--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One night I begged Robin, a scientist by…" description: "\"“One night I begged Robin, a scientist by training, to watch Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' with me on PBS. He lasted about one act, then turned..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/mary-rose-o-reilley-27230_books_one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by_2170638.jpg" --- # One night I begged Robin, a scientist by training, to… ![“One night I begged Robin, a scientist by training, to watch Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' with me on PBS. He lasted about one act, then turned to me in horror: 'This is how you spend your days? Thinking about things like this?' I was ashamed. I could have been learning about string theory…” quote by Mary Rose O'Reilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/mary-rose-o-reilley-27230_books_one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by_2170638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/mary-rose-o-reilley-27230_books_one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by_2170638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/mary-rose-o-reilley-27230_books_one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by_2170638.jpg) > ““One night I begged Robin, a scientist by training, to watch Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' with me on PBS. He lasted about one act, then turned to me in horror: 'This is how you spend your days? Thinking about things like this?' I was ashamed. I could have been learning about string theory or how flowers pollinate themselves. I think his remark was the beginning of my crisis of faith. Like so many of my generation in graduate school, I had turned to literature as a kind of substitute for formal religion, which no longer fed my soul, or for therapy, which I could not afford… I became interested in exploring the theory of nonfiction and in writing memoir, a genre that gives us access to that lost Middlemarch of reflection and social commentary.”” [Mary Rose O'Reilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-rose-o-reilley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator felt crisis of faith when literature replaced religion and therapy, prompting a turn to memoir for deeper reflection. **In simple terms:** Literature can become a substitute for spiritual and therapeutic needs. Key Takeaway Explore memoir to process personal doubts. Themes faith literature identity mental health Mood introspective thoughtful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - academic life - creative writing - personal development Key Concepts existential crisis nonfiction theory Questions to Reflect On - Can memoir serve as therapy? - What limits does literature have in spiritual fulfillment? A Different Perspective Memoir may not replace professional help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Liberal arts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-arts/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [String theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/string-theory/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [Donald Trump did not cause America's democratic crisis of faith, he rode to power on it. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One night I begged Robin, a scientist by training, to watch Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' with me on PBS. He lasted about one act, then turned to me in horror: 'This is how you spend your days? Thinking about things like this?' I was ashamed. I could have been learning about string theory or how flowers pollinate themselves. I think his remark was the beginning of my crisis of faith. Like so many of my generation in graduate school, I had turned to literature as a kind of substitute for formal religion, which no longer fed my soul, or for therapy, which I could not afford… I became interested in exploring the theory of nonfiction and in writing memoir, a genre that gives us access to that lost Middlemarch of reflection and social commentary.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Rose O'Reilley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by-training-to-watch-arthur/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by-training-to-watch-arthur/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/mary-rose-o-reilley-27230_books_one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by_2170638.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/mary-rose-o-reilley-27230_books_one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by_2170638.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/mary-rose-o-reilley-27230_books_one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by_2170638.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One night I begged Robin, a scientist by training, to watch Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' with me on…” — Mary Rose O'Reilley", "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": "Mary Rose O'Reilley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-rose-o-reilley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“One night I begged Robin, a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by-training-to-watch-arthur/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-rose-o-reilley/one-night-i-begged-robin-a-scientist-by-training-to-watch-arthur/#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 } } ] } ```