The 70 best phrases of Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is a popular and well-known Chilean-American writer and journalist born in Peru who has done numerous works, some as well known as "The House of Spirits" or "Eva Luna".
Throughout her long life as a writer, this author has reflected in her novels a large number of reflections regarding various aspects of life. In this article we are going to show a series of phrases from her literary work or from her interviews that show us some of these reflections.
- Related article: "100 phrases from famous books and writers (essential)"
70 phrases of Isabel Allende and her books
Below is a small collection of phrases by Isabel Allende that allow us to get closer to her thought on various facets of life.
1. Affection is like the light of noon and does not need the presence of the other to manifest itself. The separation between beings is also illusory, since everything is united in the universe
This phrase reflects that the importance of the bond between two people remains even if they do not see, or even if one of them has died.
2. Face obstacles as they arise, don't waste energy fearing what may lie ahead
We do not know what is to come and we cannot control it, so worrying is not productive.
3. Fear is inevitable, I have to accept it, but I cannot allow it to paralyze me
Fearing is normal, but we must learn to manage fear so that it doesn't stop us from living and adapting.
4. Love makes us good. It does not matter who we love, it does not matter to be reciprocated or if the relationship is long-lasting. The experience of loving is enough, that transforms us
The fact of loving someone we want the good for the loved one, protect it and see and experience the world in a positive way.
5. Maybe we are in this world to search for love, find it and lose it, over and over again. With each love, we are born again, and with each love that ends we pick up a new wound. I'm covered in proud scars
Loving can be painful. But it makes us learn and be stronger, helping both successes and failures to grow and carve a path in life.
6. I regret the diets, the delicious dishes rejected for vanity, as much as I regret the lovemaking occasions that I have passed up by doing to-dos or by virtue puritan
Sometimes we put aside the things we would like to do out of duty, out of appearances, or out of fear. These are missed opportunities that we can regret, so it is best to avoid such avoidance.
7. Death does not exist, daughter. People only die when they forget it; If you can remember me, I will always be with you
Even if we die, we will remain alive in the memory of those who remember us. Whoever dies does not leave us behind: he is always with us.
8. We can all change, but no one can force us to do so. Change usually occurs when we face an unquestionable truth, something that forces us to review our beliefs
Change is only possible if we want to do it, usually in the face of something that shakes our previous beliefs.
9. Perhaps it would be convenient if you did not try to dominate your body with your mind. You must be like the Himalayan tiger, pure instinct and determination
This phrase pushes us to stop trying to control everything and to be able to experience what our nature dictates.
10. Writing is like making love. Don't worry about orgasm, worry about the process
Like sex, writing is an art in which whoever does it puts and expresses part of her being, the final result not being the priority but what happens during its course.
11. What I fear most is power with impunity. I fear the abuse of power and the power to abuse
Power must be regulated and not allowed to abuse those it should protect. It must obey the service to the population and not the benefit based on it.
12. Just as when we came into the world, when we die we are afraid of the unknown. But fear is something inside that has nothing to do with reality. Dying is like being born: just a change
We do not know what happens with death, just as we do not know before birth. These are changes that we should not fear.
13. Reality is not only how it is perceived on the surface, it also has a magical dimension and, if one is you fancy, it is legitimate to exaggerate it and put color on it so that the transit through this life is not so bored
The illusion and the ability to dream allow us to enjoy life much more.
14. I like people who have to fight to get something, those who, having everything against them, get ahead. These are the people that fascinate me. Strong people
The dedication and the ability to fight despite the circumstances is what makes us strong and worthy of admiration.
15. The longer I live, the more uninformed I feel. Only the young have an explanation for everything
With experience we increasingly understand our limitations, in addition to the need to update and adapt to new times.
16. We all have an unsuspected reserve of inner strength, which arises when life puts us to the test
We are stronger than we think, and we can face great adversities.
17. True friendship resists time, distance, and silence
Friendship is not temporary if it is true, but implies a lasting bond of affection over time and through circumstances.
18. Silence before birth, silence after death: life is nothing more than noise between two unfathomable silences
Life is short, and we must experience it in all its intensity while we can. Make noise and that our step is meaningful.
19. The library is inhabited by spirits that come out of the pages at night
The stories that the books tell allow us to explore new worlds and travel to unknown lands.
20. I have plenty of time and for the first time in my life nobody expects anything from me. I don't have to prove anything, I'm not running everywhere; Every day is a gift that I enjoy to the fullest
Old age is a vital stage in which we can enjoy without anyone demanding anything from us, as long as we know how to invest this time.
