Costanza Quotes

It's been almost a month since you found a body. I knew you were due." Carl Costanza - Seven Up

Kings and heroes drop like flies, but queens outlive them all.

Looks like you're on a roll. This is the second car you've toasted this week." Carl Costanza - Hot Six

I’m saying that it is hard to find a man who is really strong. Strong enough not to desire to be stronger than you.

But maybe this is how broken people keep living. They find someone as broken, fit them into the empty spaces of their hearts and, together, grow into something different.

As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her better. Let her be hated forever.

If Clytemnestra's rage was a fire, Helen's was a lamp; warm and thin in the darkness, but burning if you came too close.

It is unwise to let a man who isn't king sit on a throne for too long.

Human lives are based on pain. But to have a few moments of happiness, lightning tearing the darkness of the sky, that is worth it.

There is no peace for a woman with ambition

She will bow to no one. Her destiny will be what she wants it to be.

Ambition, courage, distrust. You will be queens soon enough, and that is what you will need if you want to outlive the men who’ll wish to be rid of you.

You can’t have justice and everyone’s approval

Men who find solace only in other men are to be distrusted.

Listen to me," Clytemnestra says. "Gods do not care about us. They have other concerns. That is why you should never live in the shadow of their anger. It is men you must fear. It is men who will be angry with you if you rise too high, if you are loved too much. The stronger you are, the more they will try to take you down.

She knows that, in moments of pain, some words are spoken with a harshness that is not truly meant. But, even so, words can grow roots inside one’s heart. You can bury them, hoping they will wither and die, but roots keep finding something to latch on to.

Every day you try to forget, but at night, you dream of the past. This is what dreams are for. To make us remember what we were, to tie us down to our memories, whether we like it or not.

You were born free and you will always be free, no matter what others tell you. But you must see what it is around you and learn to bend it to your will before you are the one who is bent.

A woman can’t afford to close her eyes for long.

I'm gonna read a book. From beginning to end. In that order.

But maybe this is how broken people keep living. They find someone as broken, fit him into the empty spaces of their hearts, and together grow something different.

Sometimes you have to make life difficult for others before they make it impossible for you.

But have you ever heard of a man who stumbles upon a naked goddess and just walks away?

But vengeance works best when it’s aided by patience.

The lion comes home and finds the wolf ready to welcome him.

Clytemnestra dances for herself; Helen dances for others.

She sees that her mother can be two different people and that the best version appears when her father isn't around.

Il sostegno su cui poggia quella fermezza e costanza che cerchiamo nell'amicizia è la fiducia. Niente è stabile di ciò che è infido. Inoltre conviene scegliere un amico sincero, gentile e affine, cioé che sia mosso dai nostri stessi sentimenti. Tutte cose che hanno attinenza con la fiducia. Non può essere fidata, infatti, un'indole ambigua e tortuosa né, di certo, può essere fidato o costante chi non è mosso dai medesimo sentimenti e non è affine per natura. [...] Prima di tutto che non vi sia niente di finto o simulato: è di un animo nobile, infatti, persino odiare apertamente piuttosto che celare il proprio pensiero dietro un falso aspetto.

But you don’t get rid of a rat by praying to the gods.

That is how easy loyalty is for some. They are satisfied with crumbs.

Young men often lie with their companions' he says. 'Why shouldn't women do the same?

I'm saying that it is hard to find a man who is really strong. Strong enough to not desire to be stronger than you.

It's not a lie if you believe it.

Women are at war every day of their lives because they’re expendable,

Our lives are about to change,” he says, “and we should let them.

Every day you try to forget, but at night you dream of the past. This is what dreams are for. To make us remember what we were, to tie us down to our memories, whether we like it or not.

We are taught that marriage is the end of fun and childhood, but it is just the same. It is one of those things men say to make sure we feel responsible, while they can be children forever.

She is reminded of Castor’s words, when they were little. When the tide recedes and leaves something on the sand, one mustn’t worry. Sooner or later the water will climb again and take it back.

It is hard to tell if they are frightened or just in awe. What is the difference anyway?

You can’t have justice and everyone’s approval.

One who risks nothing is nothing,’ Clytemnestra recited. It was something her father often said.

But nothing can ever stay the same. You can’t step twice into the same river.

Heroes like him are made of greed and cruelty: they take and take until the world around them is stripped of its beauty.

She gazes at Agamemnon and says, “I do not forget.

But more than anything else, my female friends and I need each other because we do not have, unlike women of previous generations, a clear life path laid out for us.

