French - Writer | October 3, 1981 -
I think maternal instinct is a male construct that has been used for centuries to keep women in their place, at home.
Leila Slimani
HomeWomenThinkPlaceUsedBeen
I like anti-hero women. Negative female characters interest me.
WomenMeNegativeInterestLike
Human darkness fascinates me; I find it intriguing. And there are few female characters who are explored in this light.
LightDarknessMeFindHumanWho
Authorities in Rabat believe that if we create a Moroccan character, even in a work of fiction, we are responsible for the image of Moroccan women.
WorkWomenCharacterBelieveCreate
You have to fight against all the things that will keep you out of writing, because life doesn't go with writing. You will always have something more important to do: you will have to take your children to school, you will have to cook something, you have to meet friends. But you have to fight if you want to write.
LifeChildrenFightSchoolWriting
I don't really consider myself an immigrant, because I was born French; I have always spoken the language. I never had the feeling of being a foreigner. I was very lucky: I came to France, and I had enough money to study and to rent a studio. So, for me, it was not difficult.
MyselfMoneyMeLanguageEnough
In Morocco, there is an insistence on authority. Children are not encouraged to speak up in front of their parents. My parents were not like this. I was the kind of girl who could tell her father, 'No, what you are saying is totally untrue, and I don't agree with you.'
FatherGirlChildrenParentsSaying
I grew up in Morocco. I was born a Muslim, and, every year, I celebrated Christmas in a big white house in the country, halfway between Meknes and Fez.
YearHouseWhiteBornCountryBig
Let's stop hiding behind a pseudo-respect of cultures, in a sickening relativism that's only a mask for our cowardice, our cynicism, and our powerlessness. I, born Muslim, Moroccan, and French, I will say it to you: Sharia makes me vomit.
MeMaskYouBornStopSay
Everyone asks me, 'Why do you choose such subversive or shocking themes?' but when I'm alone in my office, I'm not like, 'OK I'm going to shock.' I want to write about a character who fascinates me, someone who I don't understand.
CharacterAloneMeSomeoneChoose
When I was a little girl and people would ask me what I wanted to be when I got older, I always used to say I want to be paid to think. So for me, to dream, to think, to write - it is wonderful.
GirlPeopleMeThinkDreamWant
For me, it is freedom, freedom from everything: when I write, I'm not a woman. I'm not a Muslim. I'm not a Moroccan. I can reinvent myself, and I can reinvent the world.
FreedomMyselfWomanMeWorldI Can
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Leila Slimani quotes