Claire Messud Quotes
The fictional narratives that television, film, and the news provide for girls and young women are appalling.

Quotes to Explore
-
I live on the same street as my family, actually. I live across the road. I'm a real family person!
-
Normally, when congee is served, the different condiments and garnishes are placed in little bowls on the side so diners can make their own personal creations.
-
The only way to learn a language properly, in fact, is to marry a man of that nationality. You get what they call in Europe a 'sleeping dictionary.' Of course, I have only been married five times, and I speak seven languages. I'm still trying to remember where I picked up the other two.
-
We should have completed the fight in Afghanistan instead of starting a new war in Iraq.
-
The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath.
-
I think there's a difference when you make fun of yourself and your own behavior, and when you dishonor or disrespect Christ. If you're making a mockery of Christ is one thing. But if you're just joking about human foibles and weaknesses, I think that's perfectly acceptable.
-
The Federal Reserve is incapable of accomplishing its stated objectives.
-
It is indeed hard for the strong to be just to the weak, but acting justly always has its rewards.
-
He travels fastest who travels alone, and that goes double for she. Real feminism is spinsterhood.
-
By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation.
-
There is a kind of victory in good work, no matter how humble.
-
I think the NAACP isn't recognized enough for all of the work it does, especially in the field of law. They may have faded from view over the last couple of decades, but they are fighting the good fight.
-
I used to be a professional kiteboarder. People were like, 'Oh, my God, are you scared of sharks? Are you scared of injuries?' You can't be scared. If you're scared, then you can't do it. You can't train to be the best.
-
I was born in Nashville, Tenn., but I have lived in a number of places. In 1937, I moved to Baltimore, Md., where I attended junior high and high school. I lived there for five years before leaving for college.
-
I obtained eight years of elementary education in a two-room school, where I encountered a stern but engaging teacher who awakened my intellect with instruction that would seem rigorous today in many colleges. History figured large in the curriculum, exciting for me what was to become an enduring interest.
-
I was addicted to the original 'Star Trek' when I was growing up, because of my dad. We grew up in St. Helens, Oregon and we weren't allowed to watch a lot of TV.
-
Boundaries are actually the main factor in space, just as the present, another boundary, is the main factor in time.
-
I will not be collateral damage in a presidential campaign, nor will I be a woman bullied by Hillary Clinton.
-
It's impossible to redefine yourself and your life overnight.
-
I'm not about my breasts; I'm just about good health, OK. I'm not afraid of doing what I need to do to stay here. I really don't understand women who are in denial, who don't want to go for a mammogram. I think it's stupidity. Sorry. I have no patience for that.
-
If I paid $3 or $4 for a cigar, first I'd sleep with it.
-
Every man I meet is in some way my superior.
-
As a young boy, I had strange dreams of affecting people and somehow being instrumental in changing the makeup of Africa and helping to improve life there.
-
The fictional narratives that television, film, and the news provide for girls and young women are appalling.