It's true that there is a rescue thing in people, and not just rescuing the family, which is kind of obvious from a biological point of view. But why is it that some people will jump into a freezing river and swim out to a downed plane for total strangers? What is that about? And it seems to be that it's part of your concept of who you are. That's why some people run into the burning buildings, because if they don't, their concept of who they are will be violated. They wouldn't be who they thought they were.
Margaret AtwoodHow could I be sleeping with this particular man.... Surely only true love could justify my lack of taste.
Margaret AtwoodHis father was self-made, but his mother was constructed by others, and such edifices are notoriously fragile.
Margaret AtwoodI always thought eating was a ridiculous activity anyway. I'd get out of it myself if I could, though you've got to do it to stay alive, they tell me.
Margaret AtwoodMen are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.
Margaret AtwoodWhen we cracked the genetic DNA code, opened the big Pandora's box, and it really did become possible to produce chimeras, my ears shot up. Having been brought up among the biologists and having followed various debates about ways to improve the human template and other debates about the true nature of our nature, I began seriously to wonder: What if? We hold in our hands a tool that is more powerful - for good or ill - than any we have wielded before.
Margaret Atwood