May Sarton Quotes

Powerful May Sarton for Daily Growth

About May Sarton

May Sarton (June 3, 1912 – July 26, 1995) was an American poet, novelist, and memoirist whose work chronicled her inner thoughts and experiences with remarkable honesty and insight. Born in Belgium to American parents, she spent most of her life in the United States, particularly New England, where she found inspiration for much of her writing. Sarton's childhood was marked by a sense of alienation and loneliness, feelings that would later permeate her work. After attending Vassar College, she earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1940, becoming one of the first women to do so in the field of comparative literature. Throughout her life, Sarton's relationships with women played a significant role in her personal and creative growth. Her romantic entanglements were complex and often unconventional, as she navigated her sexuality while living in a society that was largely intolerant of lesbianism. This struggle for acceptance is reflected in many of her works, including the novels "Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing" (1965) and "The World's Eyes" (1970), as well as her seminal memoir, "Journal of a Solitude" (1973). In addition to her fiction, Sarton is known for her poetry collections, such as "Kinds of Love" (1947) and "Recovering" (1980), which delve into themes of love, loss, and the passage of time. Her work has been praised for its introspective nature and its ability to resonate deeply with readers who feel similarly adrift in the world. May Sarton's influence on contemporary literature continues to be felt, particularly among women writers who seek to explore their inner lives with honesty and emotional depth. Her body of work stands as a testament to her courage, resilience, and unwavering dedication to artistic expression.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"I have chosen to survive."

This quote by May Sarton emphasizes resilience, determination, and personal agency. It suggests that she consciously decided to continue living, implying a struggle or challenge overcome, and a choice to face the future despite adversity. It's about embracing life and one's own destiny, demonstrating strength, courage, and hope in the face of difficulties.

"The only way out is through."

This quote by May Sarton suggests that the path to resolution, growth, or overcoming challenges lies in directly facing and experiencing them, rather than avoiding them. In other words, it's a call to embrace life's difficulties and navigate them head-on to ultimately find relief or personal development.

"Nothing can dim the light which shines from within."

This quote emphasizes the inherent strength, radiance, and resilience that one possesses from within. It suggests that no external circumstances or challenges can extinguish an individual's inner light - their unique spirit, qualities, talents, and essence. The light metaphorically represents a person's positive attributes, wisdom, and hope; elements that continue to shine bright even in the face of adversity. The quote encourages self-belief, inner growth, and personal empowerment as it highlights one's capacity for enduring and thriving amid life's challenges.

"Learning to live alone, to do my own work, and to enjoy myself in it, that was freedom!"

This quote by May Sarton emphasizes the empowerment and liberation that comes from self-reliance, personal growth, and finding joy in one's own endeavors. It suggests that achieving independence in life, work, and leisure is a path to true freedom – a state where an individual can fully express themselves without external influences or constraints.

"A journal is a record of one's own voice, and the truest way I know to have a voice is to use it every day."

May Sarton's quote emphasizes the importance of self-expression and personal growth through daily journaling. By consistently using our voice in writing, we develop a unique and authentic voice, which can help us better understand ourselves, process emotions, and document life experiences. This practice fosters self-awareness and personal development, making a journal an essential tool for introspection and emotional wellbeing.

There is only one real deprivation... and that is not to be able to give one's gifts to those one loves most.

- May Sarton

Love, Give, Most, Deprivation

Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.

- May Sarton

Nature, Gardening, Sets, Forces

Don't forget that compared to a grownup person every baby is a genius. Think of the capacity to learn! The freshness, the temperament, the will of a baby a few months old!

- May Sarton

Learn, Think, Months, Freshness

Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self.

- May Sarton

Alone, Self, Richness, Solitude

The more articulate one is, the more dangerous words become.

- May Sarton

Communication, Words, More, Articulate

The garden is growth and change and that means loss as well as constant new treasures to make up for a few disasters.

- May Sarton

Change, New, Means, Garden

True feeling justifies whatever it may cost.

- May Sarton

True, Cost, May, True Feeling

No partner in a love relationship... should feel that he has to give up an essential part of himself to make it viable.

- May Sarton

Love, Relationship, Give, Viable

Women are at last becoming persons first and wives second, and that is as it should be.

- May Sarton

Last, Becoming, Persons, Women Are

A house that does not have one warm, comfy chair in it is soulless.

- May Sarton

Home, Warm, Does, Soulless

May we agree that private life is irrelevant? Multiple, mixed, ambiguous at best - out of it we try to fashion the crystal clear, the singular, the absolute, and that is what is relevant; that is what matters.

- May Sarton

Private, Irrelevant, May, Ambiguous

Most people have to talk so they won't hear.

- May Sarton

Communication, Talk, Most, Hear

Each day, and the living of it, has to be a conscious creation in which discipline and order are relieved with some play and pure foolishness.

- May Sarton

Play, Some, Which, Creation

We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.

- May Sarton

Prove, May, However, Frightening

The minute one utters a certainty, the opposite comes to mind.

- May Sarton

Mind, Opposite, Minute, Certainty

Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers.

- May Sarton

Flowers, Gardening, Nothing, Faithful

One must think like a hero to behave like a merely decent human being.

- May Sarton

Think, Human Being, Like, Behave

Self-respect is nothing to hide behind. When you need it most it isn't there.

- May Sarton

Self-Respect, Behind, Most, Hide

It is the privilege of those who fear love to murder those who do not fear it!

- May Sarton

Love, Who, Those, Privilege

In a total work, the failures have their not unimportant place.

- May Sarton

Work, Failures, Total, Unimportant

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