--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An ending is an artificial device; we…" description: "\"“An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been made. But time does not end, and stories mar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/penelope-lively-3959_ending_an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-lik_2324846.png" --- # An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they… ![“An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been made. But time does not end, and stories march in step with time.” quote by Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/penelope-lively-3959_ending_an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-lik_2324846.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/penelope-lively-3959_ending_an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-lik_2324846.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/penelope-lively-3959_ending_an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-lik_2324846.png) > ““An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been made. But time does not end, and stories march in step with time.”” [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Endings are narrative tools that give closure, but reality continues beyond them. **In simple terms:** Stories end, life goes on. Key Takeaway Recognize that life’s narrative never truly stops. Themes storytelling closure continuity Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - finishing a project - ending a relationship - reflecting on history Key Concepts narrative structure philosophical reflection Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer open‑ended or closed narratives? - How do you cope when life feels unfinished? A Different Perspective Endings can feel forced or unsatisfying. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I like endings that let your imagination do a lot of the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/i-like-endings-that-let-your-imagination-do-a-lot-of-the-work/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) > [Yeah, I don't necessarily like endings that contrive an artificial moment of completion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/yeah-i-don-t-necessarily-like-endings-that-contrive-an-artificial/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [It is nice when things end. That is what stories do - they end. It is hard to write endings and it is hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-hamm/it-is-nice-when-things-end-that-is-what-stories-do-they-end-it-is/) [Jon Hamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-hamm/) > [“It's funny to think about endings now. Now that all there is to do is wait. Now that the real ending is coming, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-coutts/it-s-funny-to-think-about-endings-now-now-that-all-there-is-to-do-is/) Alexandra Coutts > [Carmen didn't like change, and she certainly didn't like endings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/carmen-didn-t-like-change-and-she-certainly-didn-t-like-endings/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [“All beginnings are scary, like all endings are sad, but that’s the journey and everything in between is worth experiencing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-reed/all-beginnings-are-scary-like-all-endings-are-sad-but-that-s-the/) [J.C. Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-reed/) > [“Horizons may seem like endings but they only actually bend father into the sky, curving into something new, beginning all over again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huntley-fitzpatrick/horizons-may-seem-like-endings-but-they-only-actually-bend-father/) [Huntley Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huntley-fitzpatrick/) > [I like to end stories where the readers have a little room to run. They can resolve things as they like in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-like-to-end-stories-where-the-readers-have-a-little-room-to-run/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It was one of those and so they died/the end stories, that made us demigods feels all warm and fuzzy inside.-Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/it-was-one-of-those-and-so-they-died-the-end-stories-that-made-us/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Don't mistake a good setup for a satisfying conclusion - many beginning writers end their stories when the real story is just ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-schmidt/don-t-mistake-a-good-setup-for-a-satisfying-conclusion-many-beginning/) [Stanley Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-schmidt/) > [“Do you know how much harm ‘happily ever after’ has done to mankind? I wish they said something else at the end of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lavalle/do-you-know-how-much-harm-happily-ever-after-has-done-to-mankind-i/) [Victor LaValle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lavalle/) > [We speak of stories ending, when in truth it is we who end. The stories go on and on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/we-speak-of-stories-ending-when-in-truth-it-is-we-who-end-the-stories/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [The end of all stories, even if the writer forebears to mention it, is death, which is where time stops short. Sheherezade knew this,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/the-end-of-all-stories-even-if-the-writer-forebears-to-mention-it-is/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“If you have read this far in the chronicle of the Baudelaire orphans - and I certainly hope you have not - then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/if-you-have-read-this-far-in-the-chronicle-of-the-baudelaire-orphans/) [Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/) > [So we face our final hours...and all that was once certain has become uncertain. Except for defeat. That, as always, is the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-williams/so-we-face-our-final-hours-and-all-that-was-once-certain-has-become/) [Tad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tad-williams/) ## More by Penelope Lively > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [There's a preoccupation with memory and the operation of memory and a rather rapacious interest in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/there-s-a-preoccupation-with-memory-and-the-operation-of-memory-and-a/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“He felt marvellously conscious of the moment, of here and now, of this day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/he-felt-marvellously-conscious-of-the-moment-of-here-and-now-of-this/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [People die, but money never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/people-die-but-money-never-does/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“But her thoughts are often of the past. That evanescent, pervasive, slippery internal landscape known to no one else, that vast accretion of data…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/but-her-thoughts-are-often-of-the-past-that-evanescent-pervasive/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Unless I am a part of everything I am nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/unless-i-am-a-part-of-everything-i-am-nothing/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Getting to know someone else involves curiosity about where they have come from, who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/getting-to-know-someone-else-involves-curiosity-about-where-they-have/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [I'm