--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You never give such relationships a…" description: "\"“You never give such relationships a thought, To give a thought, to take a thought is a function of dissociation, distance. You can't exercise memory u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/joyce-carol-oats-106223_fiction_you-never-give-such-relationships-a-thou_553670.jpg" --- # You never give such relationships a thought, To give a… ![“You never give such relationships a thought, To give a thought, to take a thought is a function of dissociation, distance. You can't exercise memory until you've removed yourself from memory's source.” quote by Joyce Carol Oats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/joyce-carol-oats-106223_fiction_you-never-give-such-relationships-a-thou_553670.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/joyce-carol-oats-106223_fiction_you-never-give-such-relationships-a-thou_553670.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b2/joyce-carol-oats-106223_fiction_you-never-give-such-relationships-a-thou_553670.jpg) > ““You never give such relationships a thought, To give a thought, to take a thought is a function of dissociation, distance. You can't exercise memory until you've removed yourself from memory's source.”” Joyce Carol Oats ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory requires distance; dissociation helps recall. **In simple terms:** Separate from memory to retrieve thoughts. Key Takeaway Detach to remember. Themes memory dissociation self‑reflection psychology thought Mood introspective analytical Type Fiction:1 Memory:1 Thought:1 Philosophy of Mind:1 Thought Thought:1 Relationships Thought:1 Thought Function:1 Function Dissociation:1 When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - meditation Key Concepts cognitive distance mindfulness neuroscience Questions to Reflect On - How does distance aid memory? - When is closeness necessary for recall? A Different Perspective Detachment may hinder emotional connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [The ill effects of thought come about when we forget that thought is a function of our consciousness... an ability that we as human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carlson/the-ill-effects-of-thought-come-about-when-we-forget-that-thought-is/) [Richard Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carlson/) > [When I was in my 30s, I was at the end of a long-term relationship and going through a very hard time. I'd had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-coyle/when-i-was-in-my-30s-i-was-at-the-end-of-a-long-term-relationship-and/) [Brendan Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-coyle/) > [Like many 20-somethings, I had had a string of boyfriends and yearlong relationships that I thought would lead to marriage but never did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisyn-camerota/like-many-20-somethings-i-had-had-a-string-of-boyfriends-and-yearlong/) [Alisyn Camerota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisyn-camerota/) > [“We do not (on Holmes’s reasoning) permit the free expression of ideas because some individual may have the right one. No individual alone can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/we-do-not-on-holmes-s-reasoning-permit-the-free-expression-of-ideas/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [“Is it true?        2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true?        3. 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It has to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-bleckner/if-you-follow-the-process-of-a-thought-any-thought-not-just-about-art/) [Ross Bleckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-bleckner/) > [You know, ever since I first met him, I always thought, man, I hope I dont mess this up. Because thats what I do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerhia/you-know-ever-since-i-first-met-him-i-always-thought-man-i-hope-i/) [Jerhia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerhia/) > [Nothing remains beautiful and interesting except thought, because the thought is the life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/nothing-remains-beautiful-and-interesting-except-thought-because-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Freedom is not an idea; a philosophy written about freedom is not freedom. Either one is free or one is not. One is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/freedom-is-not-an-idea-a-philosophy-written-about-freedom-is-not/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Once you've done that, push the thought of no thought away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/once-you-ve-done-that-push-the-thought-of-no-thought-away/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“She thought no one could see her. I thought she was beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/she-thought-no-one-could-see-her-i-thought-she-was-beautiful/) [Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/) > [Is action merely the incidental product of thought, or is thought the consequential product of action?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/is-action-merely-the-incidental-product-of-thought-or-is-thought-the/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [It's only a thought and a thought can be changed. Choose good ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/it-s-only-a-thought-and-a-thought-can-be-changed-choose-good-ones/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oats > [“Oh, we women know things you don't know, you teachers, you readers and writers of books, we are the ones who wait around libraries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oats/oh-we-women-know-things-you-don-t-know-you-teachers-you-readers-and/) Joyce Carol Oats Explore all 2 Joyce Carol Oats quotes ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. 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It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You never give such relationships a thought, To give a thought, to take a thought is a function of dissociation, distance. 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