--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think you can have an imagination…" description: "\"I don't think you can have an imagination without having fantasy, and you can't have that rich a life without an imagination.\" — Jane Alison" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/jane-alison-19956_fantasy_i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imaginatio_2685335.jpg" --- # I don't think you can have an imagination without having… ![“I don't think you can have an imagination without having fantasy, and you can't have that rich a life without an imagination.” quote by Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/jane-alison-19956_fantasy_i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imaginatio_2685335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/jane-alison-19956_fantasy_i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imaginatio_2685335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/jane-alison-19956_fantasy_i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imaginatio_2685335.jpg) > “I don't think you can have an imagination without having fantasy, and you can't have that rich a life without an imagination.” [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination depends on fantasy, and a rich life needs both. **In simple terms:** Imagination needs fantasy; fantasy enriches life. Key Takeaway Cultivate fantasy to boost imagination and life richness. Themes creativity fantasy life enrichment Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - writing - art - problem solving Key Concepts imaginative thinking personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What fantasy fuels your imagination? - Can imagination exist without fantasy? A Different Perspective Fantasy alone may not translate to practical outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Having Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-fantasy-736292/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-having-241716/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-imagination-300494/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Think Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-imagination-713383/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Having a fantasy come true doesn't always mean it will be permanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/having-a-fantasy-come-true-doesn-t-always-mean-it-will-be-permanent/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Fashion is not about buying a second skin. Fashion is about having a fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alber-elbaz/fashion-is-not-about-buying-a-second-skin-fashion-is-about-having-a/) [Alber Elbaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alber-elbaz/) > [“To keep. I wouldn't wear it.' said Laurent, 'though I don't believe your imagination is having any difficulty with the idea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/to-keep-i-wouldn-t-wear-it-said-laurent-though-i-don-t-believe-your/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [“The child must have a valuable thing which Is called imagination. The child must have a secret world in which live things that never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-child-must-have-a-valuable-thing-which-is-called-imagination-the/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“It's life's failure and its deficiencies that make someone a daydreamer. I don't understand why prophets and philosophers didn't see the significance in that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shokoofeh-azar/it-s-life-s-failure-and-its-deficiencies-that-make-someone-a/) [Shokoofeh Azar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shokoofeh-azar/) > [I think it was really important for me before I 'debuted myself' in front of the world to have a private life with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-zhang/i-think-it-was-really-important-for-me-before-i-debuted-myself-in/) [Jenny Zhang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-zhang/) > [“All of that is happening right now. The fantasy about work and tomorrow and going somewhere else and all the rest of it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joey-lott/all-of-that-is-happening-right-now-the-fantasy-about-work-and/) [Joey Lott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joey-lott/) > [A mother should have some fantasy about her child's future. It will increase her interest in the child, for one thing. To turn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/a-mother-should-have-some-fantasy-about-her-child-s-future-it-will/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [“I keep having this fantasy about some wide river or channel I'm on the bank of. I can look up, and on the far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/i-keep-having-this-fantasy-about-some-wide-river-or-channel-i-m-on/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [Fashion is about having a fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alber-elbaz/fashion-is-about-having-a-fantasy/) [Alber Elbaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alber-elbaz/) > [I began wanting to create a detective who really turned the tables on that image of women, to know that you could have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-paretsky/i-began-wanting-to-create-a-detective-who-really-turned-the-tables-on/) [Sara Paretsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-paretsky/) > [It is not that the child lives in a world of imagination, as we wrongly think, but that the imagination lives in the child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/it-is-not-that-the-child-lives-in-a-world-of-imagination-as-we/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [I do think that the imagination you create yourself when you're reading, to create the tone and the accent of the world, is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-larroquette/i-do-think-that-the-imagination-you-create-yourself-when-you-re/) [John Larroquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-larroquette/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I think imagination is a crazy thing, and that's what makes the world go around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-khan/i-think-imagination-is-a-crazy-thing-and-that-s-what-makes-the-world/) [Shahid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-khan/) ## More by Jane Alison > [I know that I was able to find my way out of most of my feelings by writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-know-that-i-was-able-to-find-my-way-out-of-most-of-my-feelings-by/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [When you get immersed in whatever you're writing, the world does suddenly get so filtered through what you're writing. And then of course what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/when-you-get-immersed-in-whatever-you-re-writing-the-world-does/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [In order to have a real life of any romance, there has to be a level of fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/in-order-to-have-a-real-life-of-any-romance-there-has-to-be-a-level/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [The state of love is this constant flux back and forth between who's saving and who's rescuing, who's wanting and not wanting, who's needing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/the-state-of-love-is-this-constant-flux-back-and-forth-between-who-s/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [“Making a