21. Reading is like looking through several windows that open onto an infinite landscape. For me, life without reading would be like being in prison, it would be as if my spirit were in a straitjacket. Life would be a dark and narrow place
As in the previous sentence, the author indicates the importance of reading in order to help us stimulate our imagination and ability to dream.
22. Happiness is not exuberant or boisterous, like pleasure or joy. It is silent, calm, soft, it is an internal state of satisfaction that begins with loving yourself.
Authentic happiness appears in an unexpected way, without making noise, before what we do in our lives.
23. No one can ever belong to another... Love is a free contract that begins in a flash and can end in the same way
Love supposes freedom for both parts of the relationship, wanting the other person to be who they are and to act according to her feelings, not only by telling what one party considers or feels. Nobody belongs to anybody: love is not possessiveness.
24. Age, by itself, does not make anyone better or wiser, it only accentuates what each one has always been
Older people are often considered the wisest, and that doesn't have to be the case. They have just had more time to have experiences.
25. Although they were dazed and hungry, many sang, because it would have been useless to aggravate the misfortune by complaining
Crying and complaining about injustice without doing anything to change it is useless, while helping to keep your spirits always allows you to see the situation in perspective.
26. Life insurance for any species is diversity… Diversity guarantees survival
Diversity is something positive that allows us to learn and enrich ourselves.
27. My life is made of contrasts, I have learned to see both sides of the coin. In the most successful moments I keep in mind that others of great pain await me on the way, and when I am mired in misfortune I wait for the sun that will rise later.
Nothing is eternal: we will always have to face moments of great pain, but also moments of indescribable happiness.
28. But it's never a long time again
Referring to the feeling that we will not want to fall in love again after losing someone, this phrase reflects that everything happens and that we can never say never.
29. Today's experiences are tomorrow's memories
The memory is nothing more than the experiences that we once lived. So, better to live intensely to make our future memories proud.
30. Reality is a mess, we cannot measure or decipher it because everything happens at the same time
Stopping to try to define what reality is is not feasible: everything is happening at the same time and time does not stop.
31. You will only have the present. Don't waste energy crying about yesterday or dreaming about tomorrow
Phrase that pushes us to enjoy the present.
32. You have to give enough war. With rabid dogs nobody dares, on the other hand the meek ones get kicked. You always have to fight
We must not let them dominate and mistreat us, but we must fight to live in the way that we believe is correct.
33. It is easy to judge others when one has not suffered that experience
Isabel Allende expresses that only those who experience something are capable of judging it fairly.
34. You are my angel and my condemnation. In your presence I reach divine ecstasy and in your absence I descend to hell
Phrase that expresses the feelings that a passionate love can provoke.
35. At any age you need a purpose in life. It is the best cure against many ills
Having goals and motivations is always essential.
36. Nobody wants to end life with a banal past
We all want our lives to be meaningful, so we will have to live by our values and beliefs.
37. He who seeks the truth runs the risk of finding it
The truth can be painful, something that we must take into account when looking for it.
38. The only thing one learns is what one finds out alone
Phrase that refers to the fact that to learn it is necessary that we be able to doubt and value for ourselves the information that comes to us.
39. If nothing hurts, I woke up dead
Life involves facing both joys and sorrows. In life we will enjoy but also suffer.
40. He knew that nothing in the world is permanent: everything changes, decomposes, dies and is renewed in another form; therefore clinging to the things of this world is useless and causes suffering
This phrase is linked to the idea of rebirth and the cyclical vision of life in Buddhist philosophy.
41. In the end, you only have what has been given
This phrase is based on the idea that the world gives you back what you give.
42. Under the skin are hidden desires never formulated, hidden afflictions, invisible marks ...
Life, while wonderful, is hard. Each of us has our own wounds.
43. The storm rips the stout oak from the ground, but not the rush, because it bends. Do not calculate my strength, but my weaknesses
This fragment highlights the need to be moldable and to be able to adapt to situations.
44. The essential is often invisible. The eye does not grasp it, only the heart
Sometimes we are spellbound thinking about the accessory and we see what really matters. But a part of our being is able to recognize it.
45. Life is made walking without a map and there is no way to go back
We do not know what life has in store for us, and we must risk living it even though we may be wrong.
