that is sleep. And when even then I can’t find the courage, then I dream.”
We always have someone with us in our childhood who we can hold hands with and deal with any problem together, but as you grow older, you realize there is no one with you anymore, and it’s your responsibility to serve yourself well, so it’s better to just assume you have someone’s hand with you to deal with issues and problems in your life.
17. “No, it is not easy to write. It is as hard as breaking rocks. Sparks and splinters fly like shattered steel.”
It is not easy to write things that can save people’s lives or inspire people for such a long time. People believe it is simple to write, as the author claims.
18. “How was she to tie herself to a man without permitting him to imprison her? And was there some means of acquiring things without those things possessing her?”
People here give love to another person in their lives who is referred to as their partner, but they forget that it is their life and that the main character of their life should be them alone.