He allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.

...he allowed himself to be swayed by his conviction that human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but that life obliges them them over and over again to give birth to themselves.

She wanted to be herself again, to recover all that she had been obliged to give up in half a century of servitude that had doubtless made her happy but which, once her husband was dead, did not leave her even the vestiges of her identity.

— O senhor diz isso por ser espanhol — disse Abrenuncio.— Na minha idade, e com tantos sangues cruzados, já não sei mais com certeza de onde sou — disse Delaura. — Nem quem sou.— Ninguém sabe por estes reinos — disse Abrenuncio. — E creio que precisarão de séculos para saber.