--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Which of us has not felt that the…" description: "\"Which of us has not felt that the character we are reading in the printed page is more real than the person standing beside us?\" — Cornelia Funke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/315/cornelia-funke-908_character_which-of-us-has-not-felt-that-the-charac_1929720.png" --- # Which of us has not felt that the character we are reading… ![“Which of us has not felt that the character we are reading in the printed page is more real than the person standing beside us?” quote by Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/315/cornelia-funke-908_character_which-of-us-has-not-felt-that-the-charac_1929720.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/315/cornelia-funke-908_character_which-of-us-has-not-felt-that-the-charac_1929720.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/315/cornelia-funke-908_character_which-of-us-has-not-felt-that-the-charac_1929720.png) > “Which of us has not felt that the character we are reading in the printed page is more real than the person standing beside us?” [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers often feel a stronger connection to fictional characters than to people physically present. **In simple terms:** Fiction feels more real than nearby people. Key Takeaway Engage deeply with stories. Themes imagination empathy literary immersion identity Mood thoughtful nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing - education - therapy Key Concepts narrative transport psychology of reading Questions to Reflect On - Why do fictional characters resonate so strongly? - How can you balance literary immersion with real‑world connections? A Different Perspective Over‑identification may blur reality or hinder social interaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-reading-394720/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Felt Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-character-1932896/) [Page Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page-real-3013050/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Printed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printed/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Printed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-printed-2222297/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-person/) [Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [In the printed page the only real things are the paper and the ink; the white spaces play the same part in aiding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/in-the-printed-page-the-only-real-things-are-the-paper-and-the-ink/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [We read five words on the first page of a really good novel and we begin to forget that we are reading printed words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-read-five-words-on-the-first-page-of-a-really-good-novel-and-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I subscribe to the theory that reading a book is similar to walking a trail, and I'm most comfortable walking when I can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-subscribe-to-the-theory-that-reading-a-book-is-similar-to-walking-a/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [With Mass Effect we said, "Let's reflect the fact that you can be almost anyone, do almost anything, but..." 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It was always a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-shuster/jerry-and-i-always-felt-that-the-character-was-enjoying-himself-he/) [Joe Shuster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-shuster/) > [The experience of reading a printed comic book will never change, but now, thanks to the digital age, there are many different ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-lee/the-experience-of-reading-a-printed-comic-book-will-never-change-but/) [Stan Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-lee/) > [I love spending time researching a character and reading about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-love-spending-time-researching-a-character-and-reading-about-them/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [You can't develop character by reading books. You develop it from conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/you-can-t-develop-character-by-reading-books-you-develop-it-from/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [I'm a real geek. I love spending time researching a character and reading about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-m-a-real-geek-i-love-spending-time-researching-a-character-and/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [One of the interesting parts of being on a television show is you often don't know the fate of your character until you're reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-messina/one-of-the-interesting-parts-of-being-on-a-television-show-is-you/) [Chris Messina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-messina/) > [I think that the most important thing for me is how is the character that I would be reading for? Is it interesting? Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-garner/i-think-that-the-most-important-thing-for-me-is-how-is-the-character-2/) [Julia Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-garner/) > [“When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/when-you-lose-yourself-inside-the-world-of-a-fictional-character/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [I pledge to set out to live a thousand lives between printed pages. I pledge to use books as doors to other minds, old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-pledge-to-set-out-to-live-a-thousand-lives-between-printed-pages-i/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Perhaps there's another, much larger story behind the printed one, a story that changes just as our own world does. And the letters on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/perhaps-there-s-another-much-larger-story-behind-the-printed-one-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) ## More by Cornelia Funke > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“A story is a labyrinth, it looks as if there were several ways to go, but only one is right, and there's a nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/a-story-is-a-labyrinth-it-looks-as-if-there-were-several-ways-to-go/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her full on the mouth. His skin was wet with rain. 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A world with neither fairies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/and-he-will-have-a-great-aunt-called-elinor-who-tells-him-there-s-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Yes, Mo would come. Meggie could think of nothing else as Fenoglio led her away with him, his arm around her as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/yes-mo-would-come-meggie-could-think-of-nothing-else-as-fenoglio-led/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [When it came to hiding, even Gwin had nothing to teach Dustfinger. A strange sense of curiosity had always driven him to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/when-it-came-to-hiding-even-gwin-had-nothing-to-teach-dustfinger-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Because fear kills everything," Mo had once told her. "Your mind, your heart, your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/because-fear-kills-everything-mo-had-once-told-her-your-mind-your/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Perhaps there's another, much larger story behind the printed one, a story that changes just as our own world does. And the letters on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/perhaps-there-s-another-much-larger-story-behind-the-printed-one-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Mo could paint pictures in the empty air with his voice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/mo-could-paint-pictures-in-the-empty-air-with-his-voice-alone/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I remember the feeling. Whenever my father got so absorbed in a book that we might have been in visible I felt like taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-remember-the-feeling-whenever-my-father-got-so-absorbed-in-a-book/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I wish you luck,' she said, kissing him on the cheek. He still had the most beautiful eyes of any boy she'd ever seen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-wish-you-luck-she-said-kissing-him-on-the-cheek-he-still-had-the/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Because by now Elinor had understood this, too: A longing for books was nothing compared with what you could feel for human beings. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/because-by-now-elinor-had-understood-this-too-a-longing-for-books-was/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal. The ticking of a clock. The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/the-night-breathed-through-the-apartment-like-a-dark-animal-the/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) [Explore all 286 Cornelia Funke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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