I feel that there is an angel inside me whom I am constantly shocking.

Cocteau frames conscience or an inner ideal as an “angel” lodged within the self—an image of purity, aspiration, or spiritual vocation. To be “constantly shocking” that angel suggests a life lived in deliberate transgression: aesthetic risk, erotic candor, and the provocations of avant‑garde art, but also the ordinary moral compromises of being human. The line captures a tension central to Cocteau’s persona and work: the artist as both visionary and rule-breaker, driven by an inner demand for grace while repeatedly violating it. The angel is not expelled; it remains inside, implying ongoing self-scrutiny rather than simple cynicism.