But in psychoanalysis there are no unimportant thoughts; there are only thoughts that pretend to be unimportant in order to not be told.

the myth of childhood happiness flourishes so wildly not because it satisfies the needs of children but because it satisfies the needs of adults. In a culture of alienated people, the belief that everyone has at least one good period in life free of care and drudgery dies hard. And obviously you can't expect it in your old age. So it must be you've already had it.

Romanticism is a cultural tool of male power to keep women from knowing their conditions.

Power, however it has evolved, whatever its origins, will not be given up without a struggle.

The classic trap for any revolutionary is always, “What's your alternative?” But even if you could provide the interrogator with a blueprint, this does not mean he would use it: in most cases he is not sincere in wanting to know. In fact this is a common offensive, a technique to reflect revolutionary anger and turn it against itself. Moreover, the oppressed have no job to convince all people. All they need know is that the present system is destroying them.

If women are differentiated only by superficial physical attributes, men appear more individual and irreplaceable than they really are.

Thus her whole identity hangs in the balance of her love life. She is allowed to love herself only if a man finds her worthy of love.