--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mystery fiction is, after all, a…" description: "\"Mystery fiction is, after all, a substitute for tranquilizers, strong drink, and bad, if diverting, companions. One slips into bed ... onto the train ...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/mary-cantwell-38952_bed_mystery-fiction-is-after-all-a-substitut_566241.jpg" --- # Mystery fiction is, after all, a substitute for… ![“Mystery fiction is, after all, a substitute for tranquilizers, strong drink, and bad, if diverting, companions. One slips into bed ... onto the train ... into the chair in the sickroom ... and is suddenly transported to a place where light fights dark and wins. When the story's over, one is left…” quote by Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/mary-cantwell-38952_bed_mystery-fiction-is-after-all-a-substitut_566241.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/mary-cantwell-38952_bed_mystery-fiction-is-after-all-a-substitut_566241.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/765/mary-cantwell-38952_bed_mystery-fiction-is-after-all-a-substitut_566241.jpg) > “Mystery fiction is, after all, a substitute for tranquilizers, strong drink, and bad, if diverting, companions. One slips into bed ... onto the train ... into the chair in the sickroom ... and is suddenly transported to a place where light fights dark and wins. When the story's over, one is left without a hangover, without remorse. Can any other opiate make that claim?” [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mystery stories provide a safe escape, offering intense emotional release without real-world consequences. **In simple terms:** Mystery offers a clean emotional high. Key Takeaway Read mystery for a guilt‑free thrill. Themes escape emotion literature Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary analytical When to use this quote - relaxation after work - coping with stress - creative inspiration - nighttime reading Key Concepts psychology addiction storytelling Questions to Reflect On - What does mystery provide you that other media don't? - How does the temporary escape affect your real life? A Different Perspective May not address underlying personal issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Companion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/companion/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Opiate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opiate/) [Opiates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opiates/) [Remorse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remorse/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Strong drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-drink/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Opiates: Perk 30s, Oxy Contins, Morphine, Heroin, and many more… Iits all over the high schools and they just suck the life out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/opiates-perk-30s-oxy-contins-morphine-heroin-and-many-more-iits-all/) [Kevin Mccarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Communism is the opiate of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/communism-is-the-opiate-of-the-people/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [“Despite what appears to be a low risk of addiction in naïve, chronic pain patients, it is reasonable to ask how much harm is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-l-fields/despite-what-appears-to-be-a-low-risk-of-addiction-in-na-ve-chronic/) Howard L. 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He said this at a time when opium and opium derivatives were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/in-1844-karl-marx-said-religion-is-the-opiate-of-the-masses-he-said/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Heterosexuality is the opiate of the masses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-labruce/heterosexuality-is-the-opiate-of-the-masses/) [Bruce LaBruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-labruce/) > [In America, it is sport that is the opiate of the masses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/in-america-it-is-sport-that-is-the-opiate-of-the-masses/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Religion is the opiate of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/religion-is-the-opiate-of-the-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Mary Cantwell > [“Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than emperors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/gardeners-i-think-dream-bigger-dreams-than-emperors/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [Meanwhile, as we read, two little girls slept as if couched on zephyrs on the south side of the parlor floor, in a room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/meanwhile-as-we-read-two-little-girls-slept-as-if-couched-on-zephyrs/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [Like most people, most Westerners anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion I am immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/like-most-people-most-westerners-anyway-i-have-a-sneaking-suspicion-i/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [To be involved with books is to live at the heart of light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/to-be-involved-with-books-is-to-live-at-the-heart-of-light/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [In giving our daughter life, her father and I had also given her death, something I hadn't realized until that new creature flailed her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/in-giving-our-daughter-life-her-father-and-i-had-also-given-her-death/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [“If I was not really at home with everyone, neither was I a stranger to anyone, and if all my acquaintances were slightly skewed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/if-i-was-not-really-at-home-with-everyone-neither-was-i-a-stranger-to/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [I was, after all, the daughter of a man who believed that to be involved with books was to live at the heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/i-was-after-all-the-daughter-of-a-man-who-believed-that-to-be/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [Gardeners, I think, dream bigger dreams than Emperor's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/gardeners-i-think-dream-bigger-dreams-than-emperor-s/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [the hymns were born in the fifteenth or sixteenth century or earlier, and listening to them was like licking an icicle: the same chill,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/the-hymns-were-born-in-the-fifteenth-or-sixteenth-century-or-earlier/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [I had wanted to come back to Greenwich Village ever since I had left Waverly Place, and since moving to West Eleventh Street, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/i-had-wanted-to-come-back-to-greenwich-village-ever-since-i-had-left/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) [Explore all 11 Mary Cantwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) ## 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A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I always wanted to be a movie star. I thought it meant being famous and having breakfast in bed. 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