Quote from Good Girl
“Keep me rather in this cage, and feed me sparingly, if you dare. Anything that brings me closer to illness and the edge of death makes me more faithful. It is only when you make me suffer that I feel safe and secure. You should never have agreed to be a god for me if you were afraid to assume the duties of a god, and we know that they are not as tender as all that. You have already seen me cry. Now you must learn to relish my tears.”
Pauline Reáge
Story of O
Quote from Bad Girl
Her surrender was not the surrender of one who has lost, but the surrender of one who has finally found herself.
Pauline Reáge
Story of O
Quote in Ugly Girl
There is nothing uglier than a woman who gives herself without desire
Pauline Reáge
Story of O
Why this Quote?
The novel Histoire d’O by Pauline Réage (published in 1954) does not contain many direct references to “ugliness” in the conventional sense—its tone is more focused on beauty, eroticism, submission, and power dynamics. However, there is a notable passage where ugliness is contrasted with the idea of submission or desire, often in a philosophical or symbolic way.
A frequently cited line related to ugliness is:
“Il n’y a rien de plus laid qu’une femme qui se donne sans désir.”
“There is nothing uglier than a woman who gives herself without desire.”
This quote reflects the novel’s recurring theme: that the erotic becomes disturbing or “ugly” when it lacks authenticity or voluntary surrender.