The function of a book or a poem or a story is to delight, to enchant, to beguile.
Philip PullmanRead
The fairy tale is in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration. To keep to one version or one translation alone is to put robin redbreast in a cage.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Stories and their interpretations are dynamic and should evolve over time rather than be confined to a single version.
In this quote by Philip Pullman, he emphasizes the importance of viewing fairy tales as living narratives that change and grow with each retelling and interpretation. To adhere strictly to one version is akin to restricting the natural flow and creativity of storytelling, much like caging a bird that is meant to fly free. This perspective invites appreciation for the diversity of experiences and meanings that can emerge from cultural myths and tales.
Themes
Fairy TaleInterpretationStorytellingCreativityChange
In practice
Example use cases
During a literary discussion, one might quote Pullman to argue for the importance of multiple interpretations of classic tales.
More from Philip Pullman
All quotes →Education and health were always matters of charity. You educated children and you helped the sick because they were good things to do, not because you were going to make money out of them. If you let the money-making principle, the profit-seeking motive, anywhere near education and health, things go bad.
Philip PullmanRead
To get the best out of life here ...Good grief. There's plenty of it about, so indulge. Give yourself some thing to remember. Fall in love. Fall out of love. Gamble. Get drunk. See how long you can stay awake. Go for long walks at night. Discover what you're afraid of doing, and then do it.
Philip PullmanRead
People should decide on the books' meanings for themselves. They'll find a story that attacks such things as cruelty, oppression, intolerance, unkindness, narrow-mindedness, and celebrates love, kindness, open-mindedness, tolerance, curiosity, human intelligence.
Philip PullmanRead
I told him I was going to betray you, and betray Lyra, and he believed me because I was corrupt and full of wickedness; he looked so deep I felt sure he'd see the truth. But I lied too well. I was lying with every nerve and fiber and everything I'd ever done...I wanted him to find no good in me, and he didn't. There is none.
Philip PullmanRead
Lyra learns to her great cost that fantasy isn’t enough. She has been lying all her life, telling stories to people, making up fantasies, and suddenly she comes to a point where that’s not enough. All she can do is tell the truth. She tells the truth about her childhood, about the experiences she had in Oxford, and that is what saves her. True experience, not fantasy - reality, not lies - is what saves us in the end.
Philip PullmanRead
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