--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life may unfold chronologically for the…" description: "\"Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births, marriages, deaths, visas, tax returns, exp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/ariel-dorfman-26206_birth_life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the_219487.jpg" --- # Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for… ![“Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births, marriages, deaths, visas, tax returns, expulsions, and identity cards, but memory does not play this game in quite the same way, always manages to confound the desire for tidiness.” quote by Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/ariel-dorfman-26206_birth_life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the_219487.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/ariel-dorfman-26206_birth_life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the_219487.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/ariel-dorfman-26206_birth_life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the_219487.jpg) > “Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births, marriages, deaths, visas, tax returns, expulsions, and identity cards, but memory does not play this game in quite the same way, always manages to confound the desire for tidiness.” [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory is chaotic, defying bureaucratic order and tidy narratives. **In simple terms:** Memory is messy. Key Takeaway Accept memory’s unpredictability. Themes memory chaos bureaucracy Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal recollection - legal testimony - family histories Key Concepts psychology subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify memories? - What role does memory play in identity? A Different Perspective Memory can be unreliable, affecting decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Bureaucracies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracies/) [Bureaucracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracy/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Visa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visa/) ## Related quotes > [Any memory that does not assist us in working toward the ultimate goal of serving G-d does not deserve being retained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalman-packouz/any-memory-that-does-not-assist-us-in-working-toward-the-ultimate/) Kalman Packouz > [We no longer see the evolution of the nervous system, but that of a certain individual. The role of the memory is very important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodolfo-llinas/we-no-longer-see-the-evolution-of-the-nervous-system-but-that-of-a/) [Rodolfo Llinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodolfo-llinas/) > [Memory does not make films, it makes photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/memory-does-not-make-films-it-makes-photographs/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I have the most ill-regulated memory. It does those things which it ought not to do and leaves undone the things it ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-have-the-most-ill-regulated-memory-it-does-those-things-which-it/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [A great memory does not make a mind, any more than a dictionary is a piece of literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-henry-newman/a-great-memory-does-not-make-a-mind-any-more-than-a-dictionary-is-a/) [John Henry Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-henry-newman/) > [In fact, sometimes when I look at something my memory does work. I remember the panel where Alex Toth told me, "Mike, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-royer/in-fact-sometimes-when-i-look-at-something-my-memory-does-work-i/) [Mike Royer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-royer/) > [Maybe the memory does play tricks. Increasingly, I'm thinking, 'What was their name? I knew that name yesterday.' I think that's what happens. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dudley-moore/maybe-the-memory-does-play-tricks-increasingly-i-m-thinking-what-was/) [Dudley Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dudley-moore/) > [The sole virtue of losing your short-term memory is that it does free you to be your own editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/the-sole-virtue-of-losing-your-short-term-memory-is-that-it-does-free/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“Memory does not reside in any one place in our brains, but rather is distributed across multiple brain regions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/memory-does-not-reside-in-any-one-place-in-our-brains-but-rather-is/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [“As bureaucracies accumulate power, they become immune to their own mistakes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/as-bureaucracies-accumulate-power-they-become-immune-to-their-own/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [And I think it's true of any big organization... Bureaucracies and organizations make it hard to do the right thing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-terrio/and-i-think-it-s-true-of-any-big-organization-bureaucracies-and/) [Chris Terrio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-terrio/) > [Changing the world in a profound and beneficial way is not enough to put a dint in bureaucracies which operate on their own dynamics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-cummings/changing-the-world-in-a-profound-and-beneficial-way-is-not-enough-to/) [Dominic Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-cummings/) > [I like studios. I just don't like bureaucracies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/i-like-studios-i-just-don-t-like-bureaucracies/) [David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/) > [We need to ensure that the government agencies that are supposed to be regulating the financial system are actually doing their jobs. We must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/we-need-to-ensure-that-the-government-agencies-that-are-supposed-to/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [Today we know that centralization and big bureaucracies have not, as promised, been the answer for promoting better opportunities for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-salinas-de-gortari/today-we-know-that-centralization-and-big-bureaucracies-have-not-as/) [Carlos Salinas de Gortari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-salinas-de-gortari/) ## More by Ariel Dorfman > [Most writers who leave their country physically have already left it mentally and emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/most-writers-who-leave-their-country-physically-have-already-left-it/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Beware of turning into the enemy you most fear. All it takes is to lash out violently at someone who has done you some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/beware-of-turning-into-the-enemy-you-most-fear-all-it-takes-is-to/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [You want to free the world, free humanity, from oppression? Look inside, look sideways, look at the hidden violence of