Margit Carstensen: Petra von Kant
Photos
Quotes
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Petra von Kant : I think people need each other, they're made that way. But they haven't learnt how to live together.
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Petra von Kant : You're with someone in a car or in a room and you want to say something, but you're afraid. Or you'd like to be affectionate but again you're afraid. You're afraid of losing points, of being the weaker one. It's a terrible moment when you can no longer go back and start again.
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Petra von Kant : It's easy to pity, Sidonie, but so much harder to understand. If you understand someone, don't pity them, change them. Only pity what you cant understand.
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Petra von Kant : I felt nothing for him anymore. Far from it, it got worse. When we ate together his chewing... it was like an explosion. When he swallowed my gorge rose. The way he cut meat, held his cigarette, his whiskey glass... it all seemed so absurd, so affected. I was ashamed for him because I imagined everyone must see him as I did. Of course, it was hysteria. Panic, Sidonie. There was nothing left to save. The end.
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Petra von Kant : It's sad, believe me, when you realize that the distressing things by far overweight the beautiful things you feel.
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Petra von Kant : Of course he took me seriously, respected my opinions... but nevertheless, he wanted to be the breadwinner. That way, oppression lies, that's obvious. It's like this, 'I hear what you're saying and of course I understand, but who brings home the bacon?' So there you are, two sets of rules!
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Petra von Kant : He stank like a man. The way men stink. What had once had its charms now turned my stomach and brought tears to my eyes.
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Petra von Kant : Where were you last night?
Karin Thimm : I went dancing.
Petra von Kant : Till 6 in the morning?
Karin Thimm : What about it?
Petra von Kant : They're not open that long.
Karin Thimm : No?
Petra von Kant : No.
Petra von Kant : Who did you go "dancing" with?
Karin Thimm : What?
Petra von Kant : Tell me who you went dancing with?
Karin Thimm : With a man.
Petra von Kant : Oh yes?
Karin Thimm : Yes.
Petra von Kant : What man?
Karin Thimm : A big black man with a big black dick.
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Petra von Kant : I believed in the goodness of the man. But marriage brings out the worst in people.
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Petra von Kant : Do you like this kind of music? They're records from my youth. They either make me sad or really happy. It depends.
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Sidonie : It's Karins fault.
Valerie von Kant : Karin? What's it to do with Karin?
Sidonie : Everyone knows Petra's mad about her.
Petra von Kant : Mad? I'm not mad, Sidonie. I love her! Love her as I've never loved anything in my life... that girl's little finger is worth more than the lot of you.
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Petra von Kant : Talented? She's not talented, she just knows how to sell herself.
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Petra von Kant : ... he hit a bad patch. At first it was almost funny seeing his ridiculous pride being hurt, and to be honest, I quite enjoyed it.
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Petra von Kant : It's a waste of time being nice to servants.
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Petra von Kant : We all have to have our own experiences. I don't regret it one bit. No one can take away the things you learn in life. On the contrary, they give you maturity.
Sidonie von Grasenabb : I don't know, Petra. When you can foresee the end from the start, is the experience alone worth it?
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Petra von Kant : People are terrible, Karin. They can bear anything. Anything. People are hard and brutal. Everyone is replaceable. Everyone. That's something they have to learn.
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Sidonie von Grasenabb : I have always been suspicious of hard women.
Petra von Kant : I may seem hard, but it's because I'm using my head. You're evidently not used to women using their brains.
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Petra von Kant : I've had such awful dreams.
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Petra von Kant : He mounted me like a bull mounting a cow. Not the slightest respect anymore. No thought of a woman's pleasure.
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Petra von Kant : You have a good figure. You could use it to your advantage. Get in touch with me some time.
Karin Thimm : I'd love to.
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Petra von Kant : Don't be mean.
Karin Thimm : I'm not being mean. I'm telling the truth. We always said we wanted to be frank with each other. But you can't stand it. You want to be told lies.
Petra von Kant : Yes. Lie to me. Please, lie to me.
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Petra von Kant : Someone once said beautiful things don't last long. And, you know, there's some truth in that.
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Petra von Kant : The nice thing about the job is that you're often on the road. I love big foreign cities at night. Are you fond of traveling?
Karin Thimm : Depends. Yes, I think so.
Petra von Kant : It can be marvelous: travel, new experiences, foreign cities, music. Do you like art?
Karin Thimm : Art? I don't know.
Petra von Kant : Theater, concerts, good movies?
Karin Thimm : Oh, yes! I love the movies. Pictures about passion and sorrow are nice.
Petra von Kant : Yes. We could learn together. That makes it easier. I was lucky to have parents who pointed out to me at an early age the beautiful things in life. What were yours like?
Karin Thimm : My father was a toolmaker.
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Petra von Kant : Tell me about yourself.
Karin Thimm : Me? There's nothing much to tell.
Petra von Kant : Oh, yes, there is. What you think, what you - dream.
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Petra von Kant : Everything is predestined in life.
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Petra von Kant : So here you are.
Karin Thimm : Here I am.
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Karin Thimm : You and your pearls of wisdom.
Petra von Kant : It's just experience.
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Valerie von Kant : You must have the courage to believe. Everyone needs some kind of solace. And - one is alone without God.
Petra von Kant : That's no solace, Mother.
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Petra von Kant : Marlene, gin!
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Petra von Kant : You have to learn to love without demanding.
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Petra von Kant : You're a rotten little whore. Mean and rotten.
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Gabriele von Kant : He's so handsome. You've no idea how handsome he is.
Petra von Kant : Yes, I do. He's very tall, slim, has long fair hair and looks a bit like Mick Jagger.
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Petra von Kant : I didn't love her. I just wanted to possess her. That's all over. I've learned my lesson.
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Petra von Kant : What was he like?
Karin Thimm : In bed?
Petra von Kant : For instance.
Karin Thimm : Insatiable.
Petra von Kant : Oh, yes?
Karin Thimm : Extremely. Just imagine his big black hands on my white skin. And those lips. You know, those blacks all have big, warm lips.
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Petra von Kant : Really, a black?
Karin Thimm : Yes. Why?
Petra von Kant : Just because.
Karin Thimm : He was really great. You'd have liked him. He wasn't really black, more brown - with an intelligent face. Some blacks have European faces, don't they?
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Petra von Kant : How about your parents?
Karin Thimm : They're dead.
Petra von Kant : Both of them? What happened?
Karin Thimm : My father beat my mother to death, then hung himself.
