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Ambivalence Quotes on Conflicting Emotions

Honest words on feeling two ways about something at once.

Ambivalence captures the discomfort of wanting and resisting the same thing at once, whether that's fame, love, or loyalty. These quotes sit well beside our Ambition quotes collection.

The Greeks first identified the Amazons ethnographically, as a nation of men and women distinguished by something outstanding in their gender relations. Later, any ambivalence or anxiety that knowledge of this alternative gender-neutral culture evoked among Greeks was played out...

Quotes by Adrienne Mayor

I worked with fantastic actors, fantastic directors. People I would never otherwise have met. Was I limited? Yes. Did I use it as I could have? No. But I was always ambivalent about Hollywood and what I wanted. And ambivalence...

Quotes by Valeria Golino

The ambivalence of writing is such that it can be considered both an act and an interpretive process that follows after an act with which it cannot coincide. As such, it both affirms and denies its own nature.

Quotes by Paul de Man

Magneto has a whole lot of complexity to him. Emotionally, he's coming from a very damaged place. I like the ambivalence of it. I want the audience leaving the theater wondering, asking the questions themselves rather than being spoon-fed like...

Quotes by Michael Fassbender

About Quotes

It seems we are capable of immense love and loyalty, and as capable of deceit and atrocity. It's probably this shocking ambivalence that makes us unique.

Quotes by John Scott

I've always had a lot of ambivalence about fame and celebrity.

Quotes by Jane Pauley

'Hispanic' is a reference to Hispania, the name by which Spain was known in the Roman period, and there has always been strong ambivalence toward Spain in its former colonies.

Quotes by Ilan Stavans

I think if a poet wanted to lead, he or she would want the message to be unequivocally clear and free of ambiguity. Whereas poetry is actually the home of ambiguity, ambivalence and uncertainty.

Quotes by Billy Collins

Most women would say they relate to 'Hedda Gabler' - there's a part of her in them. Ibsen was writing about a deep ambivalence that many women feel about domesticity. I think about myself and friends of mine - we...

Quotes by Annette Bening

Always Quotes

Whatever ambivalence I felt about my own career, Frankie more than made up for it with his ambition and tenacity.

Quotes by Annette Funicello

Fiction just has a lot more room for ambivalence and internal conflict, contradiction, and for me that sums up so much of what people felt after 9/11 - confusion even. And I think that's hard to capture in journalism.

Quotes by Amy Waldman

Nothing is so threatening to conventional values as a man who does not want to work or does not want to work at a challenging job, and most people are disturbed if a man in a well- paying job indicates...

Quotes by Alice S. Rossi

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes ambivalence in these quotes?
The quotes cite fame, celebrity, Hollywood, and even fictional characters as sources of ambivalence, where someone feels pulled in two directions at once. It's treated as a natural, honest response rather than indecision.
How does the Magneto quote describe ambivalence?
It frames ambivalence as emotional complexity coming from a damaged place, and it deliberately leaves the audience uncertain about how to feel toward the character.
Can ambivalence coexist with strong ambition?
Yes, someone can be ambivalent about the path fame or a career takes while still remaining ambitious, a tension explored further in our Ambition quotes collection.
Why does one quote call ambivalence shocking?
It reflects on how people are capable of both immense love and deceit, calling that contradiction a shocking ambivalence that may be part of what makes humans unique.
Is ambivalence always negative in these quotes?
Not necessarily; it's often presented as a realistic, layered response to complicated situations like career choices, connected to our About quotes collection on self-reflection.

From complicated characters to complicated careers, ambivalence quotes admit that not every feeling resolves cleanly. Read more in our About quotes and Been quotes pages.