--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is it not possible that the rage for…" description: "\"“Is it not possible that the rage for confession, autobiography, especially for memories of earliest childhood, is explained by our persistent yet myst..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/katherine-mansfield-1781_autobiography_is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-con_1127513.jpg" --- # Is it not possible that the rage for confession… ![“Is it not possible that the rage for confession, autobiography, especially for memories of earliest childhood, is explained by our persistent yet mysterious belief in a self which is continuous and permanent; which, untouched by all we acquire and all we shed, pushes a green spear through the dead…” quote by Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/katherine-mansfield-1781_autobiography_is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-con_1127513.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/katherine-mansfield-1781_autobiography_is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-con_1127513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/katherine-mansfield-1781_autobiography_is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-con_1127513.jpg) > ““Is it not possible that the rage for confession, autobiography, especially for memories of earliest childhood, is explained by our persistent yet mysterious belief in a self which is continuous and permanent; which, untouched by all we acquire and all we shed, pushes a green spear through the dead leaves and through the mould, thrusts a scaled bud through the year of darkness until, one day, the light discovers it and shakes the flower free and - we are alive - we are flowering for our moment upon the earth?”” [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans seek confession and childhood memories because we believe in a continuous self that persists beyond change, yearning for growth and revelation. **In simple terms:** We crave stories of our past to feel a lasting identity. Key Takeaway Acknowledge the desire for continuity while embracing change. Themes identity memory growth Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - writing - family histories - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology philosophy nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - How does your sense of self evolve? - What role does storytelling play in your identity? A Different Perspective Memory may be selective, not fully continuous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) ## Related quotes > [“Self is. Self is body and bodily perception. Self is thought, memory, belief. Self creates. Self destroys. Self learns, discovers, becomes. Self shapes. Self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/self-is-self-is-body-and-bodily-perception-self-is-thought-memory/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [“What does relative religion say? Within the relative (dependent), look for that which is free from dependency. If nature’s grace befalls upon you, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/what-does-relative-religion-say-within-the-relative-dependent-look/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Never give up. Believe in yourself. Your belief in self will make you aware of your strength, power, & determination to thrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/never-give-up-believe-in-yourself-your-belief-in-self-will-make-you/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [“The one with the Right belief of Pure Soul (samkiti) is beneficial to himself & others. The one with the Wrong belief of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-one-with-the-right-belief-of-pure-soul-samkiti-is-beneficial-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Arming yourself with firm belief in self will acquaint with more opportunities to take advantage of the given situation. With belief that positive things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/arming-yourself-with-firm-belief-in-self-will-acquaint-with-more/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [When you begin to lose faith in what you can do, then you are in a way of self destruction.Never loose faith.Belief in self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/when-you-begin-to-lose-faith-in-what-you-can-do-then-you-are-in-a-way/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“Belief In Self If you quit while pursuing your dreams, you will never know how close you've come to success. It might have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/belief-in-self-if-you-quit-while-pursuing-your-dreams-you-will-never/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“They say a witch-doctor can't heal himself but I beg to differ. I have been in deep end but somehow Managed to keep my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwanele-booi/they-say-a-witch-doctor-can-t-heal-himself-but-i-beg-to-differ-i-have/) Kwanele Booi > [Envy is like flame which scorches the wisdom of inner self. Envy reflects lack of belief in self. It will eat away your very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anil-sinha/envy-is-like-flame-which-scorches-the-wisdom-of-inner-self-envy/) [Anil Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anil-sinha/) > [“Ladies, if your self-belief, self-worth, and self-confidence are so easily shaken up by what others have to say about you, then I hate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-parker-rn-fmchc/ladies-if-your-self-belief-self-worth-and-self-confidence-are-so/) Jasmine Parker RN FMCHC > [It is about that self-belief, that self-drive, that has got me to where I am now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-kane/it-is-about-that-self-belief-that-self-drive-that-has-got-me-to-where/) [Harry Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-kane/) > [The confidence you need is belief in your potential. If you see world-class potential in yourself, you'll put in the effort. If you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/the-confidence-you-need-is-belief-in-your-potential-if-you-see-world/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Have belief in self,half of the work is done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/have-belief-in-self-half-of-the-work-is-done/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [Belief in self paves the way for success & great achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/belief-in-self-paves-the-way-for-success-great-achievement/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [Belief