One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
It was that white cloak that soiled me, not the other way around.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The responsibilities or circumstances we encounter can shape us more than our inherent qualities.
In this quote, George R. R. Martin illustrates the idea that external influences, such as societal expectations or the roles we adopt, can lead to moral compromise or 'soiling' of one's character. It suggests that rather than being responsible for our flaws, it is often the pressures of the external world that distort our true nature, reflecting on the complexity of identity and morality in the context of one's environment.
Themes
CharacterMoralityInfluenceIdentitySociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on the impact of societal pressures on personal morals.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes βI hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: βNot today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.β He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. βI wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. MartinRead
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
George R. R. MartinRead
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
George R. R. MartinRead
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