intrigued by the way in which physical appearance can often direct a person's life; things happen differently for a beautiful woman than for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-m-intrigued-by-the-way-in-which-physical-appearance-can-often/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Since then, I have just read and read - but, that said, I suppose there is a raft of writers to whom I return…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/since-then-i-have-just-read-and-read-but-that-said-i-suppose-there-is/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“I have a print - you can buy them at the Victoria and Albert Museum - of a photograph of the village street of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-have-a-print-you-can-buy-them-at-the-victoria-and-albert-museum-of/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Every novel generates its own climate, when you get going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/every-novel-generates-its-own-climate-when-you-get-going/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The power of language. Preserving the ephemeral; giving form to dreams, permanence to sparks of sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-power-of-language-preserving-the-ephemeral-giving-form-to-dreams/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/we-all-need-a-past-that-s-where-our-sense-of-identity-comes-from/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/conventional-forms-of-narrative-allow-for-different-points-of-view/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) [Explore all 118 Penelope Lively quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More Ending quotes > [So many times in television, you get cancelled arbitrarily as a result of your ratings in the off season, and you don't have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/so-many-times-in-television-you-get-cancelled-arbitrarily-as-a-result/) [Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/) > [So ,you're thinking it's ending but it's only just began.Your whole life is there right-right in front of you! Life's a story that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/so-you-re-thinking-it-s-ending-but-it-s-only-just-began-your-whole/) Unkown > [You could be the leaf that never falls from the tree you could be the sun that never leaves the sky this might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-could-be-the-leaf-that-never-falls-from-the-tree-you-could-be-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The happy ending is hardly important, though we may be glad its there. The real joy is knowing that if you felt the trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-happy-ending-is-hardly-important-though-we-may-be-glad-its-there/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [It doesn't matter to me if it has a surprise ending or not. I usually go for the material or the project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/it-doesn-t-matter-to-me-if-it-has-a-surprise-ending-or-not-i-usually/) [Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/) > [Business, much like life, is not a movie, and not everyone gets to have a storybook ending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/om-malik/business-much-like-life-is-not-a-movie-and-not-everyone-gets-to-have/) [Om Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/om-malik/) > [ Harvey \[Weinstein\] didn't want to release \[MY SON THE FANATIC\]; he held it for two years because he wanted a happy ending, although I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/harvey-weinstein-didn-t-want-to-release-my-son-the-fanatic-he-held-it/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [Pagan Romans started their midwinter celebrations with the feast of Saturnalia on 17 December, ending them with a new year festival, the Kalendae Januariae,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-roberts/pagan-romans-started-their-midwinter-celebrations-with-the-feast-of/) [Alice Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-roberts/) > [Maybe my movie isn't over, I say, because sometimes moviemakers trick the audience with a false bad ending, and just when you think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-quick/maybe-my-movie-isn-t-over-i-say-because-sometimes-moviemakers-trick/) [Matthew Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-quick/) > [I loathe people who say, 'I always read the ending of the book first.' That really irritates me, It's like someone coming to dinner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-loathe-people-who-say-i-always-read-the-ending-of-the-book-first/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Friendship doesn't has ending...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friendship-doesn-t-has-ending/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In 2010, Republicans took control of politics in Alabama by advocating for increased transparency and an end to government corruption, but instead of ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-crumpton/in-2010-republicans-took-control-of-politics-in-alabama-by-advocating/) [Ron Crumpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-crumpton/) > [Yesterday brought the beginning, tomorrow brings the end, and somewhere in the middle we became the best of friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yesterday-brought-the-beginning-tomorrow-brings-the-end-and-somewhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Break ups arent always meant for make ups. Sometimes relationships end in order for you to wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix-mae/break-ups-arent-always-meant-for-make-ups-sometimes-relationships-end/) [Nix Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix-mae/) > [Everything we do really is just a little marker on the long road to death. And sometimes that’s overwhelmingly depressing to me, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/everything-we-do-really-is-just-a-little-marker-on-the-long-road-to/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) Browse all 1,316 Ending quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been made. But time does not end, and stories march in step with time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Penelope Lively" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-like-endings-they-are-satisfying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ending" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-like-endings-they-are-satisfying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/penelope-lively-3959_ending_an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-lik_2324846.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/penelope-lively-3959_ending_an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-lik_2324846.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ace/penelope-lively-3959_ending_an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-lik_2324846.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An ending is an artificial device; we like endings, they are satisfying, convenient, and a point has been…” — Penelope Lively", "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": "Penelope Lively", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“An ending is an artificial device;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-like-endings-they-are-satisfying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/an-ending-is-an-artificial-device-we-like-endings-they-are-satisfying/#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 } } ] } ```