--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As I have pointed out before, characters…" description: "\"“As I have pointed out before, characters are not born like people, of woman; they are born of a situation, a sentence, a metaphor containing in a nuts..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/milan-kundera-120_books_as-i-have-pointed-out-before-characters_946006.jpg" --- # As I have pointed out before, characters are not born like… ![“As I have pointed out before, characters are not born like people, of woman; they are born of a situation, a sentence, a metaphor containing in a nutshell a basic human possibility that the author thinks no one else has discovered or said something essential about. But isn't it true that an author…” quote by Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/milan-kundera-120_books_as-i-have-pointed-out-before-characters_946006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/milan-kundera-120_books_as-i-have-pointed-out-before-characters_946006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/milan-kundera-120_books_as-i-have-pointed-out-before-characters_946006.jpg) > ““As I have pointed out before, characters are not born like people, of woman; they are born of a situation, a sentence, a metaphor containing in a nutshell a basic human possibility that the author thinks no one else has discovered or said something essential about. But isn't it true that an author can write only about himself? Staring impotently across a courtyard, at a loss for what to do; hearing the pertinacious rumbling of one's own stomach during a moment of love; betraying, yet lacking the will to abandon the glamorous path of betrayal; raising one's fist with the crowds in the Grand March; displaying one's wit before hidden microphones—I have known all these situations, I have experienced them myself, yet none of them has given rise to the person my curriculum vitae and I represent. The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by them. Each one has crossed a border that I myself have circumvented. It is that crossed border (the border beyond which my own "I" ends) which attracts me most. For beyond that border begins the secret the novel asks about. The novel is not the author's confession; it is an investigation of human life in the trap the world has become.”” [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters arise from specific situations and metaphors, reflecting unrealized possibilities beyond the author’s self. **In simple terms:** Authors create characters from imagined scenarios, not just personal experience. Key Takeaway Explore beyond personal limits to discover new perspectives. Themes creativity identity fiction Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - character development - self‑exploration - literary analysis Key Concepts existentialism metafiction Questions to Reflect On - What borders have you avoided in your work? - How do imagined scenarios reveal hidden truths? A Different Perspective Risk of self‑indulgence and neglecting external realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) ## Related quotes > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. 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Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [When we ignore the body, we are more easily victimized by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/when-we-ignore-the-body-we-are-more-easily-victimized-by-it/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Do stories, apart from happening, being, have something to say? 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Staring impotently across a courtyard, at a loss for what to do; hearing the pertinacious rumbling of one's own stomach during a moment of love; betraying, yet lacking the will to abandon the glamorous path of betrayal; raising one's fist with the crowds in the Grand March; displaying one's wit before hidden microphones—I have known all these situations, I have experienced them myself, yet none of them has given rise to the person my curriculum vitae and I represent. The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by them. Each one has crossed a border that I myself have circumvented. It is that crossed border (the border beyond which my own \"I\" ends) which attracts me most. For beyond that border begins the secret the novel asks about. 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