--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In this sense, Rachel envied fictional…" description: "\"“In this sense, Rachel envied fictional characters. For them, everything would eventually make sense. If she were fictional, all the random, ridiculous..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/ruth-buchanan-80982_fictional_in-this-sense-rachel-envied-fictional-ch_2801042.jpg" --- # In this sense, Rachel envied fictional characters. For… ![“In this sense, Rachel envied fictional characters. For them, everything would eventually make sense. If she were fictional, all the random, ridiculous events of her life would mold into a recognizable shape, building toward something. She would recognize signs, portents, and foreshadowing. In real…” quote by Ruth Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/ruth-buchanan-80982_fictional_in-this-sense-rachel-envied-fictional-ch_2801042.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/ruth-buchanan-80982_fictional_in-this-sense-rachel-envied-fictional-ch_2801042.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/ruth-buchanan-80982_fictional_in-this-sense-rachel-envied-fictional-ch_2801042.jpg) > ““In this sense, Rachel envied fictional characters. For them, everything would eventually make sense. If she were fictional, all the random, ridiculous events of her life would mold into a recognizable shape, building toward something. She would recognize signs, portents, and foreshadowing. In real life, however, no such clues were forthcoming.”” [Ruth Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-buchanan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A character envies fictional narratives for their coherent arcs, contrasting with life’s chaotic randomness lacking clear signs. **In simple terms:** She wishes life had a plot like a story. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and create your own meaning. Themes meaning uncertainty storytelling Mood curious introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - personal planning - decision making Key Concepts existentialism literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What “signs” do you look for? - How can you craft meaning without a script? A Different Perspective Finding patterns may lead to false expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Envied Fictional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envied-fictional-3449622/) [Fictional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional/) [Fictional Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-characters/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Sense Fictional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-fictional-3449620/) [Sense Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-rachel-3449621/) ## Related quotes > [Writers are magpies, and we collect details about people and we use them for fictional characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/writers-are-magpies-and-we-collect-details-about-people-and-we-use/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [People do not spring forth out of the blue, fully formed – they become themselves slowly, day by day, starting from babyhood. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-duncan/people-do-not-spring-forth-out-of-the-blue-fully-formed-they-become/) [Lois Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-duncan/) > [“Fictional Characters" Do they ever want to escape? Climb out of the white pages and enter our world? Holden Caulfield slipping in the movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danusha-lam-ris/fictional-characters-do-they-ever-want-to-escape-climb-out-of-the/) [Danusha Laméris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danusha-lam-ris/) > [Whoa, I've really got to stop making plans with fictional characters. It can't be healthy to develop relationships with people who don't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/whoa-i-ve-really-got-to-stop-making-plans-with-fictional-characters/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [“I'd said to them that when we read fiction, we pour our own paricular store of emotions - say, the sense of loss we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandler-burr/i-d-said-to-them-that-when-we-read-fiction-we-pour-our-own-paricular/) [Chandler Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chandler-burr/) > [A lot of our songs are based in reality but imagined or using fictional characters as a way to write about something. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-smith/a-lot-of-our-songs-are-based-in-reality-but-imagined-or-using/) [Dan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-smith/) > [Writing historical novels can be dangerous. We need to be as accurate and as fair about the historical record as we can be, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-rutherfurd/writing-historical-novels-can-be-dangerous-we-need-to-be-as-accurate/) [Edward Rutherfurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-rutherfurd/) > [Talking out loud to fictional characters is just the tip of the iceberg.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/talking-out-loud-to-fictional-characters-is-just-the-tip-of-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Fictional characters exist in only two places, neither of which is on the printed page. They exist, first, in the mind of the writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maren-elwood/fictional-characters-exist-in-only-two-places-neither-of-which-is-on/) [Maren Elwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maren-elwood/) > [If people ever look down upon you for crying for fictional characters, you should give them a gentle, pitying look and feel bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/if-people-ever-look-down-upon-you-for-crying-for-fictional-characters/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The world is full of fictional characters looking for their stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-arbus/the-world-is-full-of-fictional-characters-looking-for-their-stories/) [Diane Arbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-arbus/) > [The world is a stage we walk upon. We are all in a way fictional characters who write ourselves with our beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-theroux/the-world-is-a-stage-we-walk-upon-we-are-all-in-a-way-fictional/) [Louis Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-theroux/) > [We referenced fictional characters as if they were people to learn from. As if real-life people were too nebulous, too private and unreal for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/we-referenced-fictional-characters-as-if-they-were-people-to-learn/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [“If a writer doesn't believe his fictional characters are actually real, how can he expect the readers to?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-power/if-a-writer-doesn-t-believe-his-fictional-characters-are-actually/) [Jim Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-power/) > [“Fictional characters exert a great deal of influence over our choices in love by representing inaccessible ideals to which we try to make others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/fictional-characters-exert-a-great-deal-of-influence-over-our-choices/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) ## More by Ruth Buchanan > [“Friends know the patterns of our souls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-buchanan/friends-know-the-patterns-of-our-souls/) [Ruth Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-buchanan/) > [“Christ nailed all my guilt to the cross. Sometimes, though, I needed a reminder that the nails held.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-buchanan/christ-nailed-all-my-guilt-to-the-cross-sometimes-though-i-needed-a/) [Ruth Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-buchanan/) [Explore all 3 Ruth Buchanan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-buchanan/) ## More Fictional quotes > [When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are exactly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-wrote-my-fictional-novels-they-always-had-a-starting-point-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [There are things you can say in the voice of a fictional character that you could not explore any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/there-are-things-you-can-say-in-the-voice-of-a-fictional-character/) [ContraPoints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/contrapoints/) > [“When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/when-you-lose-yourself-inside-the-world-of-a-fictional-character/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [The best part of being a writer for me is immersing myself in a fictional world, which is the opposite of being on social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/the-best-part-of-being-a-writer-for-me-is-immersing-myself-in-a/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [Mostly we are addicted to television shows for two reasons; whether it's because we get to connect with the story-line as somewhat similar is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-chandran/mostly-we-are-addicted-to-television-shows-for-two-reasons-whether-it/) [Sudha Chandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-chandran/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“She smiled sinisterly. Light mist started to slowly swirl around us. All I could see was her, the tall rocks and the white wall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/she-smiled-sinisterly-light-mist-started-to-slowly-swirl-around-us/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional world spun out of my own mind, not the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-want-to-write-about-people-i-love-and-put-them-into-a-fictional/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [When you're playing a fictional character reacting to the real world, it's incredibly difficult and confusing and kind of messes with your values a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/when-you-re-playing-a-fictional-character-reacting-to-the-real-world/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) > [The fictional narratives that television, film, and the news provide for girls and young women are appalling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/the-fictional-narratives-that-television-film-and-the-news-provide/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I don't think there's any show comparable to 'Game of Thrones' in terms of the way it does the fantasy element to such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-show-comparable-to-game-of-thrones-in-terms/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [“Fictional worlds are a great place to indulge in unspoken fantasies. . . like writing the dad you never had. . . but desperately wanted growing up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jc-morrows/fictional-worlds-are-a-great-place-to-indulge-in-unspoken-fantasies/) [Jc Morrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jc-morrows/) > [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [“I told you; I am Arianna, the Siren, your Guardian, and how is a Guardian supposed to do her job if she is clueless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/i-told-you-i-am-arianna-the-siren-your-guardian-and-how-is-a-guardian/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) [Browse all 322 Fictional quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In this sense, Rachel envied fictional characters. For them, everything would eventually make sense. If she were fictional, all the random, ridiculous events of her life would mold into a recognizable shape, building toward something. 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