--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On reading the first part of Anthony…" description: "\"On reading the first part of Anthony Powell's four-part masterpiece, 'A Dance to the Music of Time,' I was struck by one of the characters - an irritat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/rebecca-pidgeon-27539_character_on-reading-the-first-part-of-anthony-pow_2718291.jpg" --- # On reading the first part of Anthony Powell's four-part… ![“On reading the first part of Anthony Powell's four-part masterpiece, 'A Dance to the Music of Time,' I was struck by one of the characters - an irritating peripheral character- who keeps showing up in the main protagonist's life.” quote by Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/rebecca-pidgeon-27539_character_on-reading-the-first-part-of-anthony-pow_2718291.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/rebecca-pidgeon-27539_character_on-reading-the-first-part-of-anthony-pow_2718291.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00d/rebecca-pidgeon-27539_character_on-reading-the-first-part-of-anthony-pow_2718291.jpg) > “On reading the first part of Anthony Powell's four-part masterpiece, 'A Dance to the Music of Time,' I was struck by one of the characters - an irritating peripheral character- who keeps showing up in the main protagonist's life.” [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A minor, irritating character repeatedly appears, highlighting how peripheral people can shape a protagonist’s journey. **In simple terms:** A small, annoying person keeps showing up in the main character’s life. Key Takeaway Notice how even minor interactions can influence your path. Themes relationships character development narrative irritation influence Mood reflective analytical curious Type literary observational philosophical When to use this quote - reading a novel - analyzing character arcs - writing fiction - understanding social roles Key Concepts recurring motifs social dynamics storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do peripheral figures affect your own life choices? - What can we learn from annoying people? A Different Perspective The character may be a narrative device rather than a realistic person. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Keeps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-keeps-2861497/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Characters Irritating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-irritating-2861495/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Irritating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irritating/) [Keeps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeps/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Main](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/main/) [Main Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/main-protagonist-2376651/) [Masterpiece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masterpiece/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Part](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/part/) [Peripheral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peripheral/) [Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) [Protagonist Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist-life-2861496/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Showing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/showing/) [Showing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/showing-up/) [Struck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struck/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) ## Related quotes > [I've gone very far, far away, but my character keeps me close to home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-drescher/i-ve-gone-very-far-far-away-but-my-character-keeps-me-close-to-home/) [Fran Drescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-drescher/) > [In a movie, you're just passive; you're just watching a story that is told to you. 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That's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pn2ppr-hrt2mnd/antagonist-of-others-protagonist-of-their-own-that-s-life/) [Pn2ppr\_hrt2mnd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pn2ppr-hrt2mnd/) > [I was born in a tiny place in Ivory Coast, so being a protagonist in this life is a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gervinho/i-was-born-in-a-tiny-place-in-ivory-coast-so-being-a-protagonist-in/) [Gervinho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gervinho/) > [Hollywood needs peripheral people like me. You're not of that world, but you're needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sessums/hollywood-needs-peripheral-people-like-me-you-re-not-of-that-world/) [Kevin Sessums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sessums/) > [It's not necessary to have read everything about a particular subject in order to get interested in it. The main thing is to sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-englert/it-s-not-necessary-to-have-read-everything-about-a-particular-subject/) [Francois Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-englert/) > [In the case of 'News Radio,' I loved that show. I loved the actors and the producers, but I was longing very much for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khandi-alexander/in-the-case-of-news-radio-i-loved-that-show-i-loved-the-actors-and/) [Khandi Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khandi-alexander/) > [A line has to be drawn somewhere between what is essential and what is peripheral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sargent-shriver/a-line-has-to-be-drawn-somewhere-between-what-is-essential-and-what/) [Sargent Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sargent-shriver/) > [“I am a shadow on her peripheral vision”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-tayleur/i-am-a-shadow-on-her-peripheral-vision/) [Karen Tayleur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-tayleur/) > [I never thought that shoes would be the reason that you recruit players, but it's a factor. I think we need to get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-pitino/i-never-thought-that-shoes-would-be-the-reason-that-you-recruit/) [Rick Pitino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-pitino/) > [There are a lot of peripheral things that you have to deal with in this league, and I dealt with a lot of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/there-are-a-lot-of-peripheral-things-that-you-have-to-deal-with-in/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [“biosynthesis and peripheral action of testosterone,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/biosynthesis-and-peripheral-action-of-testosterone/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [While we women dilly-dally, making decisions, leaving jobs half done, forgetting where we've put the house keys while we water the Hoover and leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/while-we-women-dilly-dally-making-decisions-leaving-jobs-half-done/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) ## More by Rebecca Pidgeon > [City life is stressful. Everybody is running around like crazy, stuck in traffic jams trying to make meetings, trying to make ends meet, trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/city-life-is-stressful-everybody-is-running-around-like-crazy-stuck/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [I am always in awe of people who devote their lives to a good cause and are brave enough to take a stance, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/i-am-always-in-awe-of-people-who-devote-their-lives-to-a-good-cause/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [We live in such an age of chatter and distraction. Everything is a challenge for the ears and eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/we-live-in-such-an-age-of-chatter-and-distraction-everything-is-a/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [Contemplate the good things in your life and be grateful for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/contemplate-the-good-things-in-your-life-and-be-grateful-for-them/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [If you want to know how far gossip travels, do this - take a feather pillow up on a roof, slice it open, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/if-you-want-to-know-how-far-gossip-travels-do-this-take-a-feather/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [The Kabbalists say that the holy one of the universe is broken, and that we are extensions of the holy one and carry that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/the-kabbalists-say-that-the-holy-one-of-the-universe-is-broken-and/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [Thinking about quantum physics is like unraveling your brain and putting it back together again upside down. Much like studying Kabbalah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/thinking-about-quantum-physics-is-like-unraveling-your-brain-and/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [Enjoy the fashions, read the good articles, and when you feel threatened, turn your mental gaze inward, but keep your eyes on the road,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/enjoy-the-fashions-read-the-good-articles-and-when-you-feel/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [I am interested in outsiders. I suppose I have always felt like one myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/i-am-interested-in-outsiders-i-suppose-i-have-always-felt-like-one/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [When I read Deborah Brenner's book 'Women of the Vine' about women wine makers, I was impressed that many of the women she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/when-i-read-deborah-brenner-s-book-women-of-the-vine-about-women-wine/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [A 'gossip partner' is someone you love and trust, with whom you may go through the day's events with impunity, and with whom you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/a-gossip-partner-is-someone-you-love-and-trust-with-whom-you-may-go/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [When I first drove my car down Sunset Strip, I nearly crashed my car gazing at the monolithic ads of various celebrities. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/when-i-first-drove-my-car-down-sunset-strip-i-nearly-crashed-my-car/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [Be good, kind, and friendly to the receptionist. She's had a hard day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/be-good-kind-and-friendly-to-the-receptionist-she-s-had-a-hard-day/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [Val Kilmer gave my husband, David Mamet, a Randall knife as a gift when the two of them were making the film 'Spartan.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/val-kilmer-gave-my-husband-david-mamet-a-randall-knife-as-a-gift-when/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) > [Life is a mystery. Life is uncertain. It makes one feel a bit wobbly to realize that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-pidgeon/life-is-a-mystery-life-is-uncertain-it-makes-one-feel-a-bit-wobbly-to/) [Rebecca Pidgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) [Explore all 20 Rebecca Pidgeon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-pidgeon/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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