--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can inhabit any character in a way that…" description: "\"I can inhabit any character in a way that is difficult to do successfully in a contemporary novel.\" — Rose Tremain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/rose-tremain-13385_books_i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-tha_3157237.png" --- # I can inhabit any character in a way that is difficult to… ![“I can inhabit any character in a way that is difficult to do successfully in a contemporary novel.” quote by Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/rose-tremain-13385_books_i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-tha_3157237.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/rose-tremain-13385_books_i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-tha_3157237.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/rose-tremain-13385_books_i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-tha_3157237.png) > “I can inhabit any character in a way that is difficult to do successfully in a contemporary novel.” [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She can fully embody characters, a skill rare in modern novels. **In simple terms:** Deep character immersion is uncommon today. Key Takeaway Cultivate deep empathy for characters. Themes creativity empathy literature Mood reflective artistic Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - acting - creative writing - literary analysis Key Concepts character study narrative technique Questions to Reflect On - How can writers deepen character portrayal? - What techniques aid immersive storytelling? A Different Perspective Modern publishing often favors plot over deep character work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) ## Related quotes > [There's no such thing as the contemporary novel. Before I seem the complete reactionary, let me add that I've happily joined in many discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-swift/there-s-no-such-thing-as-the-contemporary-novel-before-i-seem-the/) [Graham Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-swift/) > [The essential gesture of the contemporary novel is to get people to turn the page, to entertain them, and I hate that. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-essential-gesture-of-the-contemporary-novel-is-to-get-people-to/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [To me, the contemporary novel suffers from a lack of sense of place - or spirit of place, if you will. It's not important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/to-me-the-contemporary-novel-suffers-from-a-lack-of-sense-of-place-or/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) > [The illusion of control has to be there, but mostly I'm following characters and the consequences of their own decisions, because a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-shacochis/the-illusion-of-control-has-to-be-there-but-mostly-i-m-following/) [Bob Shacochis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-shacochis/) > [I'm quite simple, really. I like to play and inhabit my character. I really like to inhabit the situation. It's the situation that intrigues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rylance/i-m-quite-simple-really-i-like-to-play-and-inhabit-my-character-i/) [Mark Rylance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rylance/) > [In order to inhabit a character, you've got to embrace and empathise with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/in-order-to-inhabit-a-character-you-ve-got-to-embrace-and-empathise/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [I don't worry so much about the audience. I want them very much to be involved and enjoy the movie, but I try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-don-t-worry-so-much-about-the-audience-i-want-them-very-much-to-be/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [“I learned that you could so fully inhabit a character that you could fool others, move others. With talent and commitment, you could seduce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/i-learned-that-you-could-so-fully-inhabit-a-character-that-you-could/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [I just like to inhabit a character really deeply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-just-like-to-inhabit-a-character-really-deeply/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [If you can jump up onstage and make people laugh, shouldn't you also be able to inhabit a character?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bana/if-you-can-jump-up-onstage-and-make-people-laugh-shouldn-t-you-also/) [Eric Bana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bana/) > [You can tell alot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-can-tell-alot-about-a-fellow-s-character-by-his-way-of-eating/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Everyone can do a character the way they want to do it, unless the director tells them not to, which isn't very common. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barret-oliver/everyone-can-do-a-character-the-way-they-want-to-do-it-unless-the/) Barret Oliver > [First of all, the actor needs to get out of the character's way. You follow the character without judgment or prejudice or preconceived ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ryan/first-of-all-the-actor-needs-to-get-out-of-the-character-s-way-you/) [Amy Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ryan/) > [Everybody has their favorite character.That's the only way I pick, whatever is going on in society, whatever I think folks will laugh at that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-dunham/everybody-has-their-favorite-character-that-s-the-only-way-i-pick/) [Jeff Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-dunham/) > [I never feel that I have to adopt a character. It's more the way I choose to present the music and that's always based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/i-never-feel-that-i-have-to-adopt-a-character-it-s-more-the-way-i/) [PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/) ## More by Rose Tremain > [I'm always amazed by writers who tell me they plan everything at the beginning. I feel their writing days must be very bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-m-always-amazed-by-writers-who-tell-me-they-plan-everything-at-the/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [“Wasting time changes the nature of time. And the heart is stilled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/wasting-time-changes-the-nature-of-time-and-the-heart-is-stilled/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [At the moment, I'm toying with a new idea for a book, but fully engaged with writing screenplays, so the book idea - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/at-the-moment-i-m-toying-with-a-new-idea-for-a-book-but-fully-engaged/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [The imagination conjures gifts; what the ungrateful, unsentimental part of the mind has to do is to unwrap them, find fault with them, see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/the-imagination-conjures-gifts-what-the-ungrateful-unsentimental-part/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [“Acceptance, she thinks, is the harshest lesson life teaches and the one most important to learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/acceptance-she-thinks-is-the-harshest-lesson-life-teaches-and-the-one/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [There is something about the unexpected that moves us. As if the whole of existence is paid for in some way, except for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/there-is-something-about-the-unexpected-that-moves-us-as-if-the-whole/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [When you've finished a piece of work you've had a kind of love affair with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/when-you-ve-finished-a-piece-of-work-you-ve-had-a-kind-of-love-affair/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [“My name is Lev," said Lev. "My name is Lydia," said the woman. And they shook hands, Lev's hand holding the scrunched-up kerchief and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/my-name-is-lev-said-lev-my-name-is-lydia-said-the-woman-and-they/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/in-the-planning-stage-of-a-book-don-t-plan-the-ending-it-has-to-be/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [“Inevitably we make a small world in the midst of a big one. For a small world is all we know how to make.’p46”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/inevitably-we-make-a-small-world-in-the-midst-of-a-big-one-for-a/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [“...and Pao Yi was reminded that the inclination of almost every living thing is to cling on, to remain where it is, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/and-pao-yi-was-reminded-that-the-inclination-of-almost-every-living/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [Never be satisfied with a first draft. In fact, never be satisfied with your own stuff at all, until you're certain it's as good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/never-be-satisfied-with-a-first-draft-in-fact-never-be-satisfied-with/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [“Lev took out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips and the woman sitting next to him a plump contained person with moles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/lev-took-out-a-cigarette-and-stuck-it-between-his-lips-and-the-woman/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [Any setting can potentially acquire this vividness. It slowly arrives during the period of research, until it is as immediate to me as my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/any-setting-can-potentially-acquire-this-vividness-it-slowly-arrives/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) > [Forget the boring old dictum, 'Write about what you know.' Instead, seek out an unknown yet knowable area of experience that's going to enhance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/forget-the-boring-old-dictum-write-about-what-you-know-instead-seek/) [Rose Tremain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) [Explore all 50 Rose Tremain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can inhabit any character in a way that is difficult to do successfully in a contemporary novel.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rose Tremain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-that-is-difficult-to-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-that-is-difficult-to-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/rose-tremain-13385_books_i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-tha_3157237.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/rose-tremain-13385_books_i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-tha_3157237.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/638/rose-tremain-13385_books_i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-tha_3157237.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I can inhabit any character in a way that is difficult to do successfully in a contemporary novel.” — Rose Tremain", "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": "Rose Tremain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-tremain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I can inhabit any character in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-that-is-difficult-to-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-tremain/i-can-inhabit-any-character-in-a-way-that-is-difficult-to-do/#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 } } ] } ```