Fadwa Tuqan Quotes

psychological problems are not confined to women. Men are afflicted with them too. If a man grows up in unnatural circumstances, or if his childhood is harsh, problems will continue to govern his conduct and attitudes all his life, and his case will be exactly the same as that of a woman." (p179)

which one of us, unless greatly lacking in responsiveness of heart and soul, can deny the beauty and aesthetic value art has so lavishly bestowed upon our lives? (p183)

With the arrival of spring, I experienced this thing called love that has continued endlessly to spin its cocoon around my being.
Here was the answer to the question Mother had denied me. It came borne on a jasmine flower redolent with scent that fastened itself to the walls of my heart. Even now I can feel an invisible hand pushing me into that past every time the scent of jasmine drifts towards me.
There are dozens of years behind me now as I recall that event, but the excitement it aroused in me and the wonder born of that excitement are things I will never forget. I had discovered something new in me and in the world, something very strange that made me stand breathless at the wonder of first love.

In school I was able to discover some parts of my lost self. There I established myself as a person, something I had not been able to do at home. (p45)

The poorer women thought nothing of moving around the bath rooms with naked breasts and buttocks. I was delighted with the spontaneity of these women, who lived in a much freer and more down-to-earth atmosphere than that of the bourgeoisie, which was characterised by falsehood and hypocrisy. (p23)

my reticence and lack of involvement in the political uproar did not mean that I had no sensitivity to it, or did not live under its curse, which hangs constantly over our heads. Like many others, I stood perplexed at the reality around us. With hearts burning from the pain and tragedy we had known, we continued searching, in vain, for a meaning to all that was happening around us. The reality we were living every moment of our lives was one of sheer pain and misery. (p188)

The sweetest moments in life are those that transcend time and impose themselves on us, with all the life force in them. (p183)

Dear refugees! How cruel for people to die as strangers in a strange land! Only in the land of our ancestors can we have a sense of growth in our humanity and of accord between ourselves and life around us. (p184-5)

[[Happiness] is the child of the moment; it consumes its moment and vanishes with it; but prolonged suffering, although it eventually stops smarting like a live coal, changes into a profound grief where our pain is lulled to sleep until reawakened by a memory or aroused by a beautiful sight. (p181-2)

The man dominated family life, as in all homes of our society. The woman had to forget that the word 'no' existed in the language, except when she repeated, "There is no God but God', in her ablutions and prayers. 'Yes' was the parroted word instilled in her from infancy, to become embedded in her consciousness for the rest of her life.
The right to express her feelings or views was prohibited. Laughing and singing were also taboo and could be indulged in only secretly, after the men, the lords and masters, left for work. Personal independence was a concept foreign to a woman all her life.

Everywhere, people show a face that is new, but at the same time basically the same. People are a mass of feelings, inclinations and ambitions, fluctuating between triumphs and defeats, despair and hope. Each is created from the same material, with the same innate nature, descended from one human family tree. (p180)

When some people meet with a private or public catastrophe, the foundations of their faith are sometimes shaken, causing the pillars of their beliefs to come crashing down. But what an appalling existence when the tide of faith suddenly ebbs from the soul; what a frightful life when we lose certainty. (p177)

Spring, the breath of youth, sends a driving force through my whole being. I have just returned from a walk. The moon was full, the air laden with a unique fragrance from jasmine, damask roses and al-naseem flowers from the gardens of the surrounding houses. (p184)

A seed does not see the light without first cleaving a difficult path through the earth. This story of mine is the story of the seed's battle against the hard rocky soil; a story of struggle, deprivation and enormous difficulties. (first page)

Just as tyrannical surveillance, repression and sugjugation in society give rise to the dual traits of submission and rebelliousness, the same is true of individuals. Anyone who grows up in an environment of secret police surveillance and oppressive family authority will emerge with a dual psyche. There are always acquired characteristics, arising as a result of social and, in particular, family subjugation. (p28)