It is an anxious, sometimes a dangerous thing to be a doll. Dolls cannot choose; they can only be chosen; they cannot 'do'; they can only be done by.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the limitations and lack of agency in being a doll, symbolizing those who exist to be shaped by others rather than taking action themselves.
Rumer Godden's quote highlights the vulnerability and helplessness of dolls, which serve as a metaphor for individuals who lack control over their own lives. It suggests that to be chosen rather than to choose can be a source of anxiety and danger, emphasizing the importance of agency and the power to take action in one's own life.
In practice
During a motivational speech about personal growth and overcoming adversity, this quote can be used to illustrate the importance of making choices in life.
A writer who has never explored words, who has never searched, seeded, sieved, sifted through his knowledge and memory...dictiona ries, thesaurus, poems, favorite paragraphs, to find the right word, is like someone owning a gold mine who has never mined it.
With regard to the learned professions, little need be observed; they truly form no distinct interest in society . . . [discussing the landed, merchant, and learned classes in legislative assembly]. Will not the man of the learned profession, who will feel a neutrality to the rivalships between the different branches of industry, be likely to prove an impartial arbiter between them, ready to promote either, so far as it shall appear to him conducive to the general interests of society?
Who are we, if not measured by our impact on others?
Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.
Perhaps we’ve never been visited by aliens because they have looked upon earth and decided there’s no sign of intelligent life.
You, yesterday, did the usual things, just as any day, You don't know if it's worth remembering. You would prefer to remember, there lying in the half-darkness of the bedroom, not what has happened already but what is going to happen. In your half-darkness your eyes would prefer to look ahead, not behind, and they do not know how to foresee the past.
We establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are and must remain separate.
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