"There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do"
About this Quote
The subtext is both defiant and self-implicating. By adding "as I try to do", Nin signals that this is practice, not pose. Freedom isnt a stable identity; its an ongoing act of creation, with relapse built in. That small clause also protects her from the easy critique that imagination is indulgent. Trying is labor. Trying is discipline. The sentence becomes a writers manifesto that doubles as a survival tactic.
Context matters: Nin wrote through two world wars and the tightening social codes of the early 20th century, especially around womens desire, marriage, and authorship. Her diaries and fiction made interior life a battleground where conventional morality could be revised, rerouted, or simply ignored. Read that way, imagination isnt a decorative accessory to real life; its contraband. When the outside world polices your choices, the inner world becomes not a retreat but a frontier.
Quote Details
| Topic | Freedom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Nin, Anais. (2026, January 17). There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-are-many-ways-to-be-free-one-of-them-is-to-40548/
Chicago Style
Nin, Anais. "There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-are-many-ways-to-be-free-one-of-them-is-to-40548/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/there-are-many-ways-to-be-free-one-of-them-is-to-40548/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.











