16 Frida Kahlo Quotes That Show Her Writing Talent

There are few people now, or ever, who express themselves quite like Frida Kahlo did. Arguably one of the most outstanding, unique, vulnerable, and powerful people ever to reach large audiences, Frida is hardly comparable to anyone. She is unlike anyone but herself. In a world where people love to talk and write about themselves, Frida stands out for a great many things. She was a phenomenal artist — but these Frida Kahlo quotes will make you wonder why she wasn't a writer, too.

Frida herself has always felt like she came straight out of a romantic, revolutionary tale. She lived a life and expressed herself in ways that novelists can only dream of characterizing in their own worlds. Frida didn't spend her life writing, but it's interesting to wonder what gifts Frida would have given to the world if her passion, her art, had been writing instead. Regardless, it seems quite certain that Frida would have been a beloved icon and inspiration no matter what.

Below are just a few among many Frida quotes. They all display high levels of understanding, both internal and external, and read with a refreshing simplicity that is often avoided by snobby intellectuals and overly rehearsed creative types. Each quote can tell a story on its own, yet, in the end, they're all just small pieces of the intriguing existence of Frida Kahlo.

1. “I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me, too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”

2. “I love you more than my own skin and even though you don’t love me the same way, you love me anyways, don’t you? And if you don’t, I’ll always have the hope that you do, and I'm satisfied with that. Love me a little. I adore you.”

3. “I paint flowers so they will not die.”

4. “Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything revolves, everything flies and goes away.”

5. “The most important thing for everyone in Gringolandia is to have ambition and become 'somebody,' and frankly, I don't have the least ambition to become anybody.”

6. “I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.”

7. “There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the train the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.”

8. “Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.”

9. “I must fight with all my strength so that the little positive things that my health allows me to do might be pointed toward helping the revolution. The only real reason for living.”

10. “I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.”

11. “They are so damn ‘intellectual’ and rotten that I can’t stand them anymore. I would rather sit on the floor in the market of Toluca and sell tortillas, than have anything to do with those ‘artistic’ bitches of Paris.”

12. “I think that little by little I’ll be able to solve my problems and survive.”

13. “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.”

14. “Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light.”

15. “I leave you my portrait so that you will have my presence all the days and nights that I am away from you.”

16. “I hope the exit is joyful and I hope never to return.”

Image: Wikimedia Commons