But maybe this is how broken people keep living. They find someone as broken, fit them into the empty spaces of their hearts and, together, grow something different.

When vengeance calls and the gods stop watching, what happens to those who have touched the people I love?

People usually believe that wisdom and knowledge can be learned, but people are fools. It is strength that can be learned. One either has understanding or one doesn’t.

It is noble to be gentle, to save others from pain. But it is also dangerous. Sometimes you have to make life difficult for others before they make it impossible for you.

But happiness is a liar, for it makes us believe it will last forever, when it never does.

L'omicidio poteva essere l'attività cui l'essere si dedicava con più costanza, ma il dolore era ciò di cui si cibava. Il dolore e la rabbia.

Mantenere l’equilibrio di fronte alla fatalità, sopportare con grazia le condizioni avverse è più di una semplice costanza: è un atto di aggressione, un vero trionfo.

When she was a child, it was her greatest wish to have someone who loved her so much that he would protect her from any danger. But life wasn’t kind to her, so she became that person for herself.

Maybe those men wouldn't have done anything to Artemis.' Clytemnestra says. 'Maybe they just wanted to see her body. But have you ever heard of a man who stumbles upon a naked goddess and just walks away?

But know this. I will have my justice. I swear it here and now. I swear it by the Furies and every other goddess who has known vengeance. I will stalk the Atreidai and crush everything they hold dear until only ashes remain.

Agamemnon, Calchas, and Odysseus, on the other hand, know that one doesn’t grow powerful thanks to the gods: they take matters into their own hands and fight to have their names written into eternity. It is no wonder they have survived for so long: they are cruel and cunning. Although they are very different from one another, they have something in common—they believe they are special because no one but them sees the horrible things that need to be done. They believe others shy away from the brutal nature of life but that they are clever enough to see and act upon it.

Is this what happens when one falls in love and marries? Clytemnestra wonders. Is this what a woman gives up? All her life, she has been taught courage, strength, resilience, but must those qualities be kept at bay with a husband?

He shakes his head. ‘Your father once told me that our life is nothing more than a fight among those who have the power, those who want it and the people who find themselves in the middle – casualties, sacrifices, call them whatever you want.

He relaxes and his expression shifts back to the usual amusement. ‘Good … Maybe in another life I would have married you,’ he adds carelessly. She watches him but his smile is impenetrable. ‘You wouldn’t have been able to handle me,’ she says. ‘I am too fierce for you.’ He laughs. ‘And your husband?’ ‘He likes the fire. He isn’t afraid to burn.’ She says it lightly, with a smile, but she knows it is true.

Penelope’s face is luminous. “My father used to tease me and say that I would marry some forgotten king on a forgotten island.” Clytemnestra nudges her. “Well, you are.” Penelope laughs. “Who knows about Ithaca? Who will remember Odysseus?” “Probably no one. The clever ones are always forgotten.

On Seinfeld, George Costanza famously said, “It’s not a lie if you believe it.” I might add that it doesn’t become the truth just because you believe it. It’s a sign of wisdom to avoid believing every thought that enters your mind. It’s a mark of emotional intelligence to avoid internalizing every feeling that enters your heart.

You know Leda once said that our lives are short and miserable, but sometimes we can be lucky enough to find someone who cures our loneliness.

Better to be envied than to be no one.

I like to see the world from its edges while you wish to be in the center, taking part in the action.

The more one wants to forget, the more one can’t help but remember.

It sounds unpleasant, like an overripe fruit. She lets it rot in the air until she feels nauseous.

They are such cowards that a single man can unsettle them so.

…that power alone doesn't buy you a kingdom.

It is as if in sleep they are fighting shadows, but at least they are doing it together.

I want to be with someone who is different, someone who makes me look at the world with pleasure, who shows me its wonders and secrets.

It is strange: she who is such a light is always seeking someone to show her the way.

…our lives are short and miserable, but sometimes we can be lucky enough to find someone who cures our loneliness.

When she speaks, her voice hisses, like a heated blade quenched in water.

When you are fighting a much stronger animal, intelligence isn’t enough.

Some men want only the things they cannot have.

If Clytemnestra’s rage was a fire, Helen’s was a lamp, warm and thin in the darkness, but burning if you came too close.

It hurts her to see that lies come easily to her now. Once it was decency, courage, goodness. But that was another lifetime.

Spartan girls never cry, let alone for such a reason.

