"But--criminals are remote from you--as in love, they turn away and turn me away from the world and its laws. Thiers smells of sweat, sperm, and blood. In short, to my body and my thristy soul it offers devotion. It was because their world contains these erotic conditions that I was bent on evil."

Jean Genet Literature See all quotes by Jean Genet →

React to this quote

More by Jean Genet

“So long as we were in a room in a brothel, we belonged to our fantasies, but once having exposed them, we're now tied up with human beings, tied to you and forced to go on with this adventure according to the laws of visibility.”

“But I would adore that thief who is my mother.”

“I suffered at the time from an ugliness I no longer find on my childhood face.”

“The Day the Palestinians become institutionalized, I will no longer be on their side.”

“Fierce and pure, I was the theater of a fairyland restored to life.”

“To achieve harmony in bad taste is the height of elegance.”

Resonant Thoughts

"Two phenomena disturbed this status quo. One, the advent of social media, and second, the rise of Narendra Modi. With easy access to social and digital media, the underclass started questioning the au…"

— Vivek Agnihotri

Entertainment1973

#art

"The communist theory is that a world war is inevitable; that in that war, if they play their cards well, the democracies will be lined up against the fascist dictatorships, and that the result of the …"

— Dorothy Thompson

Journalism1893–1961

#science

"The wind came back with triple fury, and put out the light for the last time. They sat in company with the others in other shanties, their eyes straining against crude walls and their souls asking if …"

— Zora Neale Hurston

Entertainment1891–1960

#religion

"The cookery programmes that everybody watches are ridiculous, and so are the house programmes. You know you do not need a fish tank in the atrium you haven't got. And people now, feel under pressure t…"

— Dylan Moran

Entertainment1971

#mind