--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While he writes, I feel as if he is…" description: "\"While he writes, I feel as if he is drawing me; or not drawing me, drawing on me - drawing on my skin - not with the pencil he is using, but with an ol..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92c/margaret-atwood-40_butterfly_while-he-writes-i-feel-as-if-he-is-drawi_2983528.jpg" --- # While he writes, I feel as if he is drawing me; or not… ![“While he writes, I feel as if he is drawing me; or not drawing me, drawing on me - drawing on my skin - not with the pencil he is using, but with an old-fashioned goose pen, and not with the quill end but with the feather end. As if hundreds of butterflies have settled all over my face, and are…” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92c/margaret-atwood-40_butterfly_while-he-writes-i-feel-as-if-he-is-drawi_2983528.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92c/margaret-atwood-40_butterfly_while-he-writes-i-feel-as-if-he-is-drawi_2983528.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92c/margaret-atwood-40_butterfly_while-he-writes-i-feel-as-if-he-is-drawi_2983528.jpg) > “While he writes, I feel as if he is drawing me; or not drawing me, drawing on me - drawing on my skin - not with the pencil he is using, but with an old-fashioned goose pen, and not with the quill end but with the feather end. As if hundreds of butterflies have settled all over my face, and are softly opening and closing their wings.” [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. He describes a writer’s influence as intimate, like a feather‑light touch that awakens delicate emotions. **In simple terms:** Writing can feel intimate and transformative. Key Takeaway Appreciate subtle artistic impact. Themes creativity intimacy transformation Mood thoughtful poetic Type literary artistic When to use this quote - reading a poem - listening to a lecture - watching a performance Key Concepts metaphor sensory imagery Questions to Reflect On - How does art touch you personally? - What does the butterfly metaphor suggest about change? A Different Perspective May romanticize the writer’s power. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Butterfly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterfly/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Old fashioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-fashioned/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“While he writes, I feel as if he is drawing me; or not drawing me, drawing on me--drawing on my skin--not with the pencil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/while-he-writes-i-feel-as-if-he-is-drawing-me-or-not-drawing-me/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Let there be gall enough in thy ink, though thou write with a goose-pen, no matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-there-be-gall-enough-in-thy-ink-though-thou-write-with-a-goose/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There must be times when everybody writes when they feel they're evading writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/there-must-be-times-when-everybody-writes-when-they-feel-they-re/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [You always feel the drawing you are working on is the best you've ever done... I am only interested in the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-hirschfeld/you-always-feel-the-drawing-you-are-working-on-is-the-best-you-ve/) [Al Hirschfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-hirschfeld/) > [ GOOSE, n. A bird that supplies quills for writing. These \[quills\] when inked and drawn mechanically across paper by a person called an "author,"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/goose-n-a-bird-that-supplies-quills-for-writing-these-quills-when/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [With a goose-quill and a few sheets of paper, I mock myself of the universe. They say I am the son of a courtesan;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-aretino/with-a-goose-quill-and-a-few-sheets-of-paper-i-mock-myself-of-the/) [Pietro Aretino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-aretino/) > [The fangs of a bear, and the tusks of a wild boar, do not bite worse and make deeper gashes than a goose-quill sometimes;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/the-fangs-of-a-bear-and-the-tusks-of-a-wild-boar-do-not-bite-worse/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [Quill: An instrument of torture yielded by a goose and commonly weilded by as ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/quill-an-instrument-of-torture-yielded-by-a-goose-and-commonly/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I don't use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-use-a-pen-i-write-with-a-goose-quill-dipped-in-venom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [GOOSE, n. A bird that supplies quills for writing. These, by some occult process of nature, are penetrated and suffused with various degrees of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/goose-n-a-bird-that-supplies-quills-for-writing-these-by-some-occult/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [He writes so well he makes me feel like putting my quill back in my goose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-allen/he-writes-so-well-he-makes-me-feel-like-putting-my-quill-back-in-my/) [Fred Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-allen/) > [Oh, nature's noblest gift, my grey goose quill, Slave of my thoughts, obedient to my will, Torn from the parent bird to form a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/oh-nature-s-noblest-gift-my-grey-goose-quill-slave-of-my-thoughts/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“Wild geese fly south, creaking like anguished hinges;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/wild-geese-fly-south-creaking-like-anguished-hinges/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Wild geese fly south, creaking like anguished hinges; along the riverbank the candles of the sumacs burn dull red. It's the first week of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/wild-geese-fly-south-creaking-like-anguished-hinges-along-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [We're not very dangerous animals; we don't have a horn like a rhino or quills like a porcupine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-fisher/we-re-not-very-dangerous-animals-we-don-t-have-a-horn-like-a-rhino-or/) [Helen Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-fisher/) ## 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. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. 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 Butterfly quotes > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [One day I decided I would like to put a record into my system. So I picked up a record that was lying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/one-day-i-decided-i-would-like-to-put-a-record-into-my-system-so-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [A room full of words that are nearly the truth but not quite, each note fluttering off the steam of its rose like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/a-room-full-of-words-that-are-nearly-the-truth-but-not-quite-each/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Story is a butterfly whose wings transport us to another world where we receive gifts that change who we are and who we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/story-is-a-butterfly-whose-wings-transport-us-to-another-world-where/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Kill not the moth nor butterfly, For the Last Judgement draweth nigh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/kill-not-the-moth-nor-butterfly-for-the-last-judgement-draweth-nigh/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Farewell,' she said. 'I hope you hear many more songs' - which was the best way she could think of to say good-bye to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/farewell-she-said-i-hope-you-hear-many-more-songs-which-was-the-best/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/know-thyself-a-maxim-as-pernicious-as-it-is-ugly-whoever-studies/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [When, within our souls and psyches we are made aware of a safe but insistent drum beat, repeated like butterfly wings in motion, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-meeker/when-within-our-souls-and-psyches-we-are-made-aware-of-a-safe-but/) [Mary Meeker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-meeker/) > [I just think about what I am doing on my side of the net, which requires focus. Even after all the years I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karch-kiraly/i-just-think-about-what-i-am-doing-on-my-side-of-the-net-which/) [Karch Kiraly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karch-kiraly/) > [My loneliness...still comes over me sometimes...It's a liminal, lost sensation of having wandered wide, endless boulevards, among rows of orange trees, winter butterflies, seasons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-roth/my-loneliness-still-comes-over-me-sometimes-it-s-a-liminal-lost/) [Marco Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-roth/) > [I used to watch old clips of Muhammad Ali, where he'd be talking the jive during interviews, you know, 'Float like a butterfly, sting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/i-used-to-watch-old-clips-of-muhammad-ali-where-he-d-be-talking-the/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [Pleasure's a Moth, that sleeps by day And dances by false glare at night; But Joy's a Butterfly, that loves To spread its wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-davies/pleasure-s-a-moth-that-sleeps-by-day-and-dances-by-false-glare-at/) [W. H. Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-davies/) > [The air is like a butterfly With frail blue wings. The happy earth looks at the sky And sings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-kilmer/the-air-is-like-a-butterfly-with-frail-blue-wings-the-happy-earth/) [Joyce Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-kilmer/) > [I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. Mankind will surely not deny to Harold Skimpole what it concedes to the butterflies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-only-ask-to-be-free-the-butterflies-are-free-mankind-will-surely/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) [Browse all 1,033 Butterfly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/butterfly/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "While he writes, I feel as if he is drawing me; or not drawing me, drawing on me - drawing on my skin - not with the pencil he is using, but with an old-fashioned goose pen, and not with the quill end but with the feather end. 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