--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think people are always saying things…" description: "\"I think people are always saying things are 'over.' Fiction has been regularly 'over' since the 19th century.\" — Claire Tomalin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffa/claire-tomalin-8837_19th-century_i-think-people-are-always-saying-things_2877848.jpg" --- # I think people are always saying things are 'over.'… ![“I think people are always saying things are 'over.' Fiction has been regularly 'over' since the 19th century.” quote by Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffa/claire-tomalin-8837_19th-century_i-think-people-are-always-saying-things_2877848.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffa/claire-tomalin-8837_19th-century_i-think-people-are-always-saying-things_2877848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffa/claire-tomalin-8837_19th-century_i-think-people-are-always-saying-things_2877848.jpg) > “I think people are always saying things are 'over.' Fiction has been regularly 'over' since the 19th century.” [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People claim things are "over," yet fiction continuously renews itself, showing that narratives persist beyond perceived endings. **In simple terms:** Fiction never truly ends. Key Takeaway Embrace ongoing narratives. Themes culture continuity renewal Mood thoughtful analytical Type critical reflective When to use this quote - reading habits - creative writing - media analysis - historical perspective Key Concepts literary theory media studies Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize a story’s true end? - What keeps narratives alive? A Different Perspective May overlook genuine endings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I was thinking one of the great things about fiction is we, as a race, only get to look out of our own eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-was-thinking-one-of-the-great-things-about-fiction-is-we-as-a-race/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [But I hate things all fiction... there should always be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric - and pure invention is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/but-i-hate-things-all-fiction-there-should-always-be-some-foundation/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [I really have to think of the things fiction can do that film can't and play to the strengths of the novel. 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Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I'm always trying to make something that is impossible to film. Why would somebody just read a novel when they can see it on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-m-always-trying-to-make-something-that-is-impossible-to-film-why/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [I really need to know where I'm going with fiction to write it in a way that at least I'm happy with. 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But there's so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-faison/we-ve-been-trained-to-spend-money-since-we-were-born-with-all-these/) [Donald Faison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-faison/) > [I haven't heard from Bobby since May when we had our conversation, but then this thing broke last week, where they arrested him, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bond/i-haven-t-heard-from-bobby-since-may-when-we-had-our-conversation-but/) [Tommy Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bond/) ## More by Claire Tomalin > [“Poor Nelly, she was not to know that fashions in sin change as much as other fashions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/poor-nelly-she-was-not-to-know-that-fashions-in-sin-change-as-much-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I always feel sad when I come to the end of a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-always-feel-sad-when-i-come-to-the-end-of-a-book/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I would like to have a more social life than I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-would-like-to-have-a-more-social-life-than-i-have/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I continually get more information about a subject after the book has been published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-continually-get-more-information-about-a-subject-after-the-book-has/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I was working at the 'Evening Standard' when I heard that there was a job going as deputy literary editor on the 'New Statesman.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-was-working-at-the-evening-standard-when-i-heard-that-there-was-a/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I've behaved badly in my life. I hope I haven't behaved as badly as Dickens! In a way, if you're a woman, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-ve-behaved-badly-in-my-life-i-hope-i-haven-t-behaved-as-badly-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Simon Russell Beale is an incomparable speaker of Shakespeare and a superb all-round actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/simon-russell-beale-is-an-incomparable-speaker-of-shakespeare-and-a/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I sometimes think that, since I started writing biographies, I've had more of a life in books than I have had in my real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-sometimes-think-that-since-i-started-writing-biographies-i-ve-had/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Poetry was one of the things that interested me most as I was growing up. I used to write it in my head all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/poetry-was-one-of-the-things-that-interested-me-most-as-i-was-growing/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Biographers search for traces, for evidence of activity, for signs of movement, for letters, for diaries, for photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/biographers-search-for-traces-for-evidence-of-activity-for-signs-of/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [You become more tolerant when you become older. You're not interested in rapping people over the knuckles; you're interested in understanding them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/you-become-more-tolerant-when-you-become-older-you-re-not-interested/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Dickens is a lover of human beings; a relisher of human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/dickens-is-a-lover-of-human-beings-a-relisher-of-human-beings/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Dickens never joined a political party nor put forward a political programme. He was a writer who rightly saw his power as coming through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/dickens-never-joined-a-political-party-nor-put-forward-a-political/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [Throughout his life, Dickens cared passionately about orphans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/throughout-his-life-dickens-cared-passionately-about-orphans/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [It's a difficult thing to lose a child, a grown-up child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/it-s-a-difficult-thing-to-lose-a-child-a-grown-up-child/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) [Explore all 77 Claire Tomalin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) ## More 19th century quotes > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-years-back-when-i-moved-to-california-i-happened-to-see-a-book/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [By tracing the careers of the four members of the Philosophical Breakfast Club, Laura Snyder has found a wonderful way not just to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-standage/by-tracing-the-careers-of-the-four-members-of-the-philosophical/) [Tom Standage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-standage/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [ . . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured \[England\] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/luddites-were-those-frenzied-traditionalists-of-the-early-19th/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [“The Victorian era was an age of superlatives and larger-than-life characters, and as far as that goes, Dr. Wildman Whitehouse fit right in: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-victorian-era-was-an-age-of-superlatives-and-larger-than-life/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Take any writer you want in the 19th century: they wrote with quill pens, dipping a piece of goose feather in ink and writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/take-any-writer-you-want-in-the-19th-century-they-wrote-with-quill/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [There are real issues that the president Donald Trump and particularly Steve Bannon, his political adviser, are pushing. 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I don't think that today's women see motherhood as a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/an-ethic-of-maternalism-was-central-to-the-utopianism-of-19th-century/) Clare Wright Browse all 383 19th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think people are always saying things are 'over.' 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