--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Madame Bovary and a flying carpet, they…" description: "\"Madame Bovary and a flying carpet, they are both untrue in the same way. Somebody made them up.\" — Salman Rushdie" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/salman-rushdie-153_carpet_madame-bovary-and-a-flying-carpet-they-a_511201.jpg" --- # Madame Bovary and a flying carpet, they are both untrue in… ![“Madame Bovary and a flying carpet, they are both untrue in the same way. Somebody made them up.” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/salman-rushdie-153_carpet_madame-bovary-and-a-flying-carpet-they-a_511201.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/salman-rushdie-153_carpet_madame-bovary-and-a-flying-carpet-they-a_511201.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e8/salman-rushdie-153_carpet_madame-bovary-and-a-flying-carpet-they-a_511201.jpg) > “Madame Bovary and a flying carpet, they are both untrue in the same way. Somebody made them up.” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement compares fictional narratives, suggesting both are fabrications and not factual. **In simple terms:** Both stories are imagined, not true. Key Takeaway Recognize fiction as a tool for exploring truth. Themes fiction truth imagination Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - creative writing - media literacy Key Concepts postmodernism literary critique Questions to Reflect On - Why do we value stories that aren't true? - How does fiction reveal deeper truths? A Different Perspective It may dismiss the cultural significance of myths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carpet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpet/) [Carpet Untrue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpet-untrue-4331731/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Flying Carpet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying-carpet-1264713/) [Madame Bovary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madame-bovary/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Untrue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untrue/) [Untrue Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/untrue-way-872690/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“There’s a widespread belief that if you have solid self-esteem you don’t need outside affirmation and praise. This is patently untrue, by the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-lerner/there-s-a-widespread-belief-that-if-you-have-solid-self-esteem-you/) [Harriet Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-lerner/) > [My ideal audience is on the young side, eager to mutate and move to a higher level of consciousness. I want my images to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/my-ideal-audience-is-on-the-young-side-eager-to-mutate-and-move-to-a/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [Imagination is a good horse to carry you over the ground - not a flying carpet to set you free from probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/imagination-is-a-good-horse-to-carry-you-over-the-ground-not-a-flying/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Who do you know, who could come out on a flying carpet? P. Diddy standing at the bottom, come out like a concert, dancing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseem-hamed/who-do-you-know-who-could-come-out-on-a-flying-carpet-p-diddy/) [Naseem Hamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseem-hamed/) > [“There was still plenty of time to spare when Çetin Efendi dropped my parents and me at the revolving doors, which were shaded by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/there-was-still-plenty-of-time-to-spare-when-etin-efendi-dropped-my/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [Unicorns, dragons, witches may be creatures conjured up in dreams, but on the page their needs, joys, anguishes, and redemptions should be just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/unicorns-dragons-witches-may-be-creatures-conjured-up-in-dreams-but/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Doesn't it seem to you," asked Madame Bovary, "that the mind moves more freely in the presence of that boundless expanse, that the sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/doesn-t-it-seem-to-you-asked-madame-bovary-that-the-mind-moves-more/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“Do you know what Nabokov said about adultery in his lecture on Madame Bovary? 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He writes with a scalpel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-macron/i-have-a-boundless-passion-for-flaubert-it-s-unthinkable-to-me-that/) [Brigitte Macron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-macron/) > [“Dad once noted (somewhat morbidly, I thought at the time) that American institutions would be infinitely more successful in facilitating the pursuit of knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/dad-once-noted-somewhat-morbidly-i-thought-at-the-time-that-american/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [She (Madame Bovary) had that indefinable beauty that comes from happiness, enthusiasm, success - a beauty that is nothing more or less than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/she-madame-bovary-had-that-indefinable-beauty-that-comes-from/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [All fiction is based on truth - 'Madame Bovary' is based on a true story!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-slimani/all-fiction-is-based-on-truth-madame-bovary-is-based-on-a-true-story/) [Leila Slimani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-slimani/) > [I always wanted to be Jo in 'Little Women.' She's a bit reckless and feckless, always getting into trouble like me. But I'm probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/i-always-wanted-to-be-jo-in-little-women-she-s-a-bit-reckless-and/) [Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. 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If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Carpet quotes > [I don't really resent being on the red carpet as much as I do having to deal with the paparazzi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-don-t-really-resent-being-on-the-red-carpet-as-much-as-i-do-having/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The Kennedys have always represented a certain royal quality, Camelot, and they represent a great deal of integrity and strength and perseverance; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-slater/the-kennedys-have-always-represented-a-certain-royal-quality-camelot/) [Christian Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-slater/) > [To be honest, I don't love the getting-ready-for-red-carpet thing. I like when it's done, the final product, but the actual doing of all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-stevens/to-be-honest-i-don-t-love-the-getting-ready-for-red-carpet-thing-i/) [Amber Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-stevens/) > ['Mulk' is a film that needed to be made. We can no longer sweep the isolation of the Indian Muslim under the carpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anubhav-sinha/mulk-is-a-film-that-needed-to-be-made-we-can-no-longer-sweep-the/) [Anubhav Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anubhav-sinha/) > [I'd had episodes before, but I swept them under the carpet. This time, I couldn't do that because everyone knew. I got on with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-kidder/i-d-had-episodes-before-but-i-swept-them-under-the-carpet-this-time-i/) [Margot Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-kidder/) > [“The world is for you and for the ones who roll out the carpet, even if it's tattered. They're scattered all over. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salma-abdelnour/the-world-is-for-you-and-for-the-ones-who-roll-out-the-carpet-even-if/) [Salma Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salma-abdelnour/) > [Without my relatives, I am but a thread; together, we form a colorful and elaborate Persian carpet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/firoozeh-dumas/without-my-relatives-i-am-but-a-thread-together-we-form-a-colorful/) [Firoozeh Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/firoozeh-dumas/) > [There are some people, who place enormous value on their home and feel that it defines them, that a stain on the carpet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/there-are-some-people-who-place-enormous-value-on-their-home-and-feel/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [There's always - somehow a red carpet everywhere. And I think that, you know, it's a fantasyland out here, you know. It's beautiful. 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I know you want them to be so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-white/like-it-or-not-people-tend-to-buy-paintings-to-match-their-drapes/) [Jack White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-white/) > [Of course, when we got home, we found that Dagda had peed on my down comforter. He had also eaten part of Mom's maidenhair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-tiernan/of-course-when-we-got-home-we-found-that-dagda-had-peed-on-my-down/) [Cate Tiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-tiernan/) > [I can't stop pointing to the beauty. Every moment and place says, 'Put this design in your carpet!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-can-t-stop-pointing-to-the-beauty-every-moment-and-place-says-put/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“The carpet was so thick I could have made carpet angels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-altrogge/the-carpet-was-so-thick-i-could-have-made-carpet-angels/) [Stephen Altrogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-altrogge/) [Browse all 640 Carpet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpet/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Madame Bovary and a flying carpet, they are both untrue in the same way. 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