It is this ability to bear what is unbearable and to go on living, to go on doing what one is used to doingโit is this uncanny ability that the existence of the human race is based on.
Christa WolfMuch later I realized that a person's attitude to pain reveals more about his future than almost any other sign I know.
Christa WolfI claim that every woman in this century and in our culture sphere who has ventured into male-dominated institutions - 'literature' and 'aesthetics' are such institutions - must have experienced the desire for self-destruction.
Christa WolfAutonomous people, nations, and systems can promote each other's welfare; they do not have to fight each other like those whose inner insecurity and immaturity continually demand the demarcation of limits and postures of intimidation.
Christa WolfYou love tenderly and warmly, but your love is like friendship. That's why you have good friends, you're sociable, sympathetic toward people. Until this dissatisfaction comes over you-you know what I'm talking about. Then you become moody, can even repulse people who are close to you, even people who love you, you know why. Those are bad times when everything goes cold, and they follow the times of great love.
Christa Wolf