--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sending of a letter constitutes a…" description: "\"The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/iris-murdoch-993_future_the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-ma_37358.png" --- # The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon… ![“The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/iris-murdoch-993_future_the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-ma_37358.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/iris-murdoch-993_future_the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-ma_37358.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/iris-murdoch-993_future_the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-ma_37358.png) > “The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The act of writing a letter creates a tangible link to events that have not yet occurred, shaping expectations and outcomes. **In simple terms:** Writing connects present intent to future reality. Key Takeaway Letters act as intentional bridges to what lies ahead. Themes communication anticipation intentionality temporal connection agency Mood hopeful reflective intentional Type aphorism philosophical observation When to use this quote - planning a reunion - sending a proposal - declaring love - arranging a business deal Key Concepts future‑oriented action symbolic gesture psychological commitment Practical Applications - personal relationship building - strategic planning Questions to Reflect On - How does the medium of a letter influence the weight of the message? - What responsibilities arise when we attempt to shape the future through words? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Constitutes Magical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutes-magical-445277/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letter/) [Letter Constitutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letter-constitutes-445276/) [Letters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letters/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Magical Grasp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magical-grasp-445278/) [Sending Letter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sending-letter-445275/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My job is to form the people, the story, the sentences. Every reader will bring their own life and their own history to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-job-is-to-form-the-people-the-story-the-sentences-every-reader/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“Dear Mr. Weston, Hello again. We were beginning to wonder what had happened to you. I guess things have been pretty quiet since the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-korman/dear-mr-weston-hello-again-we-were-beginning-to-wonder-what-had/) [Gordon Korman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-korman/) > [It was a blessing and also a curse of handwritten letters that unlike email you couldn’t obsessively reread what you’d written after you’d sent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/it-was-a-blessing-and-also-a-curse-of-handwritten-letters-that-unlike/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [I think a handwritten letter - a lot of guys don't realize what that means. It's those little romantic touches that tell a lady,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/i-think-a-handwritten-letter-a-lot-of-guys-don-t-realize-what-that/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [The best letters of our time are precisely those that can never be published.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-best-letters-of-our-time-are-precisely-those-that-can-never-be/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Oh, Kendra, before I forget, Gavin asked me to give you this letter." He held out a gray, speckled envelope. "Happy birthday to you!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-mull/oh-kendra-before-i-forget-gavin-asked-me-to-give-you-this-letter-he/) [Brandon Mull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-mull/) > [Why' is a crooked letter and can't be made straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/why-is-a-crooked-letter-and-can-t-be-made-straight/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Every book is, in an intimate sense, a circular-letter to the friends of him who writes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/every-book-is-in-an-intimate-sense-a-circular-letter-to-the-friends/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Valek smiled. “Good. First, send Kade a reply, asking him not to come.” He pointed at the unopened letter on the table. I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-v-snyder/valek-smiled-good-first-send-kade-a-reply-asking-him-not-to-come-he/) [Maria V. Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-v-snyder/) > [“This is how you must imagine your letters arriving, and me carrying them off to read in peace, and saying 'oh darling Virginia', and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vita-sackville-west/this-is-how-you-must-imagine-your-letters-arriving-and-me-carrying/) [Vita Sackville-West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vita-sackville-west/) > [You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid-we know we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-haven-t-got-a-letter-on-yours-george-observed-i-suppose-she/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Letters should be easy and natural.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/letters-should-be-easy-and-natural/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“My Dear Mrs Winter. (I had half a mind when I dipped my pen in the ink, to address you by your old natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/my-dear-mrs-winter-i-had-half-a-mind-when-i-dipped-my-pen-in-the-ink/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Letter-writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/letter-writing-on-the-part-of-a-busy-man-or-woman-is-the-quintessence/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Love is the perception of individuals. Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/love-is-the-perception-of-individuals-love-is-the-extremely-difficult/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Future quotes > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [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/) > [If you can connect people, you can create the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-heiferman/if-you-can-connect-people-you-can-create-the-future/) [Scott Heiferman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-heiferman/) > [A strong, durable Puerto Rican economy will leave the island better prepared to handle future natural disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-campos-duffy/a-strong-durable-puerto-rican-economy-will-leave-the-island-better/) [Rachel Campos-Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-campos-duffy/) > [“We have no idea, now, of who or what the inhabitants of our future might be. In that sense, we have no future. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/we-have-no-idea-now-of-who-or-what-the-inhabitants-of-our-future/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I'm just always looking forwards. I spend very little time, looking backwards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/i-m-just-always-looking-forwards-i-spend-very-little-time-looking/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Football is my passion, and who knows where I will play in the future - you cannot foresee that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/football-is-my-passion-and-who-knows-where-i-will-play-in-the-future/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [When I was 17, I broke up with my future wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-allen/when-i-was-17-i-broke-up-with-my-future-wife/) [Kris Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-allen/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [Starting a new job can be nerve-racking , but it's also exciting. You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) [Browse all 12,349 Future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Future" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/iris-murdoch-993_future_the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-ma_37358.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/iris-murdoch-993_future_the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-ma_37358.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/iris-murdoch-993_future_the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-ma_37358.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The sending of a letter constitutes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/#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 } } ] } ```