This powerful statement links resistance not just to opposition, but to active creation. It implies that by refusing to accept existing oppressive realities, individuals forge new possibilities and ways of being, actively shaping and bringing into existence a different, perhaps better, world through their defiance.
Quote by Diamela Eltit: “To resist is a way of inventing the world.”
To resist is a way of inventing the world.
Insight
Historical Context
Written during Chile's early transition from dictatorship to democracy, a period where national identity and future were actively being renegotiated. This quote underscores the profound agency of resistance, suggesting that defiance against oppressive systems is a creative act that builds new social realities and possibilities.
About the Author
Chilean experimental novelist, essayist, and cultural theorist whose work under and after the Pinochet dictatorship pushed Chilean literature toward radical political and formal experimentation. Her novel Lumpérica, published in 1983, performed acts of bodily and textual resistance to military violence.
View all quotes by Diamela Eltit