Quotes from Isabel Allende

She believed that by giving problems a name they tended to manifest themselves, and then it was impossible to ignore them; whereas if they remained in the limbo of unspoken words, they could disappear by themselves, with the passage of time.

I can promise you that women working together – linked, informed and educated – can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.

In all social classes except the most privileged, abnegation and hard work are considered the supreme female virtues; a spirit of sacrifice is a question of honor: the more one suffers for family, the prouder one feels. Women are used to thinking of their mate as a foolish child whose every serious fault, from drunkenness to domestic violence, they forgive . . . because he's a man.

Todo esto es tuyo, abuelo? - Todo, desde la carretera panamericana hasta la punta de esos cerros. ¿Los ves? - ¿Por qué, abuelo? - ¡Cómo que por qué! ¡Porque soy el dueño, claro! - Sí, ¿pero por qué eres el dueño? - Porque era de mi familia. - ¿Por qué? - Porque se la compararon a los indios. - Y los inquilinos, los que también han vivido aquí siempre, ¿por qué no son ellos los dueños?

Love is a condition that tends to cloud men's reason, but it is not fatal. Usually all the patient needs is to have his love returned, and he will snap out of it and begin to sniff the air in search of new prey

se enamoró de su porte aristocrático, su apellido y el ambiente que lo rodeaba.

Nunca se podra encontrar a quien no quiere ser encontrado.

Se encerraba en su habitación a escuchar sus sinfonías predilectas y deleitarse en su propia tristeza

So firm did Nivea's determination become that she wrote in her diary that she would give up marriage in order to devote herself completely to the struggle for women's suffrage. She was not aware that such a sacrifice would not be necessary, and that she would marry a man for love who would back her up in her political goals.

Era ella quien se abría como una sandía madura, roja, jugosa, tibia, ella quien sudaba esa fragancia penetrante de mariscos, ella quien lo mordía, lo arañaba, lo chupaba, gemía, agonizaba de sofoco y de placer. Era en su carne compasiva donde se sumergía hasta perder el aliento y volverse esponja, medusa, estrella de altamar.

para él la igualdad no sólo era posible, sino inevitable, y la practicaba como una religión.

His wife...always dressed in mourning for the children who died in infancy and squeezed breathless by the pressure of her corset, her religion, and the husband fate had dealt her

A escrita é uma longa introspecção, é uma viagem até às cavernas mais obscuras da consciência, uma lenta meditação. Escrevo às apalpadelas no silêncio e pelo caminho descubro partículas de verdade, pequenos cristais que cabem na palma da mão e justificam a minha passagem por este mundo.(...)

That was the beginning of the revolution. Many years have gone by and blood keeps running, soaking the soil of Haiti, but I am not there to weep.

Mothers, on the other hand, are trees with firm roots.

That fairy tale that all humans are equal before the law and in the eyes of God is a lie, Camilo. I hope you don't buy into it. Neither the law nor God treats everyone the same.

La vida es un ruido entre dos grandes silencios

The rural women taught me that courage is contagious and that there's strength in numbers; what you can't do on your own can be achieved together, the more the better.

La bondad desgasta mucho, te lo he advertido. Los malos se divierten más y llegan a viejos en mejores condiciones que los santos como tú.

Nuestros pensamientos forman lo que suponemos es la realidad

El que es un miserable no se vuelve generoso con los años...se vuelve más miserable.

La tristeza se había cristalizado en indiferencia.

I must not get ahead of myself. If I do not narrate the events of my life with rigor and harmony, I will lose my way.

a memória é frágil e o trânsito de uma vida é muito breve e sucede tudo tão depressa que não conseguimos ver a relação entre os acontecimentos na ficção do tempo, no presente, no passado e no futuro (...)