--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History, writing, infect after a time a…" description: "\"History, writing, infect after a time a man's sense of himself...\" — A. S. Byatt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/a-s-byatt-2-7553_history_history-writing-infect-after-a-time-a-ma_2411485.jpg" --- # History, writing, infect after a time a man's sense of… ![“History, writing, infect after a time a man's sense of himself...” quote by A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/a-s-byatt-2-7553_history_history-writing-infect-after-a-time-a-ma_2411485.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/a-s-byatt-2-7553_history_history-writing-infect-after-a-time-a-ma_2411485.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68a/a-s-byatt-2-7553_history_history-writing-infect-after-a-time-a-ma_2411485.jpg) > “History, writing, infect after a time a man's sense of himself...” [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our self‑image evolves as history and narratives shape our identity over time. **In simple terms:** History reshapes personal identity. Key Takeaway Reflect on how stories influence you. Themes identity history self‑perception Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - family history - personal branding - career transitions - cultural assimilation Key Concepts narrative identity psychology Questions to Reflect On - How have past narratives altered your self‑view? - What stories do you tell yourself? A Different Perspective Identity can be distorted by selective memory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The history that you are writing today will become the both the legacy of your yesterday as well as the template of your tomorrow.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-history-that-you-are-writing-today-will-become-the-both-the/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [You can't write about history without writing about politics at some point. History is about movements of people. 'What is criminality and what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/you-can-t-write-about-history-without-writing-about-politics-at-some/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“To those who fought World War II, it was plain enough that Allied bombs were killing huge numbers of German civilians, that Churchill was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-kirsch/to-those-who-fought-world-war-ii-it-was-plain-enough-that-allied/) [Adam Kirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-kirsch/) > [Today’s events are tomorrow’s history, yet events seen by the naked eye lack the depth and breadth of human struggles, triumphs and suffering. Writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epifanio-de-los-santos/today-s-events-are-tomorrow-s-history-yet-events-seen-by-the-naked/) [Epifanio de los Santos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epifanio-de-los-santos/) > [History-writing is not a visit of condolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-lewis-bernstein-namier/history-writing-is-not-a-visit-of-condolence/) Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier > [My history writing was based on what I saw in strange, exotic places rather than just reading books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/my-history-writing-was-based-on-what-i-saw-in-strange-exotic-places/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [There's nothing compared to the history of writing about the city of New York that you get, say, in Charles Reznikoff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/there-s-nothing-compared-to-the-history-of-writing-about-the-city-of/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [Time is that which a man is always trying to kill, but which ends in killing him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/time-is-that-which-a-man-is-always-trying-to-kill-but-which-ends-in/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Any time it's man-to-man, we like man-to-man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-waller/any-time-it-s-man-to-man-we-like-man-to-man/) [Darren Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-waller/) > [Basically, it's hard for me to assess myself, a hardship not only prompted by the immodesty of the enterprise, but because one is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/basically-it-s-hard-for-me-to-assess-myself-a-hardship-not-only/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [“Any man can call time out but no man can say how long the time will be out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/any-man-can-call-time-out-but-no-man-can-say-how-long-the-time-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Among the aimless, unsuccessful or worthless, you often hear talk about 'killing time.' The man who is always killing time is really killing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-brisbane/among-the-aimless-unsuccessful-or-worthless-you-often-hear-talk-about/) [Arthur Brisbane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-brisbane/) > [The only time a man thinks is when he's alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-bergam-n/the-only-time-a-man-thinks-is-when-he-s-alone/) [Jose Bergamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-bergam-n/) > [Time is an illusion. Look at mother nature. The wind blows when it pleases and the trees grow when they see fit to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/time-is-an-illusion-look-at-mother-nature-the-wind-blows-when-it/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [Time, for a man who has never truly felt a second of it, it not a great sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-hart/time-for-a-man-who-has-never-truly-felt-a-second-of-it-it-not-a-great/) [Josephine Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-hart/) ## More by A. S. Byatt > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“He had been violently confused by her real presence in the opposite inaccessible corner. For months he had been possessed by the imagination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/he-had-been-violently-confused-by-her-real-presence-in-the-opposite/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [Narration is as much a part of human nature as breath and the circulation of the blood… storytelling is intrinsic to biological time, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/narration-is-as-much-a-part-of-human-nature-as-breath-and-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“Pedro of Portugal's rapt and bizarre declaration of love, in 1356, for the embalmed corpse of his murdered wife, Inez de Castro, who swayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/pedro-of-portugal-s-rapt-and-bizarre-declaration-of-love-in-1356-for/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I don't think it is an easy thing to write and expect to be commercial, even if you are from Venus and a hermaphrodite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-don-t-think-it-is-an-easy-thing-to-write-and-expect-to-be/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I am not sure how much good is done by moralising about fairy tales. This can be unsubtle - telling children that virtue will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-sure-how-much-good-is-done-by-moralising-about-fairy-tales/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I'd like to write the way Matisse paints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-d-like-to-write-the-way-matisse-paints/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [Louis de Bernires is in the direct line that runs through Dickens and Evelyn Waugh. . .he has only to look into his world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/louis-de-bernires-is-in-the-direct-line-that-runs-through-dickens-and/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I'm more interested in books than people, and I always expect everybody else to be, but they're not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-m-more-interested-in-books-than-people-and-i-always-expect/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I watch a lot of sport on television. I only watch certain sports, and I only watch them live - I don't think I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-watch-a-lot-of-sport-on-television-i-only-watch-certain-sports-and/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [“When the morning light came into the room it found them curled together in a nest of red and white sheets. It revealed also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/when-the-morning-light-came-into-the-room-it-found-them-curled/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I think there are a lot more important things than art in the world. But not to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-think-there-are-a-lot-more-important-things-than-art-in-the-world/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [For a long time, I felt instinctively irritated - sometimes repelled - by scientific friends' automatic use of the word 'mechanism' for automatic bodily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/for-a-long-time-i-felt-instinctively-irritated-sometimes-repelled-by/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I was no good at being a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-was-no-good-at-being-a-child/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Explore all 90 A. S. Byatt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History, writing, infect after a time a man's sense of himself...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. 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