--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I need is perspective. The illusion…" description: "\"What I need is perspective. The illusion of depth, created by a frame, the arrangement of shapes on a flat surface. Perspective is necessary. Otherwise..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/margaret-atwood-40_depth_what-i-need-is-perspective-the-illusion_1446636.jpg" --- # What I need is perspective. The illusion of depth, created… ![“What I need is perspective. The illusion of depth, created by a frame, the arrangement of shapes on a flat surface. Perspective is necessary. Otherwise there are only two dimensions. Otherwise you live with your face squashed up against a wall, everything a huge foreground, of details, close-ups…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/margaret-atwood-40_depth_what-i-need-is-perspective-the-illusion_1446636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/margaret-atwood-40_depth_what-i-need-is-perspective-the-illusion_1446636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/margaret-atwood-40_depth_what-i-need-is-perspective-the-illusion_1446636.jpg) > “What I need is perspective. The illusion of depth, created by a frame, the arrangement of shapes on a flat surface. Perspective is necessary. Otherwise there are only two dimensions. Otherwise you live with your face squashed up against a wall, everything a huge foreground, of details, close-ups, hairs, the weave of the bedsheet, the molecules of the face. Your own skin like a map, a diagram of futility, criscrossed with tiny roads that lead nowhere. Otherwise you live in the moment. Which is not where I want to be.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perspective structures depth, allowing us to see beyond immediate details and avoid a flat, overwhelming view of reality. **In simple terms:** Seeing beyond the surface gives meaning. Key Takeaway Cultivate broader viewpoints. Themes perception depth clarity mindfulness Mood contemplative inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - art criticism - design thinking - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts visual hierarchy cognitive framing dimensionality Questions to Reflect On - How does your current frame shape your reality? - What steps can you take to broaden your perspective? A Different Perspective Perspective can be limited by personal bias or cultural constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Diagrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diagrams/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Flats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flats/) [Futility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futility/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Illusion Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion-depth-260107/) [Live in the moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-in-the-moment/) [Maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maps/) [Molecules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/molecules/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Need Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-perspective-646713/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Perspective Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective-illusion-3205013/) [Perspective Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective-necessary-2143797/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Skins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skins/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Tiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tiny/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Your face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-face/) ## Related quotes > [“What I need is perspective. The illusion of depth, created by a frame, the arrangement of shapes on a flat surface. Perspective is necessary.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/what-i-need-is-perspective-the-illusion-of-depth-created-by-a-frame/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I am against limitations like perspective. Perspective is illusion, it's the opposite of presence, and art is presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-soulages/i-am-against-limitations-like-perspective-perspective-is-illusion-it/) [Pierre Soulages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-soulages/) > [I think perspective is a necessary, amazing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/i-think-perspective-is-a-necessary-amazing-thing/) [Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/) > [It's uncomfortable to set aside everything I know about America and listen to someone else's perspective. However, it's necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-lawrence/it-s-uncomfortable-to-set-aside-everything-i-know-about-america-and/) [Trevor Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-lawrence/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [The sky is like a monochromatic contemporay painting, drawing me in its illusion of depth, pulling me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-sky-is-like-a-monochromatic-contemporay-painting-drawing-me-in/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [To me, the art of movies is to take a two-dimensional image and give the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-friedkin/to-me-the-art-of-movies-is-to-take-a-two-dimensional-image-and-give/) [William Friedkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-friedkin/) > [ Even dramatically how you position some person, the depth, the existence \[in 3D\] is different than a flat image even though by itself it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ang-lee/even-dramatically-how-you-position-some-person-the-depth-the/) [Ang Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ang-lee/) > [An illusion of depth often occurs if a blockhead is a muddlehead at the same time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/an-illusion-of-depth-often-occurs-if-a-blockhead-is-a-muddlehead-at/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [“The illusion of depth in a character is created simply by withholding information from an audience. A character will seem complex and intriguing only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/the-illusion-of-depth-in-a-character-is-created-simply-by-withholding/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [What fabrications they are, mothers. Scarecrows, wax dolls for us to stick pins into, crude diagrams. We deny them an existence of their own,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/what-fabrications-they-are-mothers-scarecrows-wax-dolls-for-us-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [In desperate times, much more than anything else, folks need perspective. For perspective brings calm. Calm leads to clear thinking. Clear thinking yields new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-andrews/in-desperate-times-much-more-than-anything-else-folks-need/) [Andy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-andrews/) > [“To get some distance from this, you first need to get some perspective. Walk outside on a clear night and just look up into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-a-singer/to-get-some-distance-from-this-you-first-need-to-get-some-perspective/) [Michael A. Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-a-singer/) > [If you are going to believe in the fairy tale of 'Mr. Right,' then you need to keep everything in perspective. Know the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheem-devaughn/if-you-are-going-to-believe-in-the-fairy-tale-of-mr-right-then-you/) [Raheem DeVaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheem-devaughn/) > [I need to have perspective. That's one of the big things former players told me, to not try to live up to anything, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-zito/i-need-to-have-perspective-that-s-one-of-the-big-things-former/) [Barry Zito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-zito/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. 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She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Depth quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. 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It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“depth of the riches both”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/depth-of-the-riches-both/) [A.W. 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