Concept of time Quote by Penelope Lively
““It is not enough to live here and now. Not enough for me, anyway. I need those imaginative leaps out of my own time frame and into other places - places where things were done differently. Reading has provided me with that, for the most part, but it is objects, things like these scraps of pottery, that have most keenly conjured up all those elsewheres - inaccessible but eerily available to the imagination. The past is irretrievable, but it lurks. It sends out tantalizing messages, coded signals in the form of a clay pipe stem, a smashed wine bottle. Two leaping fish from twelfth-century Cairo. I can't begin to understand what that time was like, or how the men who made them lived, but I can know that it all happened - that old Cairo existed, and a particular potter. To have the leaping fish sherd on my mantelpiece - and all those other sherds in the cake tin - expands my concept of time. There is a further dimension to memory; it is not just a private asset, but something vast, collective, resonant. And all because fragments of detritus survive, and I can consider them.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Power of Objects in Memory, 2005
Lively argues that material fragments from the past ignite imaginative leaps, expanding personal and collective memory beyond the present.
In simple terms: Objects trigger imagination and broaden sense of time.
Key Takeaway
Use artifacts to connect with history.
Themes
memory
imagination
history
material culture
collective memory
Mood
contemplative
nostalgic
curious
Type
reflective
inspirational
When to use this quote
- museum visits
- personal collections
- archaeological digs
- creative writing
- educational curricula
Key Concepts
temporal perception
archaeology
storytelling
sensory resonance
Questions to Reflect On
- What objects best spark your imagination?
- How do artifacts shape personal identity?
A Different Perspective
Objects may be misinterpreted, leading to inaccurate narratives.
