---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Pushing the boundaries of polite society…"
description: "\"Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just fall under the purview of crime fiction authors.\" — Karin Slaughter"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/karin-slaughter-1463_authors_pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society_1650766.png"
---

#  Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just…

![“Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just fall under the purview of crime fiction authors.” quote by Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/karin-slaughter-1463_authors_pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society_1650766.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/karin-slaughter-1463_authors_pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society_1650766.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/karin-slaughter-1463_authors_pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society_1650766.png)

> “Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just fall under the purview of crime fiction authors.”

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

## About This Quote

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

Crime fiction writers often explore societal limits, challenging norms beyond mere entertainment.

**In simple terms:** Stories can push social boundaries.

Key Takeaway

Read beyond genre for deeper insight.

Themes

literature society crime fiction

Mood

thoughtful critical

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- reading clubs
- creative writing
- social activism

Key Concepts

cultural critique ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- What societal norms do you think crime fiction should question?
- How can writers balance entertainment and social commentary?

A Different Perspective

Fiction may oversimplify complex issues.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-fiction/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Polite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polite/) [Pushing boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pushing-boundaries/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/)

## Related quotes

> [“polite society is just a paper thin veil that masks the true animal nature of man”. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dirk-patton/polite-society-is-just-a-paper-thin-veil-that-masks-the-true-animal/)

[Dirk Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dirk-patton/)

> [If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-intend-to-write-as-truthfully-as-you-can-your-days-as-a-member-2/)

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

> [In polite society, we call our obsessions hobbies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-polite-society-we-call-our-obsessions-hobbies/)

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

> [I'm an underdog person, so I align myself with those who seem to be not considered valuable in polite society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hagedorn/i-m-an-underdog-person-so-i-align-myself-with-those-who-seem-to-be/)

[Jessica Hagedorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hagedorn/)

> [If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway... You must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-you-intend-to-write-as-truthfully-as-you-can-your-days-as-a-member/)

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

> [I do believe that an armed society is a polite society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-popper/i-do-believe-that-an-armed-society-is-a-polite-society/)

[John Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-popper/)

> [We're so concerned about being polite in society, and rightfully so, that it carries over onto a football team. But on a good football…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-frost/we-re-so-concerned-about-being-polite-in-society-and-rightfully-so/)

[Scott Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-frost/)

> [“The function of the university is not simply to teach breadwinning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to be a centre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-function-of-the-university-is-not-simply-to-teach-breadwinning-or/)

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

> [There are things that are not spoken about in polite society. Very quickly in most conversations you'll reach a moment where someone goes, 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/there-are-things-that-are-not-spoken-about-in-polite-society-very/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [I think crime fiction is a great way to talk about social issues, whether 'To Kill A Mockingbird' or 'The Lovely Bones;' violence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-think-crime-fiction-is-a-great-way-to-talk-about-social-issues/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [Crafting a piece of gripping, narrative true crime that engages the world is not that different from crafting a piece of crime fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/crafting-a-piece-of-gripping-narrative-true-crime-that-engages-the/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [I'm sold as a literary writer in Holland; I'm sold as crime fiction in England. I think of it as just literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-m-sold-as-a-literary-writer-in-holland-i-m-sold-as-crime-fiction-in/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [I grew up reading crime fiction and, especially in the '80s, women were just there to be saved or screwed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-grew-up-reading-crime-fiction-and-especially-in-the-80s-women-were/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [“Gundar's smile broadened at the memory of that evening as he recalled how his rough-and-tumble sailors had stayed on their best manners, humbly asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/gundar-s-smile-broadened-at-the-memory-of-that-evening-as-he-recalled/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [“Gurov, discovers that the most important features of life that you want to talk about cannot be spoken of in polite society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/gurov-discovers-that-the-most-important-features-of-life-that-you/)

[Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/)

