He knew very well that his memory detested him, that it did nothing but slander him; therefore he tried not to believe it and to be more lenient toward his own life. But that didn't help: he took no pleasure in looking back, and he did it as seldom as possible.
Milan Kundera
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In the excerpt from Milan Kundera's "Ignorance," the protagonist reflects on his troubled relationship with memory. He acknowledges that his memories often betray him, casting doubt on his past experiences and choices. This realization leads him to attempt to overlook these memories, hoping to foster a kinder perspective on his life. Despite his efforts, he finds no solace in reminiscing and consciously chooses to avoid it whenever he can.

This struggle illustrates a deeper human conflict where the past is not merely a collection of events but a source of pain and misinterpretation. The character's desire to escape the burden of his memories reveals the complexities of living with regret and the difficulty of reconciling one's identity with the way they perceive their history. Ultimately, this avoidance underscores a theme of the book, highlighting how memory can both enrich and complicate life.

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Ignorance
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Milan Kundera
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February 23, 2025
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Other quotes in Ignorance

Oh, all that was so far away, almost forgotten. But during her mother's five-day stay in Paris, that feeling of inferiority, of weakness, of dependency came over her again.
Milan Kundera Ignorance
Oh, all that was so far away, almost forgotten. But during her mother's five-day stay in Paris, that feeling of inferiority, of weakness, of dependency came over her again.
All predictions are wrong, that's one of the few certainties granted to mankind. But though predictions may be wrong, they are right about the people who voice them, not about their future but about their experience of the present moment.
Milan Kundera Ignorance
All predictions are wrong, that's one of the few certainties granted to mankind. But though predictions may be wrong, they are right about the people who voice them, not about their future but about their experience of the present moment.
If I were a doctor, I would diagnose his condition thus: The patient is suffering from nostalgic insufficiency.
Milan Kundera Ignorance
If I were a doctor, I would diagnose his condition thus: The patient is suffering from nostalgic insufficiency.
She pictures his jovial figure, dressed up in his T-short, shouting that Kafka was born in Prague, and she feels a desire rising through her body, the irrepressible desire to take a lover. Not to patch up her life as it is. But to turn it completely upside down. Finally take possession of her own fate.
Milan Kundera Ignorance
She pictures his jovial figure, dressed up in his T-short, shouting that Kafka was born in Prague, and she feels a desire rising through her body, the irrepressible desire to take a lover. Not to patch up her life as it is. But to turn it completely upside down. Finally take possession of her own fate.
He sees a young man who moves away from her life and goes, always inaccessible. Hypnotized, nothing can do nothing but look at this piece of your life that goes away, can only look at it and suffer. Experiences an entirely new feeling called nostalgia.
Milan Kundera Ignorance
He sees a young man who moves away from her life and goes, always inaccessible. Hypnotized, nothing can do nothing but look at this piece of your life that goes away, can only look at it and suffer. Experiences an entirely new feeling called nostalgia.
when she looked longer at herself in her new dress, it was she but she living a different life, the life she would have lived if she had stayed in Prague.
Milan Kundera Ignorance
when she looked longer at herself in her new dress, it was she but she living a different life, the life she would have lived if she had stayed in Prague.
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Other quotes in memory

I do not know, nor do I care to remember The time in which I knew distinctly that you were gone You fade in and out of memory Upon which I can not feign to touch Or feel How cruel to leave me With paper but no pen What a way to leave me You give me cups, but not water to fill them So they sit there Empty Your reflection Bouncing to and fro From every surface
Queenbe Monyei
I do not know, nor do I care to remember The time in which I knew distinctly that you were gone You fade in and out of memory Upon which I can not feign to touch Or feel How cruel to leave me With paper but no pen What a way to leave me You give me cups, but not water to fill them So they sit there Empty Your reflection Bouncing to and fro From every surface
human beings do not perceive things whole; we are not gods but wounded creatures, cracked lenses, capable only of fractured perceptions
Salman Rushdie Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism 1981-1991
human beings do not perceive things whole; we are not gods but wounded creatures, cracked lenses, capable only of fractured perceptions
Life, he knew, had meaning and was fully possessed only as it was remembered and reshaped.
Jane Hamilton The Short History of a Prince
Life, he knew, had meaning and was fully possessed only as it was remembered and reshaped.
Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark.
Annie Dillard The Writing Life
Appealing workplaces are to be avoided. One wants a room with no view, so imagination can meet memory in the dark.
Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.You forget some things, dont you?Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.
Cormac McCarthy The Road
Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.You forget some things, dont you?Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.
He saw that it was the gaps that were important, the spaces between the threads which made the pattern, and not the threads themselves.
Hilary Mantel A Place of Greater Safety
He saw that it was the gaps that were important, the spaces between the threads which made the pattern, and not the threads themselves.
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