--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Humanity has this need to hear stories…" description: "\"Humanity has this need to hear stories because they connect us with other people, they teach us about our own feelings. We feel less lonely when we see..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/221/isabel-allende-266_character_humanity-has-this-need-to-hear-stories-b_1790414.jpg" --- # Humanity has this need to hear stories because they… ![“Humanity has this need to hear stories because they connect us with other people, they teach us about our own feelings. We feel less lonely when we see other people going through the same things, even if they're fictional characters.” quote by Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/221/isabel-allende-266_character_humanity-has-this-need-to-hear-stories-b_1790414.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/221/isabel-allende-266_character_humanity-has-this-need-to-hear-stories-b_1790414.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/221/isabel-allende-266_character_humanity-has-this-need-to-hear-stories-b_1790414.jpg) > “Humanity has this need to hear stories because they connect us with other people, they teach us about our own feelings. We feel less lonely when we see other people going through the same things, even if they're fictional characters.” [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories fulfill a fundamental human need to connect, empathize, and understand our emotions through shared narratives. **In simple terms:** Stories help us feel connected and understand our feelings. Key Takeaway Seek stories that reflect your experiences. Themes empathy connection emotional intelligence Mood reflective comforting Type inspirational psychological When to use this quote - reading - watching movies - sharing personal anecdotes - therapy sessions Key Concepts narrative therapy social bonding Questions to Reflect On - What story has most mirrored your own feelings? - How do fictional narratives shape your self‑perception? A Different Perspective Stories may oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Feel Lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-lonely/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fictional character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-character/) [Fictional Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-characters/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-need-573054/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely/) [Lonely people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely-people/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Connect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-connect-844106/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) ## Related quotes > [ \[I am more than happy to invite my five favorite fictional characters.\]Roland Deschain from Stephen King's Dark Tower series. There's a whole world about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/i-am-more-than-happy-to-invite-my-five-favorite-fictional-characters/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [I mean, I can do that all day long. I can tell you the Vulcan's are not actually devoid of emotion. That they work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/i-mean-i-can-do-that-all-day-long-i-can-tell-you-the-vulcan-s-are-not/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [I can't help but think that it's an unfortunate custom to name children after people who come to sticky ends. Even if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-can-t-help-but-think-that-it-s-an-unfortunate-custom-to-name/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I was feeling like I'd been born in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. I don't believe that anymore,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-was-feeling-like-i-d-been-born-in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [Talking out loud to fictional characters is just the tip of the iceberg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/talking-out-loud-to-fictional-characters-is-just-the-tip-of-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I laughed. It was just like Owen to make excuses for someone else’s shortcomings. Even fictional characters. Owen found my tendency to speak my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-vincent/i-laughed-it-was-just-like-owen-to-make-excuses-for-someone-else-s/) [Rachel Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-vincent/) > [Fictional characters exist in only two places, neither of which is on the printed page. They exist, first, in the mind of the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maren-elwood/fictional-characters-exist-in-only-two-places-neither-of-which-is-on/) [Maren Elwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maren-elwood/) > [If people ever look down upon you for crying for fictional characters, you should give them a gentle, pitying look and feel bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/if-people-ever-look-down-upon-you-for-crying-for-fictional-characters/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The world is full of fictional characters looking for their stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/the-world-is-full-of-fictional-characters-looking-for-their-stories/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [The world is a stage we walk upon. We are all in a way fictional characters who write ourselves with our beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-theroux/the-world-is-a-stage-we-walk-upon-we-are-all-in-a-way-fictional/) [Louis Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-theroux/) > [I am more than happy to invite my five favorite fictional characters. Let's see. First on my list is Sam Gamgee from The Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/i-am-more-than-happy-to-invite-my-five-favorite-fictional-characters-2/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [I'd extend an invitation to Lisbeth Salander. She would definitely shake the party up and get it started. I think she is hands down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/i-d-extend-an-invitation-to-lisbeth-salander-she-would-definitely/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [We referenced fictional characters as if they were people to learn from. As if real-life people were too nebulous, too private and unreal for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/we-referenced-fictional-characters-as-if-they-were-people-to-learn/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [Writers are magpies, and we collect details about people and we use them for fictional characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/writers-are-magpies-and-we-collect-details-about-people-and-we-use/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“I'd said to them that when we read fiction, we pour our own paricular store of emotions - say, the sense of loss we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandler-burr/i-d-said-to-them-that-when-we-read-fiction-we-pour-our-own-paricular/) [Chandler Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandler-burr/) ## More by Isabel Allende > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, and my grandchildren, my mother, my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-am-happier-when-i-love-than-when-i-am-loved-i-adore-my-husband-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Having a point to start is important. You know that when you decide to write something it's like a commitment. It's like falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/having-a-point-to-start-is-important-you-know-that-when-you-decide-to/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Everybody has losses - it's unavoidable in life. Sharing our pain is very healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/everybody-has-losses-it-s-unavoidable-in-life-sharing-our-pain-is/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“The writer and the dreamer have so much in common: They can't control the plot, they are always part of the story or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-writer-and-the-dreamer-have-so-much-in-common-they-can-t-control/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and-produce-the-great-american/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“He had a principle: if you lend money and never see the person again, that's money well spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/he-had-a-principle-if-you-lend-money-and-never-see-the-person-again/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Catholics form a majority in Chile, although there are more and more Evangelicals and Pentacostals who irritate everyone because they have a direct understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/catholics-form-a-majority-in-chile-although-there-are-more-and-more/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“At times I feel as if I had lived all this before and that I have already written these very words, but I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/at-times-i-feel-as-if-i-had-lived-all-this-before-and-that-i-have/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. So she says: 'No, no, no. You have to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-2011-i-announced-that-i-was-going-to-retire-and-my-agent-panicked/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I have lived with passion and in a hurry, trying to accomplish too many things. I never had time to think about my beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-have-lived-with-passion-and-in-a-hurry-trying-to-accomplish-too/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I'm surrounded by the scene of aging. I myself am in my 70s and not getting any younger. Although I'm very healthy, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-surrounded-by-the-scene-of-aging-i-myself-am-in-my-70s-and-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I try to write the kind of books I like to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-books-i-like-to-read/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Intimacy needs time to mature—a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It’s a slow-growing plant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/intimacy-needs-time-to-mature-a-shared-history-tears-shed-obstacles/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [ The idea of the book \["The Japanese Lover"\] came in a conversation that I had with a friend walking in the streets of New… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-idea-of-the-book-the-japanese-lover-came-in-a-conversation-that-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) [Explore all 552 Isabel Allende quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [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/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Humanity has this need to hear stories because they connect us with other people, they teach us about our own feelings. 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