## More by Karin Slaughter

> [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [I've always been drawn to dark stories. I enjoy reading Flannery O'Connor, Patricia Highsmith, and Margaret Mitchell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-dark-stories-i-enjoy-reading-flannery-o/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [I love puns. I've been known to turn the car around just to take advantage of a good pun situation. It really is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-love-puns-i-ve-been-known-to-turn-the-car-around-just-to-take/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [Usually, when inspiration strikes late, the light of day reveals that I haven't gotten an idea for a book so much as a psychiatric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/usually-when-inspiration-strikes-late-the-light-of-day-reveals-that-i/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [“To all the librarians in the world on behalf of all the kids y’all helped grow up to be writers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/to-all-the-librarians-in-the-world-on-behalf-of-all-the-kids-y-all/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [“Moon was from somewhere up east, the kind of place where consonants took on a life of their own. In addition to this, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/moon-was-from-somewhere-up-east-the-kind-of-place-where-consonants/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [Feminism has been so co-opted, but the fact is, feminism benefits men as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/feminism-has-been-so-co-opted-but-the-fact-is-feminism-benefits-men/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [Librarians have always stood up for writers and readers in every kind of community across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/librarians-have-always-stood-up-for-writers-and-readers-in-every-kind/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [“I’ve got to figure out before I die whether I want to be happy or I want to be right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-ve-got-to-figure-out-before-i-die-whether-i-want-to-be-happy-or-i/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [Prior to the Civil War, most libraries were either privately owned or housed in universities or churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/prior-to-the-civil-war-most-libraries-were-either-privately-owned-or/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [In the South, we drink the Bible with our mother's milk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/in-the-south-we-drink-the-bible-with-our-mother-s-milk/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [Denise Mina is probably one of the most gifted writers out there, whether it's mystery or literary or whatever label you want to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/denise-mina-is-probably-one-of-the-most-gifted-writers-out-there/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [If there is still an American dream, reading is one of the bootstraps by which we can all pull ourselves up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/if-there-is-still-an-american-dream-reading-is-one-of-the-bootstraps/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [I love reading almost as much as I love writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-love-reading-almost-as-much-as-i-love-writing/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

> [“a large chifforobe wedged into a small closet that their mother said they’d have to pay Tom Robinson a nickel to bust up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/a-large-chifforobe-wedged-into-a-small-closet-that-their-mother-said/)

[Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

[Explore all 237 Karin Slaughter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/)

## More Authors quotes

> [The talk shows in the States want celebrities, not authors. In France, it is different; writers are called upon to comment on everything. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/the-talk-shows-in-the-states-want-celebrities-not-authors-in-france/)

[Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/)

> [“Today if anything is trying to hold you back, give no attention to it. Get your hopes up, get your faith up, look up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/today-if-anything-is-trying-to-hold-you-back-give-no-attention-to-it/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [“By their very nature, idiots do not have the intellectual capacity to identify genius. All that idiots are mentally equipped to recognize are other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-davis/by-their-very-nature-idiots-do-not-have-the-intellectual-capacity-to/)

[Dermot Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-davis/)

> [“Authors go on writing books, and so we go on reading them. It is a sad state of affairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-aston/authors-go-on-writing-books-and-so-we-go-on-reading-them-it-is-a-sad/)

[Elizabeth Aston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-aston/)

> [“Intercourse is one thing, Intimacy is everything. Be encouraged”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-e-wagner/intercourse-is-one-thing-intimacy-is-everything-be-encouraged/)

[Kerry E. Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-e-wagner/)

> [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/)

[Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/)

> [“Do you read them? Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald?" "Only if I have to. I try to avoid old dead white men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/do-you-read-them-faulkner-hemingway-fitzgerald-only-if-i-have-to-i/)

[John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/)

> [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

> [“How long has it been since you and me? Hugs and kisses. Blankets and snuggles. Our sparks smoldering without a fireplace. Losing time is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2019-fidelis-o-mkparu/how-long-has-it-been-since-you-and-me-hugs-and-kisses-blankets-and/)

 2019 Fidelis O Mkparu

> [“Authors: The only people you thank for leaving you emotionally devastated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-the-stacks-bookstore/authors-the-only-people-you-thank-for-leaving-you-emotionally/)

Love The Stacks Bookstore

> [“Authors, reviews are not for you. They are not for you. Authors, reviews are not for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacia-kane/authors-reviews-are-not-for-you-they-are-not-for-you-authors-reviews/)

[Stacia Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacia-kane/)

> [“I like to read as much as I can from every genre. That way, I can express my love for all writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-selinsky/i-like-to-read-as-much-as-i-can-from-every-genre-that-way-i-can/)

[Jen Selinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-selinsky/)

> [“He's a liar for a living, all authors are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/he-s-a-liar-for-a-living-all-authors-are/)

[Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/)

> [“A writer writes regardless... even though... notwithstanding... despite... at any rate... anyhow... nevertheless... in the face of... undeterred by... heedless of... and because. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-writer-writes-regardless-even-though-notwithstanding-despite-at-any/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [“Crazy people love their Kindles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dermot-davis/crazy-people-love-their-kindles/)

[Dermot Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dermot-davis/)

[Browse all 529 Authors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just fall under the purview of crime fiction authors.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Karin Slaughter"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society-does-not-just-fall-under-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Authors"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society-does-not-just-fall-under-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/karin-slaughter-1463_authors_pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society_1650766.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/karin-slaughter-1463_authors_pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society_1650766.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/karin-slaughter-1463_authors_pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society_1650766.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Pushing the boundaries of polite society does not just fall under the purview of crime fiction authors.” — Karin Slaughter",
                "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": "Karin Slaughter",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Pushing the boundaries of polite society...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society-does-not-just-fall-under-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/pushing-the-boundaries-of-polite-society-does-not-just-fall-under-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
