Meliana

“But he knew well enough what was wrong with him: he was ashamed of himself and afraid of them – afraid of the society he so despised.”
― Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, The Life of a Stupid Man

“Time to face the facts. This pattern of inserting myself as the narrator between scenes, so that I can burden you with endless rants that no one needs to hear, has an ulterior motive. I've been exploiting my narrative position to hoodwink readers, using this first-person narrator to infuse the work with idiosyncratic nuance. I was arrogant enough to think that I could be the first Japanese author to employ such a sublimely Western style. And yet, I failed. But no, even this confession of failure can be counted as part of the novel's grand design. So you see, I can't be trusted. Don't believe a single word I say."

Why do I bother writing novels? Am I lured by the glory of literary celebrity? Or do I simply want to write bestsellers and cash huge checks? Let me spare you the theatrics. I want both. So bad it hurts. But there I go again, another brazen lie. The sort of lie that ties you up in knots when you're not looking. As despicable and treacherous a lie as they come. Why do I bother writing novels - I had to bring it up. Oh well. At the risk of giving you a pompous explanation, I'll put it this way.

”
― Osamu Dazai, The Flowers of Buffoonery

“Vladimir: Did I ever leave you?
Estragon: You let me go.”
― Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

“The judges of normality are present everywhere. We are in the society of the teacher-judge, the doctor-judge, the educator-judge, the social worker-judge; it is on them that the universal reign of the normative is based; and each individual, wherever he may find himself, subjects to it his body, his gestures, his behavior, his aptitudes, his achievements.”
― Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison