Tag: Blanche Balain

Albert Camus? Blanche Balain? Justin O’Brien? Herbert R. Lottman? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: It is natural for a few aspects of each individual to be atypical or divergent. For many people extraordinary energy is needed simply to appear normal. The famous French philosopher Albert Camus apparently mentioned this in “The Myth of Sisyphus” or in one of his notebooks, but I am having trouble locating the original French statement. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Quote Investigator: Albert Camus maintained a series of notebooks to record his nascent ideas and aphorisms. He also transcribed statements he heard from others. After his death in 1960, material from the notebooks was edited and published in a series of books. Camus penned remarks into notebook number four between January 1942 and September 1945. He preserved the following comment from “B.B.”, actress and poet Blanche Balain. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:^[1]1964, Carnets: janvier 1942 – mars 1951 (Notebooks: January 1942 – March 1951) by Albert Camus, Cahier IV (Notebook 4), Quote Page 105, Éditions Gallimard, Paris, France. (Verified with … Continue reading

B. B. « Personne ne se rend compte que certaines personnes dépensent une force herculéenne pour être seulement normales. »

Translator Justin O’Brien rendered notebook number four into English. Here is his version of the comment:^[2]1965, Notebooks 1942-1951 by Albert Camus, Translated from the French by Justin O’Brien, Notebook 4, Date: Between June and August 1943, Quote Page 80, Alfred A. Knopf, New York. (Verified with … Continue reading

B.B.: “Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.”

Albert Camus popularized this statement via his posthumous notebook, but he did not craft it. Blanche Balain should receive credit for this insight.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Nobody Realizes That Some People Expend Tremendous Energy Merely To Be Normal