Normal, in our house, is like a blanket too short for a bed--sometimes it covers you just fine, and other times it leaves you cold and shaking; and worst of all, you never know which of the two it's going to be.
Jodi PicoultRead
The weapons an author has at her disposal are flawed. There are words that feel shapeless and overused. Love, for example. I could write the word love a thousand times and it would mean a thousand different things to different readers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Words can have different meanings and interpretations based on individual experiences, particularly in the context of love.
In this quote, Jodi Picoult reflects on the limitations of language, particularly the word 'love,' which she views as both a powerful and overused term. She acknowledges that while words are the tools of an author, their meanings can vary greatly among readers, underscoring the subjective nature of human emotions and expressions. Despite her ability to write about love extensively, she recognizes that its essence is complex and multifaceted, making it challenging to convey a singular meaning.
Themes
WordsLoveInterpretationLanguageEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, I quoted Jodi Picoult to emphasize the subjective nature of love in writing.
More from Jodi Picoult
All quotes →Whether it was power they sought, or revenge, or love-well, those were all just different forms of hunger. The bigger the hole inside you, the more desperate you became to fill it.
Jodi PicoultRead
she told me she'd be a phoenix." The image of the mythical creature rising from the ashes glitters in my mind. "They don't really exist." "She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them.
Jodi PicoultRead
for 100,000 (dollars), you [can] flatten a house with a wrecking ball. Imagine how much less it [takes] to destroy something than it [does] to build it in the first place.
Jodi PicoultRead
But if you seek forgiveness, doesn't that automatically mean you cannot be a monster? By definition, doesn't that desperation make you human again?
Jodi PicoultRead
when you [lose someone], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all nerves are still a little raw
Jodi PicoultRead
Similar quotes
I find that’s one of the great things about acting-you have the opportunity to stand in somebody else’s shoes. Each character faces a dilemma in her life, and as an actor you’re able to step into that character’s skin, look through her eyes. You leave transformed, a different person, because once you live a little bit of someone’s life, it changes you.
Sally FieldRead
I want paint to work as flesh.
Lucian FreudRead
It's so easy to call something a Jewish story or a gay story or a woman's story. Aesthetically, if a story is not universal, it has failed. Your obligation is to the story. One rule creatively, and emotionally, is its universality.
Nathan EnglanderRead
In words, like weeds, I'll wrap me o'er, Like coarsest clothes against the cold
Alfred Lord TennysonRead
A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image.
Elaine De KooningRead
I think that you’ve got to make something that pleases you and hope that other people feel the same way.
Thomas KellerRead