I've always had a compassion for characters in novels - the sense that they are, whatever they might think, living in a world that has a shape they don't know and can't finally alter.
John CrowleyRead
She had always lived her best life in dreams. She knew no greater pleasure than that moment of passage into the other place, when her limbs grew warm and heavy and the sparkling darkness behind her lids became ordered and doors opened; when conscious thought grew owl's wings and talons and became other than conscious.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the profound beauty and fulfillment found in one's dreams and imagination.
In this quote, John Crowley captures the essence of a person who finds true joy and fulfillment in their dreams, suggesting that the experiences within one's mind can be more pleasurable than reality itself. The imagery evokes a sense of wonder about the transition from wakefulness to the dream state, where the individual can freely explore and transcend the confines of their conscious existence.
Themes
DreamsImaginationLifePleasureConsciousness
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about following one's passions and dreams.
More from John Crowley
All quotes →Just as a lamp waved in darkness creates a figure of light in the air, which remains for as long as the lamp repeats its motion exactly, so the universe retains its shape by repetition: the universe is Time's body. And how will we perceive this body? And how operate on it?
John CrowleyRead
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