How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Taxi Driver.
Quote #1
TRAVIS: I first saw her at Palantine Campaign headquarters at 63rd and Broadway. She was wearing a white dress. She appeared like an angel. Out of this filthy mess, she is alone. They... cannot... touch... her.
Travis idealizes and romanticizes Betsy without having ever met her. He can't approach her as a fellow human, and has lots of hyped-up irrational expectations before he introduces himself.
Quote #2
TRAVIS: I realize now how much she's just like the others—cold and distant, and many people are like that. Women for sure. They're like a union.
Travis blames all women for his isolation—but it's actually his bonkers porno movie date idea that drove him further into loneliness, not Betsy.
Quote #3
WIZARD: Then I picked up these two f**s, you know. They're goin' downtown. They're wearing these rhinestone t-shirts. And they start arguin'. They start yellin'. The other says: "You bitch." I say: "Look, I don't care what you do in the privacy of your own home behind closed doors—this is an American free country, we got a pursuit of happiness thing, you're consenting, you're adult. But, you know, uh, you know, in my f***ing cab, don't go bustin' heads, you know what I mean? God love you, do what you want."
DOUGH BOY: Tell 'em to go to California, 'cause out in California when two f**s split up, one's got to pay the other one alimony.
WIZARD: Not bad. Ah, they're way ahead out there, you know, in California. So I had to tell 'em to get out of the f***in' cab."
This dialogue weirdly combines a homophobic slur with the open-minded acceptance of "God love you, do what you want" and "They're way ahead out there, you know, in California." It shows that Wizard has a rough exterior and a tough way of talking, but, at heart, he's tolerant and relaxed—unlike, say, Travis.