Mary Douglas

Sacredness protects the vulnerable points of society.

Risk and blame go hand in hand.

I've always been fascinated by the margins of culture.

Anthropology is the study of humanity's illusions.

Purity rituals are therapy for the soul of society.

In group cultures, equality is enforced through norms.

The unknown is the ultimate anomaly.

Symbols are not arbitrary; they are functional.

My fieldwork taught me humility before diversity.

Danger lurks where categories fail.

Social cohesion depends on shared classifications.

In later years, I reflected on how culture binds us.

Taboo breakers are society's scapegoats.

Risk analysis without culture is blind.

The sacred cow is a symbol of cosmic order.

Anthropology reveals the poetry in everyday prohibitions.

Life's meaning emerges from our collective symbols.

I once quipped that dirt is just misplaced matter—profoundly simple.

Institutions are the invisible architecture of society.

In my letters to colleagues, I often pondered the fluidity of boundaries.