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I don’t think I will get married,” Polly said as she stood up. “I’m going to train to be a hero instead.
Diana Wynne Jones
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Choosing personal development over traditional paths can lead to meaningful contributions to society.

In this quote, Polly asserts her intention to prioritize her own journey of self-discovery and heroism over societal expectations like marriage. This highlights the importance of personal choices that align with one's values and aspirations, encouraging individuals to pursue their own definitions of success and fulfillment.

Themes

HeroTrainingPersonal GrowthIndependenceChoice

In practice

Example use cases

During a graduation speech to inspire the graduates to follow their passions.

More from Diana Wynne Jones

It does not seem to me that I have the right to foist a story on people, most of whom are children who should be learning all the time, unless I am learning from it too.
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Imagination doesn’t just mean making things up. It means thinking things through, solving them, or hoping to do so, and being just distant enough to be able to laugh at things that are normally painful. Head teachers would call this escapism, but they would be entirely wrong. I would call fantasy the most serious, and the most useful, branch of writing there is. And this is why I don’t, and never would, write Real Books.
Diana Wynne JonesRead

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