It is true what Tyndareus used to say, Clytemnestra muses. No matter how much kindness you show her, a slave will never learn to love you, for she has known too much pain.

I have heard that some women can die of unhappiness.’ ‘That is untrue.

She will fight her own battle when the time comes. And the palace will be her bloody battlefield.

know many more maneuvering women than men. I think of myself as one of them. Besides, you were born to be a ruler.

There are no birds singing, no figures moving. It seems as if the land has stopped to rest.

Pain passes over his face, but she doesn’t turn away. She likes to see his sorrow because it feels intimate, something he wouldn’t show to anyone else.

You will be despised by many, hated by others, and punished. But in the end, you will be free.

Marriage is a kind of scaffolding that protects those of us, men and women, who choose it. It protects us from our inconsistency; it helps us.

Personally, I believe there is no more pioneering horizon to conquer than bringing a new life into the world and bringing up a child as God wills.

This thing is like an onion the more layers you Peel the more it stinks.

Her mother, on the other hand, believes that forests hide the gods’ secrets. Caves to her are shelters, minds that have thought and lived the lives of the creatures they have hosted over time.

Men who find solace only in other men are to be distrusted,” Castor told Clytemnestra and Helen one morning as they were watching Theseus and Pirithous fight in the gymnasium. “They don’t respect anyone else, let alone a woman.

A king is always a king, even when far from home, thinks Clytemnestra. What about a queen? What makes a girl a queen? Surely she is a woman who can protect herself and her people, who gives justice to those who deserve it and punishes those who betray her.

There is nothing more powerful than a strong-willed woman. That is what you have always been and must be no matter what others do to you. It is easier for a man to be strong, for we are encouraged to be so. But for a woman to be unbent, unbroken, that is admirable.

Non devo rendere conto a nessuno. Faccio il mio mestiere di madre e moglie. Do sicurezza. Do tutta me stessa senza fare calcoli, da anni, do il mio tempo, le mie viscere, la mia pazienza, la mia costanza, la mia diplomazia, la mia energia. Senza risparmiarmi. Avrò pure diritto a un piccolo momento di libertàAvrò pure diritto a un piccolo momento di libertà, no? A cambiare aria, planare, sentirmi leggera, alzarmi in volo con un battito d'ali alzarmi in volo con un battito d'ali. A decidere dove posarmi. Giuro che poi torno e richiudo la gabbia. E addirittura cinguetto.

Clytemnestra doesn't understand the joke. Though she has grown up among vulgar warriors, she has never heard men speak like this. They usually joke about fucking goats and pigs or challenge each other out of nothing. Tyndareus doesn't join in with the laughter but he does nothing to stop it.

She should pity them, she knows that, their existence made of orders and suffering, their lives like rafts pushed around by the waves. But it is easy to turn to the weakest when you are racked with pain, to hurt those who can’t defend themselves when you are unable to hurt those who have hurt you.

Listen to me,” Clytemnestra says. “Gods do not care about us. They have other concerns. That is why you should never live in the shadow of their anger. It is men you must fear. It is men who will be angry with you if you rise too high, if you are too much loved. The stronger you are, the more they will try to take you down.

For a woman, her genius lies in welcoming. Feminism has denied this and, in doing so, has cheated us. Because when you betray your own nature, you go crazy, and I know many women like this (you know some of them too, but you’re too little to realize it). They are sad, angry, disappointed, resentful, and jealous. They are divided in their inner selves.

You are a woman. You cannot understand loyalty to the father.” They were wrong, as always. She understands Justice, the ancient spirit that lives inside each of them, ready to burst forth for every crime. It is a web, each thread stained with the blood of mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. It grows and grows, the Furies always weaving more traps.

Lui è il mio Willoughby. È quello sbagliato. Peccato la mia vita non sia un libro di Jane Austen e che all’orizzonte per me non si profili nemmeno il colonnello Brandon – che comunque mi ha sempre suscitato una grande antipatia. Ma mi serve davvero un uomo che non amo, giusto per sentirmi parte di una coppia, per smetterla di percepirmi come quella che è sempre sola? No, io credo di no.

For a long time, she has known there are two different kinds of war. There are the battles where heroes dance and fight, with their glistening armor and precious swords, and there are those fought between walls, which are made of stabs and whispers. There is nothing dishonorable about that, nothing so different from the field. Either way, it is always what she has been taught in the gymnasium: take down your enemies and make them bleed. After all, what is a field after battle if not a stinking lake of corpses?