“Perhaps they resent never having had a chance to become perverse”

— J. G. Ballard, book High-Rise

Source: High-Rise (1975), Ch. 11
Context: It's a mistake to imagine now we're all moving towards a state of happy primitivism. The model here seems to be less the noble savage than our un-innocent post-Freudian selves, outraged by all that over-indulgent toilet-training, dedicated breast-feeding and parental affection – obviously a more dangerous mix than anything our Victorian forebears had to cope with. Our neighbours had happy childhoods to a man and still feel angry. Perhaps they resent never having had a chance to become perverse.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 4, 2020. History

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J. G. Ballard78

British writer 1930–2009

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