Jeanette Winterson Quotes

At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.

My search not only failed, but I convinced myself that all those who had searched like myself had failed also, and come like me to the despairing conviction that the only absolute knowledge man can possess is this—that life is without a meaning.

Things are only mannequins and even the great world-historical events are only costumes beneath which they exchange glances with nothingness.

What is bad? What is good? What should one love, what hate? Why live, and what am I? What is lie,what is death? What power rules over everything?" he asked himself. And there was no answer to any of these questions except one, which was not logical and was not at all an answer to these questions. This answer was: "You will die--and everything will end. You will die and learn everything--or stop asking.

Without the constantly living and articulated eperience of absurdity, there would be no reason to attempt to do something meaningful. And on the contrary, how can one experience one's own absurdity if one is not constantly seeking meaning?

One must either take an interest in the human situation or else parade before the void.

The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.

Human life is inexplicable, and still without meaning: a fool may decide its fate.

One joins the movement in a valueless world, Choosing it, till both hurler and the hurled, One moves as well, always toward, toward.

So he lived, not knowing and not seeing any chance of knowing what he was and for what purpose he had been placed in the word.

Life doesn't make any sense, and we all pretend it does. Comedy's job is to point out that it doesn't make sense, and that it doesn't make much difference anyway.

If nothing had any meaning, you would be right. But there is something that still has a meaning.

People always want reasons for things ... but sometimes there are no reasons.

The great question of philosophy remains: If life is meaningless, what can be done about alphabet soup?

Robin turned and looked straight into her. "What's life for?" "I don't know." "I don't either. But I don't think it's about winning.

why shouldnt things be largely absurd, futile, and transitory? they are so, and we are so, and they and we go together.

L'homme est une passion inutile. Man is a useless passion.

They pursue meaninglessness until they can force it to mean.

Man stands face to face with the irrational. He feels within him his longing for happiness and for reason. The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.

The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow-creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life.

HAMM: We're not beginning to... to... mean something? CLOV: Mean something! You and I, mean something! (Brief laugh.) Ah that's a good one!

There are things I am more interested in than the clone thing. How are they trying to find their place in the world and make sense of their lives? To what extent can they transcend their fate? As time starts to run out, what are the things that really matter?

I think life's an irrational obsession.

Since all life is futility, then the decision to exist must be the most irrational of all.

The most interesting thing in the world is another human being who wonders, suffers and raises the questions that have bothered him to the last day of his life, knowing he will never get the answers.