Real world Quote by David Foster Wallace
““I had a teacher I liked who used to say good fiction’s job was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. I guess a big part of serious fiction’s purpose is to give the reader, who like all of us is sort of marooned in her own skull, to give her imaginative access to other selves. Since an ineluctable part of being a human self is suffering, part of what we humans come to art for is an experience of suffering, necessarily a vicarious experience, more like a sort of “generalization” of suffering. Does this make sense? We all suffer alone in the real world; true empathy’s impossible. But if a piece of fiction can allow us imaginatively to identify with a character’s pain, we might then also more easily conceive of others identifying with our own. This is nourishing, redemptive; we become less alone inside.””
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Atlantic, “The View From Here,” 2005
Fiction should comfort the troubled and challenge the complacent, letting readers vicariously share suffering to foster empathy.
In simple terms: Stories help us feel less alone by sharing pain.
Key Takeaway
Use fiction to expand empathy.
Themes
empathy
fiction
human suffering
imagination
Mood
reflective
hopeful
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- reading novels
- writing creative fiction
- book clubs
- therapy through narrative
Key Concepts
literary theory
psychology
cognitive empathy
Questions to Reflect On
- How does reading about another's pain change your view of others?
- Can comfort replace real empathy?
A Different Perspective
Fiction may not replace real connection; empathy can be limited.
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