Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs off laughing. No one should grow old who isn't ready to appear ridiculous.
John MortimerRead
There are lots of similarities between being a writer and a lawyer: to tell a story to a jury, hold their attention, make them laugh, make them like you. But what makes being a barrister less satisfying than being a writer is, finally, that it's about what someone else wants you to say.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Both writers and lawyers share the art of storytelling, but writers have the freedom to express their own voice.
In this quote, John Mortimer highlights the parallels between the crafts of writing and law, emphasizing that while both require skill in engaging an audience and conveying a narrative, the fundamental difference lies in the autonomy of the writer. Writers have the liberty to express their own ideas and emotions, whereas lawyers must often represent the perspectives and wishes of their clients, which can make the legal profession feel less fulfilling creatively.
Themes
WritingLawyerStorytellingCreativityExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, when discussing the freedom of creative expression, I could reference this quote to illustrate the difference between storytelling and advocacy.
More from John Mortimer
All quotes →The aging process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over, and runs off laughing. No one should grow old who isn't ready to appear ridiculous.
John MortimerRead
Writing about the indignities of old age: the daunting stairway to the restaurant restroom, the benefits of a wheelchair in airports and its disadvantages at cocktail parties, giving the user what he described as a child's-eye view of the party and a crotch-level view of the guests. Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The aging process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs off laughing. No one should grow old who isn't ready to appear ridiculous.
John MortimerRead
I'd been told of all the things you're meant to feel when your father dies. Sudden freedom, growing up, the end of dependence, the step into the sunlight when no one is taller than you and you're in no one's shadow. I know what I felt. Lonely.
John MortimerRead
I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There is no pleasure worth foregoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward.
John MortimerRead
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