La dolce vita
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La Dolce Vita - Movie Quotes
Memorable Quotes
You are the first woman on the first day of creation. You are mother, sister, lover, friend, angel, devil, earth, home.
— Marcello Rubini
Context:
Marcello says this to Sylvia during their night together, as they wander through the streets of Rome, culminating in the iconic scene at the Trevi Fountain.
Meaning:
This quote, delivered to Sylvia, encapsulates Marcello's tendency to idealize women and project his own desires and fantasies onto them. It reveals his romantic but ultimately superficial view of love, seeing women not as individuals but as archetypes meant to fulfill his needs.
Even the most miserable life is better than a sheltered existence in an organized society where everything is calculated and perfected.
— Steiner
Context:
Steiner says this to Marcello during the party at his home, offering a chilling warning against the kind of stable, intellectual life that Marcello envies.
Meaning:
This line reveals the deep-seated existential dread beneath Steiner's seemingly perfect life. It serves as a dark premonition of his eventual tragic actions, suggesting that his fear of a meaningless, overly structured existence is what ultimately destroys him. It's a critique of a certain kind of sterile intellectualism that Marcello idealizes.
I don't believe in your aggressive, sticky, maternal love! I don't want it, I have no use for it! This isn't love, it's brutalization!
— Marcello Rubini
Context:
Marcello screams this at Emma during a heated argument in his car, after which he violently throws her out and leaves her on a deserted road.
Meaning:
This quote starkly reveals Marcello's feelings of suffocation in his relationship with Emma. It highlights the theme of love versus possession and his inability to accept the kind of domestic, dependent love that Emma offers, which he perceives as a trap that stifles his freedom.