---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had the story, bit by bit, from various…"
description: "\"I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.\" — Edith Wharton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/edith-wharton-512_cases_i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various_3028390.png"
---

#  I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as…

![“I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/edith-wharton-512_cases_i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various_3028390.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/edith-wharton-512_cases_i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various_3028390.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/edith-wharton-512_cases_i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various_3028390.png)

> “I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.”

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Stories change with perspective, showing that truth is often fragmented.

**In simple terms:** Stories differ by who tells them.

Key Takeaway

Seek multiple viewpoints.

Themes

storytelling truth perspective

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- journalism
- history
- personal anecdotes

Key Concepts

narrative relativism subjectivity

Questions to Reflect On

- Whose story are you hearing?
- How do biases shape narratives?

A Different Perspective

Relying on one source can mislead.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [To be simple, I would say a story has to have a bit of narrative, if only "she says," and then enough of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/to-be-simple-i-would-say-a-story-has-to-have-a-bit-of-narrative-if/)

[Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/)

> [Though it may not seem like it, I never try to write about a place, per se; it's always, first and last, about story.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcdonagh/though-it-may-not-seem-like-it-i-never-try-to-write-about-a-place-per/)

[Martin McDonagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcdonagh/)

> [“Ky's story, bit by bit, is turning to ash and nothing. Except. He remembers it, and now I do, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/ky-s-story-bit-by-bit-is-turning-to-ash-and-nothing-except-he/)

[Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/)

> [“To be sure, this is what generally happens when one eats cake; but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/to-be-sure-this-is-what-generally-happens-when-one-eats-cake-but/)

[Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/)

> [What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expect generally happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/what-we-anticipate-seldom-occurs-what-we-least-expect-generally/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expected generally happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/what-we-anticipate-seldom-occurs-what-we-least-expected-generally/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [What we anticipate seldom occurs: but what we least expect generally happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/what-we-anticipate-seldom-occurs-but-what-we-least-expect-generally/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Life is generally something that happens elsewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/life-is-generally-something-that-happens-elsewhere/)

[Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/)

> [One event makes another. What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expected generally happens; and time can only prove which is most for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/one-event-makes-another-what-we-anticipate-seldom-occurs-what-we/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [It generally happens that assurance keeps an even pace with ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-generally-happens-that-assurance-keeps-an-even-pace-with-ability/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Generally, that's what happens-a fundamental rotting of the idea. They woke up with the wrong idea. It's just like music: If you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/generally-that-s-what-happens-a-fundamental-rotting-of-the-idea-they/)

[William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/)

> [And so, as generally happens, those who have most give least, and those with less somehow make shrift to share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/and-so-as-generally-happens-those-who-have-most-give-least-and-those/)

[Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/)

> [I feel like Chicago it's so different, we have a different story to tell, we are seeing these things happen in this city every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polo-g/i-feel-like-chicago-it-s-so-different-we-have-a-different-story-to/)

[Polo G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polo-g/)

> [It's crazy for somebody who's kind of empowered and wealthy like myself to say, "Oh, I don't need to be patronized by the state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/it-s-crazy-for-somebody-who-s-kind-of-empowered-and-wealthy-like/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [The greatest tales, well told, awaken the fears and longings of the listeners. Each man hears a different story. Each is touched by it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/the-greatest-tales-well-told-awaken-the-fears-and-longings-of-the/)

[Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/)

## More by Edith Wharton

> [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. And he felt himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/untrained-human-nature-was-not-frank-and-innocent-it-was-full-of-the/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“High Pasture Come up--come up: in the dim vale below The autumn mist muffles the fading trees, But on this keen hill-pasture, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/high-pasture-come-up-come-up-in-the-dim-vale-below-the-autumn-mist/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“... no treasure-house of Atreus was ever as rich as a well-stored memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/no-treasure-house-of-atreus-was-ever-as-rich-as-a-well-stored-memory/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of-the-other-marriages-about/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-the-saddest-thing-there-is-next-to-death/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [Dialogue in fiction should be reserved for the culminating moments and regarded as the spray into which the great wave of narrative breaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/dialogue-in-fiction-should-be-reserved-for-the-culminating-moments/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

> [“These Americans, under their forthcoming manner, their surface-gush, as some might call it, have an odd reticence about what goes on underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/these-americans-under-their-forthcoming-manner-their-surface-gush-as/)

[Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

[Explore all 504 Edith Wharton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/)

## More Cases quotes

> [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [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/)

> [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-perry/i-d-always-have-grease-in-at-least-two-places-in-case-the-umpires/)

[Gaylord Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-perry/)

> [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/)

[Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/)

> [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/)

[Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/)

> [I think we've all had enough of Coltrane saxophonists. There's a case of someone ruining a generation of saxophonists, as Louis Armstrong may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/i-think-we-ve-all-had-enough-of-coltrane-saxophonists-there-s-a-case/)

[Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/)

> [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/)

[Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/)

> [If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/if-you-followed-the-media-you-d-think-that-everybody-in-africa-was/)

[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/)

> [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/)

[Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/)

> [He emphasised basic truths: you are not dying yet, you have to live your life until you are. Underpinning them was the belief that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/he-emphasised-basic-truths-you-are-not-dying-yet-you-have-to-live/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [Athletes at all ages are bigger and stronger than ever before. And they are being encouraged - sometimes even incentivized, as we recently learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/athletes-at-all-ages-are-bigger-and-stronger-than-ever-before-and/)

[Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/)

> [Each Act of Parliament intended to address harassment and discrimination has faced objections on the basis of 'you'll never be able to prove...' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-field/each-act-of-parliament-intended-to-address-harassment-and/)

[Tim Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-field/)

> [The Cheney team had, for example, technological supremacy over the National Security Council staff. That is to say, they could read their e-mails. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wilkerson/the-cheney-team-had-for-example-technological-supremacy-over-the/)

[Lawrence Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wilkerson/)

> [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/)

[Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/)

Browse all 6,420 Cases quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Edith Wharton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various-people-and-as-generally/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cases"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various-people-and-as-generally/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/edith-wharton-512_cases_i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various_3028390.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/edith-wharton-512_cases_i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various_3028390.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45c/edith-wharton-512_cases_i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various_3028390.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was…” — Edith Wharton",
                "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": "Edith Wharton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I had the story, bit by...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various-people-and-as-generally/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/i-had-the-story-bit-by-bit-from-various-people-and-as-generally/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
