One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
An admiral without ships, a hand without fingers, in service of a king without a throne. Is this a knight who comes before us, or the answer to a child's riddle?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the futility of power and identity without the necessary elements to support them.
George R. R. Martin's quote portrays a sense of disillusionment with authority and identity. It suggests that being in a position of power, such as an admiral or a knight, is rendered meaningless if one lacks the essential tools or context to fulfill that role. This can be seen as a critique of hollow authority and highlights the existential questions regarding purpose and capability.
Themes
PowerIdentityFutilityExistentialAuthorityDisillusionment
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on leadership, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of having the right resources.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes →I hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: “Not today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.’ He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. ‘I wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. MartinRead
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
George R. R. MartinRead
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
George R. R. MartinRead
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What can be said, lacks reality. Only what fails to make its way into words exists and counts.
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A man does not always choose what his guardian angel intends.
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