self can be like writing, and now I think writing can be like home: a space you make that you dwell in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/making-a-self-can-be-like-writing-and-now-i-think-writing-can-be-like/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [“Just as there can be a hole in these narratives, a memoir can be as much about what's forgotten as what's remembered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/just-as-there-can-be-a-hole-in-these-narratives-a-memoir-can-be-as/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [I was born in Australia and grew up in the foreign services. I had this kind of trans-Pacific life. I think I was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-was-born-in-australia-and-grew-up-in-the-foreign-services-i-had/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [When you're waiting for a bus, the thing to do is smoke a cigarette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/when-you-re-waiting-for-a-bus-the-thing-to-do-is-smoke-a-cigarette/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [I think sometimes to still be angry is appropriate, but you want to be able to live with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-think-sometimes-to-still-be-angry-is-appropriate-but-you-want-to-be/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [“This stream of watching made what was watched wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/this-stream-of-watching-made-what-was-watched-wanted/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [I can't say that fantasy instead of the 3D world is fine or good, but I know in my own life I have certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-can-t-say-that-fantasy-instead-of-the-3d-world-is-fine-or-good-but/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [I've always wanted to figure out how to do a walking story. I'd never figured out how to do one and have it work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-ve-always-wanted-to-figure-out-how-to-do-a-walking-story-i-d-never/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [You have to want something or you're finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/you-have-to-want-something-or-you-re-finished/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [I suppose you retire from trying. If you retire from trying, you think, "Maybe love will just come my way if I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-suppose-you-retire-from-trying-if-you-retire-from-trying-you-think/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) > [“When you're sixteen or seventeen meaning can be anywhere. A drop of rain running down the window is a symbol, a song comes on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/when-you-re-sixteen-or-seventeen-meaning-can-be-anywhere-a-drop-of/) [Jane Alison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) [Explore all 31 Jane Alison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/) ## More Fantasy quotes > [“I am awake. I know what you took. I am coming for you. Vengeance is mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-burks/i-am-awake-i-know-what-you-took-i-am-coming-for-you-vengeance-is-mine/) [Robin Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-burks/) > [I avoided nudity unless a film couldn't be told without those scenes. If you look at my films, few of them have that element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-scacchi/i-avoided-nudity-unless-a-film-couldn-t-be-told-without-those-scenes/) [Greta Scacchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-scacchi/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [“(Evil people) do not believe in forgiveness. Their transgressions are either punished or not punished. That is the only result that matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mchugh/evil-people-do-not-believe-in-forgiveness-their-transgressions-are/) [Daniel McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mchugh/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [I'm a geek - I read fantasy novels, I play 'World of Warcraft,' I'm a massive gamer, I have 'Star Trek' outfits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kazinsky/i-m-a-geek-i-read-fantasy-novels-i-play-world-of-warcraft-i-m-a/) [Robert Kazinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kazinsky/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [“Perhaps Nesta will take up the blood-drinking habit, too. I certainly believe her threat to rip out my throat. Maybe she'll enjoy the taste.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/perhaps-nesta-will-take-up-the-blood-drinking-habit-too-i-certainly/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [I like to play people that are real, a real person, and then something that's interesting with that person. I think it's a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-bostick/i-like-to-play-people-that-are-real-a-real-person-and-then-something/) [Devon Bostick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-bostick/) > [It's a hindrance in trying to get a serious acting role. The minute a producer has a script and my name comes up, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbi-benton/it-s-a-hindrance-in-trying-to-get-a-serious-acting-role-the-minute-a/) [Barbi Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbi-benton/) > [No one will ever write a fantasy novel better than The Hobbit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-will-ever-write-a-fantasy-novel-better-than-the-hobbit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always loved sci-fi and fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/i-ve-always-loved-sci-fi-and-fantasy/) [Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/) > [“I will always be within reach if you need me, little one...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-von/i-will-always-be-within-reach-if-you-need-me-little-one/) [A.R. Von](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-von/) [Browse all 5,469 Fantasy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think you can have an imagination without having fantasy, and you can't have that rich a life without an imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Alison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imagination-without-having-fantasy-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fantasy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imagination-without-having-fantasy-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/jane-alison-19956_fantasy_i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imaginatio_2685335.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/jane-alison-19956_fantasy_i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imaginatio_2685335.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24a/jane-alison-19956_fantasy_i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imaginatio_2685335.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think you can have an imagination without having fantasy, and you can't have that rich a life…” — Jane Alison", "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": "Jane Alison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-alison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't think you can have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imagination-without-having-fantasy-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-alison/i-don-t-think-you-can-have-an-imagination-without-having-fantasy-and/#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 } } ] } ```