--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The hours go by without my knowing it…" description: "\"“The hours go by without my knowing it. Sitting there I'm wandering in countries I can see every detail of--I'm playing a role in the story I'm reading..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gustave-flaubert-354_sitting_the-hours-go-by-without-my-knowing-it-si_2715576.jpg" --- # The hours go by without my knowing it. Sitting there I'm… ![“The hours go by without my knowing it. Sitting there I'm wandering in countries I can see every detail of--I'm playing a role in the story I'm reading. I actually feel I'm the characters--I live and breathe them.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gustave-flaubert-354_sitting_the-hours-go-by-without-my-knowing-it-si_2715576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gustave-flaubert-354_sitting_the-hours-go-by-without-my-knowing-it-si_2715576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2de/gustave-flaubert-354_sitting_the-hours-go-by-without-my-knowing-it-si_2715576.jpg) > ““The hours go by without my knowing it. Sitting there I'm wandering in countries I can see every detail of--I'm playing a role in the story I'm reading. I actually feel I'm the characters--I live and breathe them.”” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deep immersion in a story can make readers feel as if they are living the characters’ lives. **In simple terms:** Reading can feel like living the story. Key Takeaway Engage fully with narratives. Themes literature immersion identity empathy storytelling Mood thoughtful immersive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading a novel - watching a film - role‑playing game Key Concepts narrative transportation psychological involvement vicarious experience Questions to Reflect On - Which story has made you feel most alive? - How does immersion affect your emotions? A Different Perspective Not all readers experience this level of immersion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Characters Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-live-1756527/) [Feel Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-characters-781527/) [Knowing Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-sitting-2842291/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sitting Wandering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-wandering-1756526/) ## Related quotes > [I'm absolutely removed from the world at such times...The hours go by without my knowing it. 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Maistros does more than make you feel for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/the-sound-of-building-coffins-is-a-soulful-work-from-a-writer-of-the/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [Over and over I feel as if my characters know who they are, and what happens to them, and where they have been and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/over-and-over-i-feel-as-if-my-characters-know-who-they-are-and-what/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I feel happy to play strong women because, as an audience member, I feel such characters inspire women when they are down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aishwarya-lekshmi/i-feel-happy-to-play-strong-women-because-as-an-audience-member-i/) [Aishwarya Lekshmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aishwarya-lekshmi/) > [The goal, I suppose, any fiction writer has, no matter what your subject, is to hit the human heart and the tear ducts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-goal-i-suppose-any-fiction-writer-has-no-matter-what-your-subject/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [I want to feel that my characters evolved into a place that they deserved, that was sometimes unexpected, but where I would feel satiated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-h-wyman/i-want-to-feel-that-my-characters-evolved-into-a-place-that-they/) [J.H. Wyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-h-wyman/) > [I want people to feel conflicted. I want them to feel for characters they started out hating. I want to start conversations about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sian-heder/i-want-people-to-feel-conflicted-i-want-them-to-feel-for-characters/) [Sian Heder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sian-heder/) > [I feel my characters are valid, my characters are people, my characters have hope. Hope is the thing that'll take us through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/i-feel-my-characters-are-valid-my-characters-are-people-my-characters/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) > [Some of my favorite shows are ones where the characters are vile and human and flawed. That's what makes me want to keep watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-maslany/some-of-my-favorite-shows-are-ones-where-the-characters-are-vile-and/) [Tatiana Maslany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-maslany/) > [“Some writers need to sink in order to feel what their characters feel; in order to write their characters with the truest feeling possible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lifsey/some-writers-need-to-sink-in-order-to-feel-what-their-characters-feel/) [Lori Lifsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lifsey/) > [For me, it's important that I experience and feel what the characters are feeling. So I put myself in those moments, in their thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chevy-stevens/for-me-it-s-important-that-i-experience-and-feel-what-the-characters/) [Chevy Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chevy-stevens/) > [“Sometimes, when I read, it's not just fiction while I'm between the pages. It’s real. My heart races when they kiss, and I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-hart/sometimes-when-i-read-it-s-not-just-fiction-while-i-m-between-the/) [Emma Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-hart/) > [“My characters tell me how they feel about other characters and events and they demand that I write it down for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-marene-ordone/my-characters-tell-me-how-they-feel-about-other-characters-and-events/) [Lindsay Marene Ordone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-marene-ordone/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. 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You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Sitting quotes > [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/) > [Always have the fear of God in your heart, and remember that God is always with you, everywhere, whether you are walking or sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennadius-of-constantinople/always-have-the-fear-of-god-in-your-heart-and-remember-that-god-is/) [Gennadius of Constantinople](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennadius-of-constantinople/) > [Reagan was sitting up at Cath's desk when Cath woke up. "Are you awake?" "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Yes, Bella. Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/reagan-was-sitting-up-at-cath-s-desk-when-cath-woke-up-are-you-awake/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. 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I do not even say "be yourself"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/there-is-nothing-to-do-just-be-do-nothing-be-no-climbing-mountains/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [As mayor, I'm in the frying pan. I'm just sitting here on the griddle now, and I've got to really think, you know, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-a-williams/as-mayor-i-m-in-the-frying-pan-i-m-just-sitting-here-on-the-griddle/) [Anthony A. 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