Francophilia For those who adore the whimsy, the...

12:34 pm - April 23, 2012: 10 notes

Francophilia

For those who adore the whimsy, the casual sensuality, the confidence and style of la femme française, je voudrais vous présenter Françoise Sagan. Instead of reading Why French Woman Don’t Get Fat, Bringing Up Bébé, Entre Nous, and other books that instruct one in the French lifestyle, pick up one of Sagan’s slim novels and absorb her wisdom, as below:

On literary idols and limitations
“After [Marcel] Proust, there are certain things that simply cannot be done again. He marks off for you the boundaries of your talent.”
On deciding whom to love
“I did not find him absurd. I saw he was kind, that he was on the verge on real love. I thought it would be nice for me to be in love with him, too.”

and

“No woman wants a dress that another has tossed off, but in men they aren’t so choosy.”
On creating art
“Art must take reality by surprise. It takes those moments which are for us merely a moment, plus a moment, plus a moment, plus another moment, and arbitrarily transforms them into a special series of moments held together by a major emotion.”
On bettering oneself
“High-society living kills everything, even vices. Even the pious will have to give it credit for this.”
On aging with grace
“Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama or an excuse for their own boredom. I did not care for young people.”
On pleasures and priorities
“Money may not buy happiness, but I’d rather cry in a Jaguar than on a bus.”

and

“I would rather deny myself my moods of mysticism or despair than give up my indulgences. My love of pleasure seems to be the only consistent side of my character. Is it because I have not read enough?”
On the truly important matters in life
“The questions I would have liked to ask people were: ‘Are you in love? What are you reading?’”