--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels teach you that actions have…" description: "\"Novels teach you that actions have consequences. They help you grow up.\" — Hilary Mantel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/hilary-mantel-440_actions_novels-teach-you-that-actions-have-conse_2775025.jpg" --- # Novels teach you that actions have consequences. They help… ![“Novels teach you that actions have consequences. They help you grow up.” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/hilary-mantel-440_actions_novels-teach-you-that-actions-have-conse_2775025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/hilary-mantel-440_actions_novels-teach-you-that-actions-have-conse_2775025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/hilary-mantel-440_actions_novels-teach-you-that-actions-have-conse_2775025.jpg) > “Novels teach you that actions have consequences. They help you grow up.” [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories illustrate that every action leads to outcomes, shaping growth and maturity. **In simple terms:** Actions have consequences that teach us. Key Takeaway Recognize cause and effect in choices. Themes growth responsibility consequences Mood reflective thoughtful Type narrative educational When to use this quote - personal decisions - career planning - relationships - education Key Concepts literature character development Questions to Reflect On - How do you trace outcomes back to actions? - What growth have you gained from a mistake? A Different Perspective Consequences can be delayed, making learning harder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actions/) [Actions have consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actions-have-consequences/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequences/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) ## Related quotes > [“Actions have consequences. In actions have them. We set things in motion by what we don't do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/actions-have-consequences-in-actions-have-them-we-set-things-in/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [Actions have consequences... first rule of life. And the second rule is this - you are the only one responsible for your own actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/actions-have-consequences-first-rule-of-life-and-the-second-rule-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think words have consequences, and I think actions have consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-frazier/i-think-words-have-consequences-and-i-think-actions-have-consequences/) [Kenneth Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-frazier/) > [We now know that we cannot continue to put ever-increasing amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Actions have consequences. In fact, the consequences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-fowler/we-now-know-that-we-cannot-continue-to-put-ever-increasing-amounts-of/) [Cary Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-fowler/) > [Actions have consequences. Ignorance about the nature of those actions does not free a person from responsibility for the consequences. (28)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/actions-have-consequences-ignorance-about-the-nature-of-those-actions/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [Actions have consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morton-blackwell/actions-have-consequences/) [Morton Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morton-blackwell/) > [All of our actions have consequences whether we know it or not. We never know what people are going through until something tragic happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-butler/all-of-our-actions-have-consequences-whether-we-know-it-or-not-we/) [Ross Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-butler/) > [The main thing history can teach us is that human actions have consequences, and that certain choices, once made, cannot be undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerda-lerner/the-main-thing-history-can-teach-us-is-that-human-actions-have/) [Gerda Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerda-lerner/) > [“Our thoughts and actions have consequences, all the more reason to be loving and compassionate and not fearful or harmful. They create our destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-l-weiss/our-thoughts-and-actions-have-consequences-all-the-more-reason-to-be/) [Brian L. Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-l-weiss/) > [“Our actions have consequences that last long after us, entwining the present with the future in ways we cannot begin to understand. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-iles/our-actions-have-consequences-that-last-long-after-us-entwining-the/) [Greg Iles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-iles/) > [“Actions have consequences, I have told you that. Why is that difficult for you to understand?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleatha-romig/actions-have-consequences-i-have-told-you-that-why-is-that-difficult/) [Aleatha Romig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleatha-romig/) > [Novels teach the youthful mind to sigh after happiness that never existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/novels-teach-the-youthful-mind-to-sigh-after-happiness-that-never/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [Novels may teach us as wholesome a moral as the pulpit. There are "sermons in stones," in healthy books, and "good in everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/novels-may-teach-us-as-wholesome-a-moral-as-the-pulpit-there-are/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [Asking the author of historical novels to teach you about history is like expecting the composer of a melody to provide answers about radio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lion-feuchtwanger/asking-the-author-of-historical-novels-to-teach-you-about-history-is/) [Lion Feuchtwanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lion-feuchtwanger/) > [“Literature is a source of pleasure, he said, it is one of the rare inexhaustible joys in life, but it's not only that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/literature-is-a-source-of-pleasure-he-said-it-is-one-of-the-rare/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) ## More by Hilary Mantel > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Actions quotes > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today's actions to tomorrow's results. There's a season for sowing a season for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-ryan-blair/self-discipline-is-an-act-of-cultivation-it-require-you-to-connect/) [Gary Ryan Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-ryan-blair/) > [A lot of my work involves instilling objects with the power of touch - a transference of soul, spirit, energy through actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-colen/a-lot-of-my-work-involves-instilling-objects-with-the-power-of-touch/) [Dan Colen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-colen/) > [“Stop Blaming Others For Your Own Actions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-g-roldan/stop-blaming-others-for-your-own-actions/) [Alexis G. Roldan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-g-roldan/) > [True love is proven through the actions of your true love!! Not through the act of saying it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-love-is-proven-through-the-actions-of-your-true-love-not-through/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The actions of the University in my case make it abundantly clear that the Administration's rhetoric about Harvard's desire to attract and retain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/the-actions-of-the-university-in-my-case-make-it-abundantly-clear/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [As we get more transparent with data sets about infrastructure and systems management, I have a feeling we'll see big changes in how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-koblin/as-we-get-more-transparent-with-data-sets-about-infrastructure-and/) [Aaron Koblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-koblin/) > [“When you are pushed to the wall, you will act and do things you have never done before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/when-you-are-pushed-to-the-wall-you-will-act-and-do-things-you-have/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“The definition of a professional is one who does a job well even when they don't like it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sheinwald/the-definition-of-a-professional-is-one-who-does-a-job-well-even-when/) Alan Sheinwald > [“FLIES IN DISGUISE Tell me, Have you Really seen Flies in a child's eyes Or heard their hungry cries In the middle Of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/flies-in-disguise-tell-me-have-you-really-seen-flies-in-a-child-s/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“We are the result of our mere actions. What we do, we become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/we-are-the-result-of-our-mere-actions-what-we-do-we-become/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [I would rather have my actions speak for me on the pitch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-insigne/i-would-rather-have-my-actions-speak-for-me-on-the-pitch/) [Lorenzo Insigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenzo-insigne/) > [If you want to know someone's mind, listen to their words. If you want to know their heart, watch their actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-want-to-know-someone-s-mind-listen-to-their-words-if-you-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Twitter didn't make up the hashtag. Twitter didn't make up the retweet. It's our users. And people started using them so much that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-jacobs-stanton/twitter-didn-t-make-up-the-hashtag-twitter-didn-t-make-up-the-retweet/) Katie Jacobs Stanton > [I personally claim no special insight into Satan's methods, but I have at times been able to identify his influence and his actions in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-faust/i-personally-claim-no-special-insight-into-satan-s-methods-but-i-have/) [James E. Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-e-faust/) [Browse all 1,287 Actions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Novels teach you that actions have consequences. 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