Herzen: Marx is a bourgeois from the anus up. Natalie : Alexander! I won't have that word... Herzen: Sorry, middle-class.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Insults get softened into less offensive terms when challenged in conversation.
- In plain terms
- People modify rude words when corrected.
- What can you take from it?
- Language adjusts to social norms.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you respond to insults?
- When do you censor yourself?
Another view
Softening words doesn't fix the underlying attitude.
More from Tom Stoppard
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Permalink to quote #50 Michael: 'March here, march there, present arms, where's your cap?' - you've no idea, the whole Army's obsessed with playing at soldiers.
Permalink to quote #47
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