Portrait of Mata Hari

Mata Hari

Exotic dancer, spy

Contemporary weird famous 121 sayings

Sayings by Mata Hari

I am a victim of circumstance, a pawn in a game I do not understand.

1917 — Letter from prison
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

If I am guilty, then all women who love freely are guilty.

1917 — Trial testimony (paraphrased by some sources, exact wording debated)
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

I am not afraid of death. I have lived a full life, and I am ready for whatever comes next.

1917 — Reported statement before execution
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

My only crime is to have been born beautiful and to have used my beauty to live my life as I wished.

1917 — Attributed during trial
Life & Aging Unverifiable

I am a butterfly caught in a storm.

1916 — Letter to a lover
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

They say I am a dangerous woman. Perhaps I am. But I am also a woman who loves life.

1915 — Reported statement
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

To dance is to live. To live is to dance.

1907 — Interview about her art
General Unverifiable

I have no country, no family, no home. I am a wanderer, a free spirit.

1914 — Conversation with an acquaintance
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

My past is my own. My future is uncertain. But my present is mine to enjoy.

1913 — Letter
General Unverifiable

Men are all the same. They want beauty, pleasure, and a woman who knows how to keep them entertained.

1910 — Reported remark
General Unverifiable

I am not a saint, nor am I a sinner. I am simply a woman.

1916 — Attributed statement
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

Love is a dangerous game, but I love to play.

1915 — Letter
Relationships Unverifiable

They say I am a temptress. Perhaps I am. But I tempt with beauty, not with malice.

1908 — Reported conversation
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

My life has been a dance, a series of movements, some graceful, some clumsy.

1917 — Reflective statement
Life & Aging Unverifiable

I prefer to live dangerously than to live a life of boredom.

1909 — Attributed remark
Life & Aging Unverifiable

My only weapon is my charm.

1916 — Reported statement
General Unverifiable

I am a legend in my own time, even if it is a tragic one.

1917 — Letter from prison
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable

The truth is a complicated thing. Sometimes, it is better left unsaid.

1917 — Conversation with her lawyer
General Unverifiable

They will remember me, even if they condemn me.

1917 — Attributed statement
General Unverifiable

I am a woman of many secrets, and some of them I will take to my grave.

1917 — Reported remark
Self-Deprecating Unverifiable
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