---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The inner spaces that a good story lets…"
description: "\"The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of religion.\" — John Updike"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/john-updike-396_apartment_the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets_2524421.png"
---

#  The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the…

![“The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of religion.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/john-updike-396_apartment_the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets_2524421.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/john-updike-396_apartment_the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets_2524421.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/john-updike-396_apartment_the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets_2524421.png)

> “The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of religion.”

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Good narratives open doors to familiar spiritual realms, connecting readers to deeper religious feelings.

**In simple terms:** Stories reveal spiritual depth.

Key Takeaway

Seek meaning in literature.

Themes

faith storytelling spirituality

Mood

thoughtful introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- reading clubs
- creative writing
- education
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

literary analysis religious symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you notice spiritual themes in everyday stories?
- How does this shape your worldview?

A Different Perspective

Not all readers perceive religious subtext.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Apartment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apartment/) [Apartments Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apartments-religion-1283644/) [Good story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-story/) [Inner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner/) [Inner Spaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-spaces-1283645/) [Old Apartments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-apartments-1283646/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Spaces Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spaces-good-1283647/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/)

## Related quotes

> [Guys are like parking spaces, the good ones are usually taken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/guys-are-like-parking-spaces-the-good-ones-are-usually-taken/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“You say you know these streets pretty well? The city knows you better than any living person because it has seen you when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/you-say-you-know-these-streets-pretty-well-the-city-knows-you-better/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [(I want to) make good stories that have a redemptive message and allow people to dig into their own lives and personal struggles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-waters/i-want-to-make-good-stories-that-have-a-redemptive-message-and-allow/)

[Drew Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-waters/)

> [Not that I've always loved the movie when they finally come out, or if they ever come out-because many of them don't come out-but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sayles/not-that-i-ve-always-loved-the-movie-when-they-finally-come-out-or-if/)

[John Sayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sayles/)

> [ \[All governments\] get into a rut where every potentially good story turns into a bad one. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/all-governments-get-into-a-rut-where-every-potentially-good-story/)

[Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/)

> [“A good story is like a good bowel movement: it's only really satisfying once it's ended, because if you just keep going eventually your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/a-good-story-is-like-a-good-bowel-movement-it-s-only-really/)

[Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/)

> [Most of the stories I have go downhill quickly. In all honesty most of the good stories I have, no one else would think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-era/most-of-the-stories-i-have-go-downhill-quickly-in-all-honesty-most-of/)

[JD Era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-era/)

> [Audiences want great story telling; it's why white people watch my show 'Black in America.' It's why black people watch 'Latina in America.' All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/audiences-want-great-story-telling-it-s-why-white-people-watch-my/)

[Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/)

> [We’re built to deal with death, disease, failure, struggle, heartbreak, problems. It’s what separates us from the animals and why we envy and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/we-re-built-to-deal-with-death-disease-failure-struggle-heartbreak/)

[Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/)

> [ I love the idea of longevity in this career. But \[producing\] is not about, "Let me do this because this might happen 20 years… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/i-love-the-idea-of-longevity-in-this-career-but-producing-is-not/)

[Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/)

> [A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-good-story-cannot-be-devised-it-has-to-be-distilled/)

[Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/)

> [A good story will keep you wondering about what's happening, what's going on, where does this go? Now it's going to go that way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fede-alvarez/a-good-story-will-keep-you-wondering-about-what-s-happening-what-s/)

[Fede Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fede-alvarez/)

> [It's all still about having a good story. You have to have a good story as your anchor, as your main focus. So for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/it-s-all-still-about-having-a-good-story-you-have-to-have-a-good/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [As a rule, I don't worry about genre. I just want to tell a good story, with characters that interest me and my readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-rule-i-don-t-worry-about-genre-i-just-want-to-tell-a-good-story/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

## More by John Updike

> [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

[Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

## More Apartment quotes

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/)

[Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/)

> [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/)

[Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/)

> [As most New Yorkers have done, I have given serious and generous thought to the state of my apartment should I get killed during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/as-most-new-yorkers-have-done-i-have-given-serious-and-generous/)

[Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/)

> [I feel when you walk into somebody's apartment on Fifth Avenue or house in Malibu and you see a Basquiat, a Warhol, a Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pigozzi/i-feel-when-you-walk-into-somebody-s-apartment-on-fifth-avenue-or/)

[Jean Pigozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pigozzi/)

> [Every New Yorker spends a certain amount of nervous energy thinking, "How can I afford to stay here? What do I have to sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-zukin/every-new-yorker-spends-a-certain-amount-of-nervous-energy-thinking/)

[Sharon Zukin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-zukin/)

> [Most of my work is, I get an idea, and, with the help of Wikipedia, I can write. I don't have to leave my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/most-of-my-work-is-i-get-an-idea-and-with-the-help-of-wikipedia-i-can/)

[Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/)

> [Science and art may invent splendid modes of illuminating the apartments of the opulent; but these are all poor and worthless compared with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/science-and-art-may-invent-splendid-modes-of-illuminating-the/)

[William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/)

> [About 25 years ago, I was in an apartment, and next door, they put on the radio, so I struck the wall with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-kinski/about-25-years-ago-i-was-in-an-apartment-and-next-door-they-put-on/)

[Klaus Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-kinski/)

> [I don't think taste is about money. As your career develops, you're able to decide what to spend your money on. I live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-finch/i-don-t-think-taste-is-about-money-as-your-career-develops-you-re/)

[Charles Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-finch/)

> [ My father would never have come to visit, he detested Eva's \[Braun\] choice in a man and the fact \[Adolf\] Hitler had set her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/my-father-would-never-have-come-to-visit-he-detested-eva-s-braun/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

> [He had one uniform practice, and a very bad one it was, during the time of family worship, and just three or four seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hogg/he-had-one-uniform-practice-and-a-very-bad-one-it-was-during-the-time/)

[James Hogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hogg/)

> [No birth certificate is issued when friendship is born. There is nothing tangible. There is just a feeling that your life is different and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-tesich/no-birth-certificate-is-issued-when-friendship-is-born-there-is/)

[Steve Tesich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-tesich/)

> [Music will always be there. I own a piano. I have it in my apartment. I play it every day, and I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lambert/music-will-always-be-there-i-own-a-piano-i-have-it-in-my-apartment-i/)

[David Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lambert/)

> [ For instance, \[Adolf Hitler\] would never have spent the night at the Widenmayerstraße apartment. He visited it before we moved the furniture in, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/for-instance-adolf-hitler-would-never-have-spent-the-night-at-the/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

[Browse all 884 Apartment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apartment/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of religion.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Updike"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets-us-enter-are-the-old/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Apartment"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets-us-enter-are-the-old/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/john-updike-396_apartment_the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets_2524421.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/john-updike-396_apartment_the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets_2524421.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/john-updike-396_apartment_the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets_2524421.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The inner spaces that a good story lets us enter are the old apartments of religion.” — John Updike",
                "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": "John Updike",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The inner spaces that a good...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets-us-enter-are-the-old/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-inner-spaces-that-a-good-story-lets-us-enter-are-the-old/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
