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The narcissistic, the domineering, the possessive woman can succeed in being a "loving” mother as long as the child is small. Only the really loving woman, the woman who is happier in giving than in taking, who is firmly rooted in her own existence, can be a loving mother when the child is in the process of separation.

— Erich Fromm The Art of Loving (1956)

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More quotes by Erich Fromm

Immature love says: "I love you because I need you." Mature love says: "I need you because I love you."

The Art of Loving (1956)

Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve and from which he cannot escape.

Man for Himself (1947)

The successful revolutionary is a statesman, the unsuccessful one a criminal.

Escape from Freedom (1941)

The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.

Man for Himself (1947)

Only the person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others.

Man for Himself (1947)

All Erich Fromm quotes →

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Erich Fromm (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.