My friends, who are both women, tell me their stories, which cannot be believed and which are true. They are horror stories and they have not happened to me, they have not yet happened to me, they have happened to me but we are detached, we watch our unbelief with horror.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- It describes friends sharing unbelievable horror stories that feel both unreal and terrifyingly real to the listener.
- In plain terms
- Friends tell true but unbelievable horror stories that make you watch yourself in disbelief.
- What can you take from it?
- Trauma can feel unreal even when it happens.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you react to others' pain?
- Is disbelief a defense?
Another view
It assumes detachment is a universal response to horror.
More from Margaret Atwood
He was not condemned to death, freedom awaited him. What was the temptation, the one that worked? Perhaps he wanted to live with a woman whose life he had save…
Permalink to quote #21 He wants only the simple things: a chair, someone to pull off his shoes, someone to watch him while he talks, with admiration and fear, gratitude if possible, …
Permalink to quote #23 You wonder about her crime. She was condemned to death for stealing clothes from her employer, from the wife of her employer. She wished to make herself more b…
Permalink to quote #20
Related quotes
He touched me... Control myself and try to act As if I remember my name But he touched me...he touched me... And suddenly nothing is the same!
Ira LevinIra Levin quote #1 The human mind invents its Puss-in-Boots and its coaches that change into pumpkins at midnight because neither the believer nor the atheist is completely satis…
Andre MalrauxAndre Malraux quote #2 Our system is so terrible that nobody in the world will believe it possible... If someone were to succeed to escape from Auschwitz and to tell their story to t…
Rudolf HossRudolf Hoss quote #12