in self gives necessary impetus to confidence. It catalyzes inherent capacity to maximum and gives wings of passion to make successful outcome of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/belief-in-self-gives-necessary-impetus-to-confidence-it-catalyzes/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) ## More by Katherine Mansfield > [“Shadow children, thin and small, Now the day is left behind, You are dancing on the wall, On the curtains, on the blind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/shadow-children-thin-and-small-now-the-day-is-left-behind-you-are/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“Oh, with you, I could conquer the world - oh, with you I could catch hold of the moon like a little silver sixpence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/oh-with-you-i-could-conquer-the-world-oh-with-you-i-could-catch-hold/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“I have made it a rule of my life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-have-made-it-a-rule-of-my-life-never-to-regret-and-never-to-look/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Life never becomes a habit to me. It's always a marvel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/life-never-becomes-a-habit-to-me-it-s-always-a-marvel/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Children are unaccountable little creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/children-are-unaccountable-little-creatures/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“Leila was sure ifhe partner didn't come and she had to listen to that marvellous music and to watch the others sliding, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/leila-was-sure-ifhe-partner-didn-t-come-and-she-had-to-listen-to-that/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Regret is an appalling waste of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/regret-is-an-appalling-waste-of-time/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-love-the-rain-i-want-the-feeling-of-it-on-my-face/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [England is merely an island of beef swimming in a warm gulf stream of gravy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/england-is-merely-an-island-of-beef-swimming-in-a-warm-gulf-stream-of/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Perhaps it does not matter so very much what it is one loves in this world. But love something one must.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/perhaps-it-does-not-matter-so-very-much-what-it-is-one-loves-in-this/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [Ah, what happiness it is to be with people who are all happy, to press hands, press cheeks, smile into eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/ah-what-happiness-it-is-to-be-with-people-who-are-all-happy-to-press/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [To acknowledge the presence of fear is to give birth to failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/to-acknowledge-the-presence-of-fear-is-to-give-birth-to-failure/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [I am poor - obscure - just eighteen years of age - with a rapacious appetite for everything and principles as light as my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-am-poor-obscure-just-eighteen-years-of-age-with-a-rapacious/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [“I used to believe I was merely words and I do not know whether I shall start hoping for something more. You planted that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/i-used-to-believe-i-was-merely-words-and-i-do-not-know-whether-i/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) > [To be alive and to be a ‘writer’ is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/to-be-alive-and-to-be-a-writer-is-enough/) [Katherine Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) [Explore all 199 Katherine Mansfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/) ## More Autobiography quotes > [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/) [Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/) > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/) [David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/) > [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/) Craig Briggs > [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/) [Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/) > [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/) Linda Simon > [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/) [Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/) > [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Is it not possible that the rage for confession, autobiography, especially for memories of earliest childhood, is explained by our persistent yet mysterious belief in a self which is continuous and permanent; which, untouched by all we acquire and all we shed, pushes a green spear through the dead leaves and through the mould, thrusts a scaled bud through the year of darkness until, one day, the light discovers it and shakes the flower free and - we are alive - we are flowering for our moment upon the earth?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katherine Mansfield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-confession-autobiography/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autobiography" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-confession-autobiography/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/katherine-mansfield-1781_autobiography_is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-con_1127513.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/katherine-mansfield-1781_autobiography_is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-con_1127513.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/katherine-mansfield-1781_autobiography_is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-con_1127513.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Is it not possible that the rage for confession, autobiography, especially for memories of earliest…” — Katherine Mansfield", "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": "Katherine Mansfield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mansfield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Is it not possible that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-confession-autobiography/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mansfield/is-it-not-possible-that-the-rage-for-confession-autobiography/#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 } } ] } ```