46. With sexuality, the same is happening as with violence: it is increasingly exaggerated to interest an audience that is already satiated. There's nothing new left to offer, but special effects can always be stepped up
In the cinema, in literature, in advertising and in society in general, sex or violence is used to attract attention.
47. Ask yourself what you feel and what you refuse to feel
Sometimes it would be good to reflect on what aspects of our being we deny, and what we really feel, in order to better understand who we are.
48. It is not the exposed truth that makes us vulnerable, but the secrets
Truthfulness is a virtue that is not reprehensible unless it has been covered up with secrets and / or prejudices that make it shameful.
49. Despite the distances, people are similar everywhere. The similarities that unite us are much more than the differences that separate us
Beautiful phrase that shows that despite all the things that can differentiate us, we are all humans with a similar nucleus.
50. They had to see the enemy as a teacher who gave them the opportunity to control their passions and learn something about themselves.
Those who oppose us and how we feel about them allow us to learn about ourselves and our ways of reacting and seeing the world.
51. It is impossible to change the facts, but you can change the way you judge them
Things happen independently of our will. But we can manage our perspective to be able to face them in the best possible way.
52. Expressing their relationship in words meant defining it, setting limits, reducing it. If not mentioned it remained free and uncontaminated
This phrase expresses that although it helps to understand and understand the world, sometimes categorizing something restricts and limits it.
53. Fear is good, it is the body's alarm system: it warns us of danger. But sometimes danger is unavoidable and then fear must be mastered
Being afraid is adaptive and allows us to survive, as long as it does not paralyze us and we can manage our reactions.
54. Life is like a journey without a goal. What counts is the path
We are all gonna die. What matters is how we do it and what we do until then.
55. Writing a novel is like embroidering a tapestry with threads of many colors: it is a craftsmanship of care and discipline
The author makes a metaphor about the difficulty of making a novel.
56. Happy childhood is a myth
It is often said that childhood is the happiest time in life. The truth is that it depends on the case, and also all life stages have their joys and difficulties.
57. The bigger the wound, the more private the pain
The author expresses that the things that hurt us the most are usually kept quiet and reserved, often remaining unexpressed.
58. We are all of an age to throw away the feelings that are useless to us, and stay only with those who help us live.
Isabel Allende tells us that we should limit ourselves to living by keeping what we want and forgetting all that is unnecessary.
59. Start by forgiving yourself, if you do not forgive yourself you will always live a prisoner of the past. Punished by memory, which is subjective
We all make mistakes. We must be able to forgive ourselves for them.
60. When you feel that the hand of death rests on man, life is illuminated in another way and you discover in yourself wonderful things that you hardly suspected
Knowing that we are going to die makes us value things more, since they are temporary and we will not be able to enjoy them forever.
61. The years pass by stealthily, on tiptoe, mocking in whispers, and suddenly we are scared in the mirror, you hit our knees or they stick a dagger in our back
Phrase that reminds us that time passes and that we must take advantage of it.
62. Dance, dance, Zarité, because a slave who dances is free… while he dances-he told me- I've always danced
Dancing, dreaming, music, art... all this can make us float and feel free to express what we carry inside
63. The calendar is a human invention; time on a spiritual level does not exist
The date, time, etc. it is still something that we have invented. Although time passes, our spirit remains the same unless we experience things that generate changes in it.
64. He accepts children the way you accept trees, with gratitude that they are a blessing but have no expectations or wishes. You don't expect trees to change, you love them just the way they are
Isabel Allende expresses that we should not expect to demand or criticize our children that they are not as we would have wanted: they are free beings that we must accept and love as they are.
65. The writer writes of what he carries inside, of what he is cooking inside him and then vomits because he can't take it anymore
The autura vindicates the liberation that is for the writer to reflect what he carries inside.
66. There is no light without shadow. There is no bliss without pain
Without the existence of one, the existence of the other cannot be conceived. We learn to appreciate bliss because we know that pain exists, just as it does with concepts like good and evil. If there were no opposite, we would not appreciate it.
67. Music is a universal language
Art and music allow us to understand each other, since they reflect feelings that we all have in common.
68. We are all drops from the same ocean
Again, it is established that we all count and that we are all equally valid and valuable human beings.
69. Life is full of ironies. Better to enjoy what you have now, without thinking about a hypothetical tomorrow
The author tells us in this sentence that we should take advantage of what we have instead of thinking about a possible future.
70. The happiness that is lived derives from the love that is given, and later that love will be the happiness of oneself
Love and happiness are closely linked, this being one of the most important forces for human beings.