Mata Hari

Exotic dancer, spy

Contemporary weird famous 121 sayings

Sayings by Mata Hari

I have never betrayed anyone. I have only loved.

1917 — During her trial
Controversial Unverifiable

I am ready to die. I have lived my life as I wanted.

1917 — Statement before her execution
Controversial Unverifiable

My life has been a long chain of sorrows and disappointments.

1917 — Letter to her lawyer
Controversial Unverifiable

I am not a spy, but I am certainly a woman of pleasure.

1917 — Reported statement during interrogation
Controversial Unverifiable

I have been accused of being a German spy. It is a lie. I am Dutch.

1917 — During her trial
Controversial Unverifiable

I am a woman of the world. I have no country.

c. 1910s — Reported statement
Controversial Unverifiable

I loved men, and I let them love me. That is all.

1917 — During her interrogation
Controversial Unverifiable

My only crime was to be a free woman.

1917 — Reported statement
Controversial Unverifiable

I never worked for the Germans. I only took their money.

1917 — Reported statement during interrogation, highlighting her financial motivations
Controversial Unverifiable

I embraced the world. I lived for pleasure. I died for freedom.

N/A — Poetic attribution, likely not a direct quote but often associated with her persona
Controversial Unverifiable

I dance to forget.

c. 1905-1917 — Reported statement
Controversial Unverifiable

I am a woman of passion, not of politics.

1917 — During her trial
Controversial Unverifiable

They want to make an example of me.

1917 — Statement before her execution
Controversial Unverifiable

My beauty is my weapon.

c. 1905-1917 — Reported statement
Controversial Unverifiable

I am not afraid of death. I have faced worse.

1917 — Statement attributed to her before execution
Controversial Unverifiable

My heart belongs to my art, and my body to those who appreciate it.

c. 1910 — Reported statement, reflecting her dual life as artist and courtesan
Controversial Unverifiable

I was born to be free, not to be a prisoner.

1917 — Letter from prison
Controversial Unverifiable

I have always followed my own path, even if it leads to destruction.

c. 1910s — Reported statement
Controversial Unverifiable

To dance is to live.

c. 1905-1917 — Reported statement
Controversial Unverifiable

They say I am a dangerous woman. Perhaps I am.

c. 1910s — Reported statement
Controversial Unverifiable