Dreamed Quote by Salman Rushdie
““Later, when his desires had been satisfied, he slept in an odorous whorehouse, snoring lustily next to an insomniac tart, and dreamed. He could dream in seven languages: Italian, Spanic, Arabic, Persian, Russian, English and Portughese. He had picked up languages the way most sailors picked up diseases; languages were his gonorrhea, his syphilis, his scurvy, his ague,his plague. As soon as he fell asleep half the world started babbling in his brain, telling wondrous travelers' tales. In this half-discovered world every day brought news of fresh enchantments. The visionary, revelatory dream-poetry of the quotidian had not yet been crushed by blinkered, prosy fact. Himself a teller of tales, he had been driven out of his door by stories of wonder, and by one in particular, a story which could make his fortune or else cost him his life.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie, 1981
A storyteller’s mind is a fevered tapestry of languages and dreams, each new tongue a contagion that fuels imagination and peril.
In simple terms: Dreams and languages mix, creating both wonder and danger.
Key Takeaway
Embrace diverse ideas but beware their risks.
Themes
imagination
language
danger
storytelling
identity
Mood
melancholic
hopeful
introspective
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- travel writing
- creative writing
- personal reflection
- cultural commentary
Key Concepts
cultural diffusion
psycho‑linguistics
creative contagion
Questions to Reflect On
- How do new languages reshape your worldview?
- What price do you pay for relentless curiosity?
A Different Perspective
The metaphor of disease may over‑dramatize linguistic acquisition.
