--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is no possibility for change in…" description: "\"If there is no possibility for change in a character, we have no interest in him.\" — Flannery O'Connor" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/flannery-o-connor-639_change_if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in_617184.png" --- # If there is no possibility for change in a character, we… ![“If there is no possibility for change in a character, we have no interest in him.” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/flannery-o-connor-639_change_if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in_617184.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/flannery-o-connor-639_change_if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in_617184.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/flannery-o-connor-639_change_if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in_617184.png) > “If there is no possibility for change in a character, we have no interest in him.” [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If a character cannot change, they become uninteresting to the audience. **In simple terms:** Unchanging characters bore readers. Key Takeaway Seek growth in characters. Themes character development interest change Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - Literary analysis - writing workshops - character design Key Concepts Narrative dynamics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you reveal hidden depths in a static character? - When is stagnation purposeful? A Different Perspective Even static characters can serve as foils. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-character-1049918/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Possibility Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility-change-1404081/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [You can change your character and, at the same time, change your fortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/you-can-change-your-character-and-at-the-same-time-change-your-fortune/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [I won't change my character for anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herm-edwards/i-won-t-change-my-character-for-anybody/) [Herm Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herm-edwards/) > [I've always wanted to be one of those actors who could change from character to character, like Daniel Day Lewis or Jeffrey Wright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-daniels/i-ve-always-wanted-to-be-one-of-those-actors-who-could-change-from/) [Kevin Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-daniels/) > [Well, I don't think characters change. I think they become more revealed. I don't think you really can change a character on a show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-edelstein/well-i-don-t-think-characters-change-i-think-they-become-more/) [Lisa Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-edelstein/) > [If I have to change for a character, I need really logical reasons to look a certain way. Otherwise, I have finally cracked the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-have-to-change-for-a-character-i-need-really-logical-reasons-to/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [Body modification does not change character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connor-sinnett/body-modification-does-not-change-character/) [Connor Sinnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connor-sinnett/) > [Your aim is yours So dont change it for others but Your character is not yours so change it for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekanand/your-aim-is-yours-so-dont-change-it-for-others-but-your-character-is/) [Swami Vivekanand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekanand/) > [“As we take Christ's name upon us, it is expected that we strive to emulate His attributes and change our character to become more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulisses-soares/as-we-take-christ-s-name-upon-us-it-is-expected-that-we-strive-to/) [Ulisses Soares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulisses-soares/) > [Habits change into character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/habits-change-into-character/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [All of my characters are a little bit based on people I know in real life. You know when you do that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/all-of-my-characters-are-a-little-bit-based-on-people-i-know-in-real/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [There's so many different things that you can physically change for a character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/there-s-so-many-different-things-that-you-can-physically-change-for-a/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) > [If you change a character too much, the audience falls out of love with the character, but characters need to evolve and grow over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-kinsey/if-you-change-a-character-too-much-the-audience-falls-out-of-love/) [Angela Kinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-kinsey/) > [Movies are open doors, and at every door, I change character and life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-binoche/movies-are-open-doors-and-at-every-door-i-change-character-and-life/) [Juliette Binoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-binoche/) > [A confused mind is one that is open to the possibility of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/a-confused-mind-is-one-that-is-open-to-the-possibility-of-change/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [“There is a possibility for change because all emotions are fleeting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/there-is-a-possibility-for-change-because-all-emotions-are-fleeting/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) ## More by Flannery O'Connor > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don’t know how to cure the source-itis except to tell you that I can discover a good many possible sources myself for Wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-know-how-to-cure-the-source-itis-except-to-tell-you-that-i/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He felt his hunger no longer as a pain but as a tide. He felt it rising in himself through time and darkness, rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/he-felt-his-hunger-no-longer-as-a-pain-but-as-a-tide-he-felt-it/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/where-you-come-from-is-gone-where-you-thought-you-were-going-to-never/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“There are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/there-are-all-kinds-of-truth-but-behind-all-of-them-there-is-only-one/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Mrs. May winced. She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/mrs-may-winced-she-thought-the-word-jesus-should-be-kept-inside-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in-terms-of-plot-character-and/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. Their father had gone to a one-room schoolhouse through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-had-observed-that-the-more-education-they-got-the-less-they-could/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [One of the awful things about writing when you are a Christian is that for you the ultimate reality is the Incarnation, the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/one-of-the-awful-things-about-writing-when-you-are-a-christian-is/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Hazel Motes sat at a forward angel on the green plush train seat, looking one minute at the window as if he might want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/hazel-motes-sat-at-a-forward-angel-on-the-green-plush-train-seat/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) [Explore all 432 Flannery O'Connor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there is no possibility for change in a character, we have no interest in him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Flannery O'Connor" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in-a-character-we-have-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in-a-character-we-have-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/flannery-o-connor-639_change_if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in_617184.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/flannery-o-connor-639_change_if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in_617184.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/flannery-o-connor-639_change_if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in_617184.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there is no possibility for change in a character, we have no interest in him.” — Flannery O'Connor", "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": "Flannery O'Connor", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If there is no possibility for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in-a-character-we-have-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/if-there-is-no-possibility-for-change-in-a-character-we-have-no/#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 } } ] } ```