Colette

28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954

Bisexual French novelist, short story writer and actress, author of Gigi and Claudine, and the first woman in France to be given a state funeral.

 

The true traveller is he who goes on foot, and even then, he sits down a lot of the time.

 

I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer.

 

A woman who thinks she is intelligent demands the same rights as man. An intelligent woman gives up.

 

You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.

 

Look for a long time at what pleases you, and for a longer time at what pains you.

 

You must not pity me because my sixtieth year finds me still astonished. To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.

 

One keeps forgetting old age up to the very brink of the grave.

 

Back to In Our Own Words

Back to Castle-Dunwoody