"After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world,—a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
W. E. B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Self-consciousness
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Self-consciousness
2 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Self-consciousness →
Related Quotes
"Man becomes conscious of himself and his humanity only in society and only by the collective action of the whole soci…"
"Religion, as far as I could see, was chiefly concerned with “getting into Heaven.” A stockpile of prayers and could e…"
"Life is mainly grief and labour. Two things get you through. Chortling when it hits your neighbour, Whingeing when it…"
"People who identify strongly with their s frequently experience pleasure when they observe threatening members’ misfo…"
"The have a saying: “The misfortune of others tastes like honey.” The speak of joie maligne, a diabolical delight in o…"
"I coined the word "limerence." It was pronounceable and seemed to me and to two students to have a "fitting" sound. T…"
"The English language lacked a noun singular for the state of being love smitten, or having fallen in love, until Doro…"
"Data collection largely began with the now classic dissection of this madness, found in Love and Limerence, by Doroth…"
"Most of Tennov's research came from thousands of personal accounts of those who had fallen in love. She discovered th…"
"Tennov called it limerence — to distinguish it from other concepts of love — and it corresponds with mental states co…"