QuoteProject
For the writer, the serial killer is, abstractly, an analogue of the imagination's caprices and amorality; the sense that, no matter the dictates and even the wishes of the conscious social self, the life or will or purpose of the imagination is incomprehensible, unpredictable.
Joyce Carol Oates
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote compares the unpredictable nature of a writer's imagination to that of a serial killer's actions, highlighting the capriciousness and amoral aspects of creativity.

Joyce Carol Oates draws a parallel between the unpredictable impulses of a writer's imagination and the erratic behaviors of a serial killer. This assertion reflects the idea that, despite conscious efforts to control thoughts and creativity, the nature of imagination can be chaotic and elusive, operating outside the boundaries of societal morals and expectations. It emphasizes that the creative process is often driven by forces beyond rational comprehension, pointing to the darker aspects of artistic freedom.

Themes

ImaginationCreativityArtistryCapriceMorality

In practice

Example use cases

This quote could be used in a creative writing workshop to discuss the nature of imagination.

More from Joyce Carol Oates

Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead

Similar quotes

White, older showrunners told me, 'Why do you want to hire an all-Latinx writers room? Hire who's best for the show - don't get caught up in that.' And I was like, 'No.' For such an intimate show about the details of a culture? You can't fake that. The room needs to reflect the makeup of the show.
Tanya SarachoRead
Writing poetry is a state of free float.
Margaret AtwoodRead
Mime, like music, knows neither borders nor nationalities.
Marcel MarceauRead
The music began, and it was one of those life-changing moments. I saw an artist, Janis Joplin. She was exhilarating. She was vibrating. And she was like no other artist that I had ever seen before... It struck me that hard. Maybe the word is epiphany, when you get that special sensation.
Clive DavisRead
'Tristan' is a very unique case, not just in Wagner's output, but in music in general. It remains contemporary no matter what else surrounds it. There is something self-renewing about it.
Daniel BarenboimRead
First of all there is always that artistic challenge of creating something. Or the particular experience to take slum life in that period and make something out of it in the form of a book. And then I felt some kind of responsibility to my family.
Frank MccourtRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.