--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are some themes, some subjects, too…" description: "\"“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book. The reason for that is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/philip-pullman-525_bleak-house_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1713716.jpg" --- # There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult… ![“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book. The reason for that is that in adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. Other things are felt to be more important: technique, style, literary…” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/philip-pullman-525_bleak-house_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1713716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/philip-pullman-525_bleak-house_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1713716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/philip-pullman-525_bleak-house_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1713716.jpg) > ““There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book. The reason for that is that in adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. Other things are felt to be more important: technique, style, literary knowingness. Adult writers who deal in straightforward stories find themselves sidelined into a genre such as crime or science fiction, where no one expects literary craftsmanship. But stories are vital. Stories never fail us because, as Isaac Bashevis Singer says, "events never grow stale." There's more wisdom in a story than in volumes of philosophy. And by a story I mean not only Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk but also the great novels of the nineteenth century, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Bleak House and many others: novels where the story is at the center of the writer's attention, where the plot actually matters. The present-day would-be George Eliots take up their stories as if with a pair of tongs. They're embarrassed by them. If they could write novels without stories in them, they would. Sometimes they do. But what characterizes the best of children's authors is that they're not embarrassed to tell stories. They know how important stories are, and they know, too, that if you start telling a story you've got to carry on till you get to the end. And you can't provide two ends, either, and invite the reader to choose between them. Or as in a highly praised recent adult novel I'm about to stop reading, three different beginnings. In a book for children you can't put the plot on hold while you cut artistic capers for the amusement of your sophisticated readers, because, thank God, your readers are not sophisticated. They've got more important things in mind than your dazzling skill with wordplay. They want to know what happens next.”” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adult literary fiction often prioritizes style over narrative, making some themes only suitable for children's books where story drives meaning. **In simple terms:** Stories matter more than technique in some cases. Key Takeaway Embrace clear storytelling. Themes storytelling genre literature adult vs child narrative focus Mood reflective critical inspirational Type literary educational philosophical When to use this quote - teaching writing - publishing decisions - literary analysis - creative workshops Key Concepts literary criticism genre constraints reader expectations Questions to Reflect On - How can adult authors balance style with narrative? - What themes benefit from a childlike storytelling approach? A Different Perspective Adult writers may feel pressured to sacrifice story for style, limiting emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bleak house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleak-house/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children'S Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-s-book/) [Great novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-novels/) [Important things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-things/) [Little red riding hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-red-riding-hood/) [Red riding hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/red-riding-hood/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Telling A Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-a-story/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[I\]n adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/when-you-write-for-kids-people-always-ask-you-what-lesson-you-mean-to/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [ I love those adult writers with the pranking ethos, \[Don\] DeLillo and \[Donald\] Barthelme and David Foster Wallace. I don't see any reason not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-love-those-adult-writers-with-the-pranking-ethos-don-delillo-and/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Children's book writers tend to feel quite superior, and adult writers tend to feel they wouldn't know how to write a children's book -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/children-s-book-writers-tend-to-feel-quite-superior-and-adult-writers/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [In order to write about the machine you have to know it, to live with it, to love it (or hate it). 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If you cut me open, you will find volume after volume, page after page, the contents of every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/books-help-to-form-us-if-you-cut-me-open-you-will-find-volume-after-2/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) [Browse all 36 Bleak house quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleak-house/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children's book. The reason for that is that in adult literary fiction, stories are there on sufferance. Other things are felt to be more important: technique, style, literary knowingness. Adult writers who deal in straightforward stories find themselves sidelined into a genre such as crime or science fiction, where no one expects literary craftsmanship. But stories are vital. Stories never fail us because, as Isaac Bashevis Singer says, \"events never grow stale.\" There's more wisdom in a story than in volumes of philosophy. And by a story I mean not only Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk but also the great novels of the nineteenth century, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Bleak House and many others: novels where the story is at the center of the writer's attention, where the plot actually matters. The present-day would-be George Eliots take up their stories as if with a pair of tongs. They're embarrassed by them. If they could write novels without stories in them, they would. Sometimes they do. But what characterizes the best of children's authors is that they're not embarrassed to tell stories. They know how important stories are, and they know, too, that if you start telling a story you've got to carry on till you get to the end. And you can't provide two ends, either, and invite the reader to choose between them. Or as in a highly praised recent adult novel I'm about to stop reading, three different beginnings. In a book for children you can't put the plot on hold while you cut artistic capers for the amusement of your sophisticated readers, because, thank God, your readers are not sophisticated. They've got more important things in mind than your dazzling skill with wordplay. They want to know what happens next.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Pullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too-large-for-adult-fiction-they-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bleak house" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too-large-for-adult-fiction-they-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/philip-pullman-525_bleak-house_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1713716.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/philip-pullman-525_bleak-house_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1713716.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/philip-pullman-525_bleak-house_there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too_1713716.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in…” — Philip Pullman", "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": "Philip Pullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There are some themes, some subjects,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too-large-for-adult-fiction-they-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/there-are-some-themes-some-subjects-too-large-for-adult-fiction-they-2/#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 } } ] } ```