--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always had a compassion for…" description: "\"I've always had a compassion for characters in novels - the sense that they are, whatever they might think, living in a world that has a shape they don..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/john-crowley-7544_alter_i-ve-always-had-a-compassion-for-charact_834638.jpg" --- # I've always had a compassion for characters in novels… ![“I've always had a compassion for characters in novels - the sense that they are, whatever they might think, living in a world that has a shape they don't know and can't finally alter.” quote by John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/john-crowley-7544_alter_i-ve-always-had-a-compassion-for-charact_834638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/john-crowley-7544_alter_i-ve-always-had-a-compassion-for-charact_834638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/john-crowley-7544_alter_i-ve-always-had-a-compassion-for-charact_834638.jpg) > “I've always had a compassion for characters in novels - the sense that they are, whatever they might think, living in a world that has a shape they don't know and can't finally alter.” [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We empathize with fictional characters because we recognize their unknown worlds and limited agency, reflecting our own uncertainties. **In simple terms:** We feel for fictional people because their worlds are unknown and unchangeable. Key Takeaway Acknowledge uncertainty and compassion for others. Themes empathy fiction uncertainty agency Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading novels - writing fiction - therapy - education Key Concepts literary analysis human condition Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing a character's limited control affect your view of real people? - What does compassion for fictional worlds teach about empathy? A Different Perspective Fiction may oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [if an author would have us feel a strong degree of compassion, his characters must not be too perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-letitia-barbauld/if-an-author-would-have-us-feel-a-strong-degree-of-compassion-his/) [Anna Letitia Barbauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-letitia-barbauld/) > [“It would have been impossible for me to have told anyone what I derived from these novels, for it was nothing less than than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-would-have-been-impossible-for-me-to-have-told-anyone-what-i-3/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [You have to have empathy, knowledge and compassion for your characters if you're a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-haggis/you-have-to-have-empathy-knowledge-and-compassion-for-your-characters/) [Paul Haggis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-haggis/) > [My impulse is to create an aesthetic that's about a humanistic approach to a world and trying to create compassion for all the characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-white/my-impulse-is-to-create-an-aesthetic-that-s-about-a-humanistic/) [Mike White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-white/) > [It would have been impossible for me to have told anyone what I derived from these novels, for it was nothing less than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-would-have-been-impossible-for-me-to-have-told-anyone-what-i-2/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [I want to have compassion for my characters - I feel like I am the characters when I'm writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-white/i-want-to-have-compassion-for-my-characters-i-feel-like-i-am-the/) [Mike White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-white/) > [In all my novels, a sense of place - not just geographic but social - is a critical element. I have always been drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/in-all-my-novels-a-sense-of-place-not-just-geographic-but-social-is-a/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [It would have been impossible for me to have told anyone what I derived from these novels, for it was nothing less than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-would-have-been-impossible-for-me-to-have-told-anyone-what-i/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. that is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [There are twenty-four characters in this book named Max. 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It is one of the techniques a novelist acquires instinctively—don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/characters-in-novels-sometimes-radiate-more-energy-therefore-when-we/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More by John Crowley > [“The Crows of the region could have told them that there are almost always more Crows around them than they can see; but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-crows-of-the-region-could-have-told-them-that-there-are-almost/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-added-to-the-pleasures-of-holding/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [It occurred to him that seeing a woman's child is like seeing a woman naked, in the way it changes how her face looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/it-occurred-to-him-that-seeing-a-woman-s-child-is-like-seeing-a-woman/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“He learned, though slowly, what all great harrowed lovers learn: that love is what most surely compels love -- is perhaps, except for brute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/he-learned-though-slowly-what-all-great-harrowed-lovers-learn-that/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“...only think a moment that we are here now, and that that was then, and it has come to this, and how odd, odd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/only-think-a-moment-that-we-are-here-now-and-that-that-was-then-and/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [Love is a myth.' 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Like most New York bartenders, he was really an actor, or was it the reverse? ("Novelty")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/handsome-guy-victor-in-a-brutal-black-irish-way-like-most-new-york/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [The things that make us happy make us wise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-things-that-make-us-happy-make-us-wise/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“There was a game she had played with Sophie in the long hallways of Edgewood, where she and Sophie would stand as far apart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/there-was-a-game-she-had-played-with-sophie-in-the-long-hallways-of/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“... their lives were full of quiet drama, full of vague yet thrilling signs that life was not as the common run supposed it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/their-lives-were-full-of-quiet-drama-full-of-vague-yet-thrilling/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [It was anyway all a long time ago; the world, we know now, is as it is and not different; if there was ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/it-was-anyway-all-a-long-time-ago-the-world-we-know-now-is-as-it-is/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“I could be listening to Painted Red weave the stories of the saints in her rich roomy voice, and beginning to see how all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/i-could-be-listening-to-painted-red-weave-the-stories-of-the-saints/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“What you learn as you get older is that the world is old, and has been old for a long time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/what-you-learn-as-you-get-older-is-that-the-world-is-old-and-has-been/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) [Explore all 88 John Crowley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## More Alter quotes > [“It’s hard to feel supported when you can’t tell people everything. 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I have a horror of rewriting or deleting; the parts of my composition are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruggero-leoncavallo/when-i-need-the-idea-i-can-find-it-immediately-i-have-a-horror-of/) Ruggero Leoncavallo > [A number of well-understood mechanisms, including single gene mutations, produce changes that qualify as macroevolution. These include heterochronic mutations that alter structures by changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/a-number-of-well-understood-mechanisms-including-single-gene/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [Public officials insult our intelligence and our goodwill when they paint rosy pictures about budgets, jobs, bipartisanship, and transparency, and alter their positions on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/public-officials-insult-our-intelligence-and-our-goodwill-when-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you aren't destroying your enemies, it's because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-aren-t-destroying-your-enemies-it-s-because-you-have-been/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [As technology and science advances, I think the ability to alter yourself should be embraced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-jane-grace/as-technology-and-science-advances-i-think-the-ability-to-alter/) [Laura Jane Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-jane-grace/) > [There came a point in time when Michael was under a great deal of pressure to alter the film in a way that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-stowe/there-came-a-point-in-time-when-michael-was-under-a-great-deal-of/) [Madeleine Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-stowe/) > [Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. 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