language. Never forget that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/you-want-to-free-the-world-free-humanity-from-oppression-look-inside/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [I think to be in exile is a curse, and you need to turn it into a blessing. Youve been thrown into exile to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/i-think-to-be-in-exile-is-a-curse-and-you-need-to-turn-it-into-a/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“She was not willing to let others narrate her life and her death. While there is one person like her in this world, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/she-was-not-willing-to-let-others-narrate-her-life-and-her-death/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Those who have never suffered the iniquities of exile cannot possibly understand the significance, the gravitas, of a mattress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/those-who-have-never-suffered-the-iniquities-of-exile-cannot-possibly/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Responsibility without power, the fate of the secretary through the ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/responsibility-without-power-the-fate-of-the-secretary-through-the/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Can't the United States see that when we allow someone to be tortured by our agents, it is not only the victim and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/can-t-the-united-states-see-that-when-we-allow-someone-to-be-tortured/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [I feel as if I can take Indian stories, make them mine and take them to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/i-feel-as-if-i-can-take-indian-stories-make-them-mine-and-take-them/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [This America has been the country of greed rather than the country of need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/this-america-has-been-the-country-of-greed-rather-than-the-country-of/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [Torture presupposes, it requires, it craves the abrogation of our capacity to imagine others suffering, dehumanizing them so much that their pain is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/torture-presupposes-it-requires-it-craves-the-abrogation-of-our/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“Gerardo; People can die from an excessive dose of the truth, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/gerardo-people-can-die-from-an-excessive-dose-of-the-truth-you-know/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [“A wave of embarrassment washed over him, and he checked to see if any of his posters had noticed. They stayed put, emotionless and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/a-wave-of-embarrassment-washed-over-him-and-he-checked-to-see-if-any/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [I'm a mongrel in the sense that I'm Spanish, English, Latino, Jewish, north, south - all these things are mixed in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/i-m-a-mongrel-in-the-sense-that-i-m-spanish-english-latino-jewish/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) > [There's a tendency, especially among revolutionaries, to only show the good side of yourself and then when you come to power, the bad side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/there-s-a-tendency-especially-among-revolutionaries-to-only-show-the/) [Ariel Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) [Explore all 22 Ariel Dorfman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/) ## More Birth quotes > [“Conception is the beginning of human life. From the time that an ovum is fertilized a new life begins that is neither that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declaration-on-procured-abortion-congregation-for-the-doctrine-of-the-faith-1974/conception-is-the-beginning-of-human-life-from-the-time-that-an-ovum/) Declaration on Procured Abortion Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 1974 > [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 greatest mystery in life is not life itself, but death. Death is the culmination of life, the ultimate blossoming of life. In death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-greatest-mystery-in-life-is-not-life-itself-but-death-death-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [The wailing of the newborn infant is mingled with the dirge for the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-wailing-of-the-newborn-infant-is-mingled-with-the-dirge-for-the/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [I gave birth to most of them MC's... So when it comes around to the month of May, Send me your royalty check for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxanne-shante/i-gave-birth-to-most-of-them-mc-s-so-when-it-comes-around-to-the/) Roxanne Shante > [“A Beautiful verse takes birth when "U"n"I" VERSE.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajesh-walecha/a-beautiful-verse-takes-birth-when-u-n-i-verse/) [Rajesh Walecha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajesh-walecha/) > [“There is no born evil, only a corruptible canvas darkened by a formidable perpetrator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yefon-isabelle/there-is-no-born-evil-only-a-corruptible-canvas-darkened-by-a/) [Yefon Isabelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yefon-isabelle/) > [I've always thought that the most extraordinary special effect you could do is to buy a child at the moment of its birth, sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-ve-always-thought-that-the-most-extraordinary-special-effect-you/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) [Browse all 6,183 Birth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births, marriages, deaths, visas, tax returns, expulsions, and identity cards, but memory does not play this game in quite the same way, always manages to confound the desire for tidiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ariel Dorfman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the-body-and-for-bureaucracies/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the-body-and-for-bureaucracies/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/ariel-dorfman-26206_birth_life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the_219487.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/ariel-dorfman-26206_birth_life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the_219487.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e8/ariel-dorfman-26206_birth_life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the_219487.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life may unfold chronologically for the body and for bureaucracies that keep track of such things as births…” — Ariel Dorfman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ariel Dorfman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-dorfman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life may unfold chronologically for the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the-body-and-for-bureaucracies/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-dorfman/life-may-unfold-chronologically-for-the-body-and-for-bureaucracies/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```