What is remembered is not a deed in stone but a metaphor. Meta = above. Pheren = to carry. That which is carried above the literalness of life. A way of thinking that avoids the problems of gravity. The word won't let me down. The single word that can release me from all that unuttered weight.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the power of language and metaphor in shaping our understanding and experiences beyond the literal.
Jeanette Winterson reflects on the significance of metaphorical language, suggesting that what truly resonates and remains in our memory transcends the physical and literal aspects of existence. Instead, it is the ideas and emotions we carry above the mundane realities, allowing us to navigate life's complexities without the burden of literal interpretations.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the impact of literature on our lives.
Reading things that are relevant to the facts of your life is of limited value. The facts are, after all, only the facts, and the yearning passionate part of you will not be met there. That is why reading ourselves as a fiction as well as fact is so liberating. The wider we read the freer we become.
I have a list of titles that I leave at the [library] desk, because they are bound to be written some day, and it's best to be ahead of the queue.
Woolf wanted to say dangerous things in Orlando but she did not want to say them in the missionary position.
In that house, you will find my heart. You must break in, Henri, and get it back for me.' Was she mad? We had been talking figuratively. Her heart was in her body like mine. I tried to explain this to her, but she took my hand and put it against her chest. Feel for yourself.
History is a string full of knots, the best you can do is admire it, and maybe tie it up a bit more. History is a hammock for swinging and a game for playing.
I cannot assume you will understand me. It is just as likely that as I invent what I want to say, you will invent what you want to hear. Some story we must have. Stray words on crumpled paper. A weak signal into the outer space of each other. The probability of seperate worlds meeting is very small. The lure is immense. We send starships. We fall in love
where are the snowdens of yesteryear?
No amount of rationalizing can change God's laws. No amount of fashion designing can turn immodesty into virtue, and no amount of popularity can change sin into righteousness.
I view everything in the context of Lord Krishna's will, and for me, it is fine if things go in my favour or against.
If your desires are not great, a little will seem much to you; for small appetite makes poverty equivalent to wealth.
I think that the present is worth attention, one shouldn't sacrifice it to future conceptions of, of this future or that future.
What does all this stuff about flying saucers amount to? What can it mean? What is the truth?
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