Edvard Munch's advice on life, love, and everything. (quotes from a translation of 'The Story of Edvard Munch' by Ketil Bjornstad. Not always *by* Munch or referring to him, but the atmosphere and stance of the whole book just...it gets it. It knows.)

Art
"They simply can't comprehend that there could be just a trace of sense in these snapshots, these impressions of the passing moment, that a tree can be red or blue, that a face can be blue or green. They know that it's wrong. From when they were small they have always known that leaves and grass are green, that skin is a delicate shade of pink. They simply cannot comprehend that the intention is serious. For them it can only be a hoax, cobbled together any old how, or the work of a lunatic. Preferably the latter."
"A complete maniac. He knows he is not as bad as that!"
"He could not understand why one should not paint things as one thought of them, saw them in one's own imagination, in other words without a model."

Lifestyle
[criticism from Dagbladet] "We have the Bohemians, but we also have the outdoor life, walking and skiing."
"Their senses...deadened by knowledge, opinion and politics."
"Too many extremes. Suddenly there is an imbalance."
"Munch himself has no time to die."
"It is France I love."

Love
"There is something comical about love."
"Love is an autopsy."
"The logical conclusion of love! Precisely what he is trying to escape from. He has learned enough, suffered enough. Women, Munch? No thanks."

Misc
"The more discoveries are made, the more things there will be that cannot be explained."
"The ones who are not afraid are those who don't know anything, aren't they? They have no inkling of the values which must not be harmed, the threads which must not be broken, the threads which will link people together, threads which will bind together each link in the chain of generations. Those who do know this become cautious, afraid of doing any harm. They're circles, aren't they? There are those who trample under foot, tear down. Those who have an inkling of eternal values, of a higher meaning, become afraid; they proceed cautiously, they are sensitive and respect the richness of existence. They seek it out."
"The best people go to the United States. But they don't improve by being there. When you look at contemporary Europe, you often have the feeling of being in a madhouse. Where are the doctors who can cure us?"

Music
"The music separates the colours, filling him with sudden elation."
"De la musique avant toute chose."

Relationships
"He has let her in of his own volition, could have said no, that he was not free, that she must leave immediately, but he has let her in, has always had a weakness for the weakness of others, HER weakness, the bombardment from that quarter, that he must become the meaning in her life, that he above all, the introverted neurotic Edvard Munch, shall take her in his arms, carry her towards what is meaningful, the love he does not feel, the realisation of a vision he has never had, not even artistically. For between man and woman in his world there is always a loser, one who is betrayed."
"It is the power of the moon, he has never tied himself like this to any person before, fru Thaulow placed herself beyond his reach. Tulla is the only one not to have accepted his no, he cannot reject her."
"He is not marrying under any circumstances, she must take him as she finds him, when he comes back they will be joined as one, not in matrimony though, but according to certain laws, perhaps as a result of a higher power, she will put behind her all the old things, become his friend, his partner for life, someone who can count on him, even if he is away, someone she can be sure will move heaven and earth to help her, she must be in absolutely no doubt that she cannot trespass on what he calls his kingdom, where he must be alone, the kingdom of his imagination, the inner sanctum. She must also be in no doubt of his need to be alone, about all his idiosyncrasies. She cannot penetrate into the fortress of his imagination, but of course she can live in his cottage in Asgardstrand, stroll about in his garden, all the external things, it is his life that is at stake, she must understand that ... Perhaps love will come."
"Out of compassion I allowed myself to be torn to pieces and pestered until I was half dead, in order to get her back on her feet again and make the inevitable break bearable."
"To tie oneself to another person. Or to choose solitude. He has chosen. He sits in a bare room working."

Women
"He knows of only one real lady, and she is a sacred goat. She teaches him what it would mean to tie himself down, to yield to his feelings, disaster. She who has drunk at love's deep well now feels that the water is like poison in her veins, sees a gallows in the moonlight, sees that the water she thought was clear is cloudy."
"An almost manic loyalty, or is it pride? It is her defiance which makes her choose not to show their freinds and acquiantances that she made a bad choice, that she chose ruin, but that at least it was her own choice, and that she chooses to remain loyal to her actual choice itself."
"[he discusses] the need for a wife to keep order"
"I'm starting to enjoy women as one does a flower, breathing in the scent and marvelling at the beautiful petals without touching them. At leats this way one is not disappointed."

Dear Edvard:
You asked me whether I was engaged, and I said no, what I told you about was over long ago, it was very short-lived, no longer than a few days, I couldn't carry on, because I wasn't in love, looked upon it as a huge, terrible sin, so I made an end of it. You see, I was born with two ideals, one of them was to become a great artist, the other was to meet a great artist before whom I could go down on bended knee, someone I could love and have children with so both personalities could carry on in the stream of life. For many years I went about like a nun and lived for my ideals, then at last you turned up, but I was so inexperienced, so silly and innocent that I was at a loss what to do when the time finally came, I didn't understand you and didn't even understand myself. That time you left Paris, I was still shy. Then there was the time in Berlin, when I became steadily more stupid, apart from which I was pursued by what you had said, I mean, that I was not normal, and then, because I wanted to know if it was true, I did what I've just told you. Now that all that is over, you must be wondering why I'm writing this, I'm writing because I want to be free of all this, never think about it again, I want to be free, calm, cool and content and better able to be your friend, someone who can perhaps really help you, so be my friend, please, write, let's meet, we two friends, always let me know how you are.
Eva Mudocci.