The more research you do, the more at ease you are in the world you're writing about. It doesn't encumber you, it makes you free.
A. S. ByattRead
Coherence and closure are deep human desires that are presently unfashionable. But they are always both frightening and enchantingly desirable. "Falling in love," characteristically, combs the appearances of the word, and of the particular lover's history, out of a random tangle and into a coherent plot.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the human need for coherence in love, despite its complexities.
A. S. Byatt suggests that love has the power to transform chaotic emotions and experiences into a meaningful narrative. It reflects on our innate desire for clarity and closure in relationships, highlighting how love can create a sense of order from life's randomness, even though this desire sometimes appears outdated or challenging to pursue.
Themes
LoveCoherenceRelationshipsDesiresNarrative
In practice
Example use cases
A wedding speech about the beauty of love's narrative power.
More from A. S. Byatt
All quotes →It's because I'm a feminist that I can't stand women limiting other women's imaginations. It really makes me angry.
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Why do we take pleasure in gruesome death, neatly packaged as a puzzle to which we may find a satisfactory solution through clues - or if we are not clever enough, have it revealed by the all-powerful tale-teller at the end of the book? It is something to do with being reduced to, and comforted by, playing by the rules.
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Never stop paying attention to things. Never make your mind up finally. Do not hold beliefs.
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Only write to me, write to me, I love to see the hop and skip and sudden starts of your ink.
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I am a creature of my pen. My pen is the best of me.
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Love is the energizing elixir of the Universe, the cause and effect of all Harmony.
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