Time Quote by Robertson Davies
““Can I be a modern girl, if I acknowledge such thoughts? I must be modern; I live now. But like everybody else, as Hollier says, I live in a muddle of eras, and some of my ideas belong to today, and some to an ancient past, and some to periods of time that seem more relevant to my parents than to me. If I could sort them and control them I might know better where I stand, but when I most want to be contemporary the Past keeps pushing in, and when I long for the Past (like when I wish Tadeusz had not died, and were with me now to guide and explain and help me to find where I belong in life) the Present cannot be pushed away. When I hear girls I know longing to be what they call liberated, and when I hear others rejoicing in what they think of as liberation, I feel a fool, because I simply do not know where I stand.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: "The Rebel Angels", 1981
The narrator feels torn between past and present, struggling to define a modern identity amid conflicting eras.
In simple terms: Struggles with balancing past influences and present self.
Key Takeaway
Embrace both history and present to shape identity.
Themes
identity
time
modernity
Mood
conflicted
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
reflective
When to use this quote
- career decisions
- personal growth
- cultural adaptation
- family heritage
Key Concepts
historical consciousness
self‑reflection
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you integrate past lessons today?
- Can you be modern while honoring history?
A Different Perspective
Focusing too much on the past may hinder forward movement.
![“I think Lucy Ferry, now Birley, is absolutely beautiful. She's a modern girl, but she moves beautifully. Amanda [Harlech] moves beautifully when she's not working. All those English leftover society girls.” quote by Manolo Blahnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/201/manolo-blahnik-4329_amanda_i-think-lucy-ferry-now-birley-is-absolut_2379559.jpg)
