The experienced writer says to the anguished novice: 'Just do it; get something, anything, on to the screen or page, just establish a flow of words, and criticise them later.' You give this advice but can't always take it.
Hilary MantelRead
When narratives fracture, when words fail, I take consolation from the part of my life that always works: the stationery order. The mail-order stationery people supply every need from royal blue Quink to a dazzling variety of portable hard drives.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on finding comfort in small, reliable details during chaotic or uncertain times.
In this quote, Hilary Mantel expresses the idea that amidst the chaos and breakdown of communication, there are still tangible sources of reassurance and stability in life. The act of ordering stationery becomes a metaphor for seeking solace in the mundane and reliable aspects of existence, which provide a sense of order when everything else feels fractured. It illustrates how people find comfort in routine and the persistence of certain elements in life, even as other significant narratives collapse.
Themes
NarrativeComfortReliabilityStationeryChaos
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote in a discussion about coping mechanisms during stressful times.
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It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.
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History offers us vicarious experience. It allows the youngest student to possess the ground equally with his elders; without a knowledge of history to give him a context for present events, he is at the mercy of every social misdiagnosis handed to him.
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