--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our memory fragments don't have any…" description: "\"Our memory fragments don't have any coherence until they're imagined in words. Time is a property of language, of syntax, and tense.\" — Siri Hustvedt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/siri-hustvedt-860_coherence_our-memory-fragments-don-t-have-any-cohe_815482.jpg" --- # Our memory fragments don't have any coherence until… ![“Our memory fragments don't have any coherence until they're imagined in words. Time is a property of language, of syntax, and tense.” quote by Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/siri-hustvedt-860_coherence_our-memory-fragments-don-t-have-any-cohe_815482.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/siri-hustvedt-860_coherence_our-memory-fragments-don-t-have-any-cohe_815482.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4eb/siri-hustvedt-860_coherence_our-memory-fragments-don-t-have-any-cohe_815482.jpg) > “Our memory fragments don't have any coherence until they're imagined in words. Time is a property of language, of syntax, and tense.” [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our memories become coherent only when we articulate them, because language imposes temporal structure. **In simple terms:** Memories need words to become organized. Key Takeaway Write down memories to understand them. Themes memory language coherence time syntax Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical psychological literary When to use this quote - journaling - therapy sessions - academic research - personal reflection Key Concepts cognitive psychology narrative construction temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How does writing change your recollection of an event? - Can language create memories that never existed? A Different Perspective Words can impose false continuity, oversimplifying messy recollections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Coherence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) ## Related quotes > [“Even Grace still imagined there might be words, the words that could reach Dora and that had so far, unaccountably, not been hit upon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-hazzard/even-grace-still-imagined-there-might-be-words-the-words-that-could/) [Shirley Hazzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-hazzard/) > [Amid chaos of images, we value coherence. We believe in the printed word. And we believe in clarity. And we believe in immaculate syntax.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shawn/amid-chaos-of-images-we-value-coherence-we-believe-in-the-printed/) [William Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shawn/) > [You have to begin to lose your memory, if only in bits and pieces, to realize that memory is what makes our lives. Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/you-have-to-begin-to-lose-your-memory-if-only-in-bits-and-pieces-to-4/) [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [Our memory is our coherence, our reason, our feeling, even our action. Without it, we are nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/our-memory-is-our-coherence-our-reason-our-feeling-even-our-action/) [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [Just a few words on time management: forget all about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/just-a-few-words-on-time-management-forget-all-about-it/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [Time Is The most Deceptive Thing. It Ticks Faster When You Are Happy, Prolongs When You Are In Agony And Disappoints When You Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/time-is-the-most-deceptive-thing-it-ticks-faster-when-you-are-happy/) Pacifiersucker > [Choose your last words, this is the last time. Cause you and I, we were born to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/choose-your-last-words-this-is-the-last-time-cause-you-and-i-we-were/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [No time for better words, no time to unsay anything. -Til We Have Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/no-time-for-better-words-no-time-to-unsay-anything-til-we-have-faces/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [There are about 30 words around you all the time, like 'thread' or 'exit.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/there-are-about-30-words-around-you-all-the-time-like-thread-or-exit/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [The Greeks had two words for time. Chronos is the time we usually keep an eye on. Kairos was our participation of time. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-shinoda-bolen/the-greeks-had-two-words-for-time-chronos-is-the-time-we-usually-keep/) [Jean Shinoda Bolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-shinoda-bolen/) > [The sweetest two words are 'next time.' The sourest word is 'if.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chi-chi-rodriguez/the-sweetest-two-words-are-next-time-the-sourest-word-is-if/) [Chi Chi Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chi-chi-rodriguez/) > [“I know already that I will return to this day whenever I want to. I can bid it alive. Preserve it. There is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-know-already-that-i-will-return-to-this-day-whenever-i-want-to-i/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“We have time for everything: to sleep, to run from one place to another, to regret having mistaken and to mistake again, to judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavian-paler/we-have-time-for-everything-to-sleep-to-run-from-one-place-to-another/) [Octavian Paler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavian-paler/) > [There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/there-is-a-time-for-many-words-and-there-is-also-a-time-for-sleep/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Mean words Once upon a time, I loved you But I will never I swear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arzum-uzun/mean-words-once-upon-a-time-i-loved-you-but-i-will-never-i-swear/) [Arzum Uzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arzum-uzun/) ## More by Siri Hustvedt > [I am married to a writer, and this - writing - is an odd enterprise. It's something we both support very strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-am-married-to-a-writer-and-this-writing-is-an-odd-enterprise-it-s/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [With almost no exceptions, art by men is much more expensive than art by women. Even great women artists, like Louise Bourgeois and Lee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/with-almost-no-exceptions-art-by-men-is-much-more-expensive-than-art/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I watched 'Holiday' in college, and that was when I had my first fantasy of being Katharine Hepburn, standing at the top of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-watched-holiday-in-college-and-that-was-when-i-had-my-first-fantasy/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“the impersonal and the personal are always connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-impersonal-and-the-personal-are-always-connected/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [When I don't get enough sleep, I am cranky, vulnerable to headaches, and my concentration is poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/when-i-don-t-get-enough-sleep-i-am-cranky-vulnerable-to-headaches-and/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Transformation of the self are related to where you are, and identity Is dependent on others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/transformation-of-the-self-are-related-to-where-you-are-and-identity/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [There's a phenomenology of being sick, one that depends on temperament, personal history, and the culture which we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/there-s-a-phenomenology-of-being-sick-one-that-depends-on-temperament/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [The faculty of memory cannot be separated from the imagination. They go hand in hand. To one degree or another, we all invent our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-faculty-of-memory-cannot-be-separated-from-the-imagination-they/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Looking is part of love, but what you see when you look is anybody's guess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/looking-is-part-of-love-but-what-you-see-when-you-look-is-anybody-s/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Every sickness has an alien quality, a feeling of invasion and loss of control that is evident in the language we use about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/every-sickness-has-an-alien-quality-a-feeling-of-invasion-and-loss-of/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I have a tendency to face my bad fantasies in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-have-a-tendency-to-face-my-bad-fantasies-in-my-books/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“The outside also becomes us. A human being is born an unfinished organism and as the person develops experience with others becomes a physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-outside-also-becomes-us-a-human-being-is-born-an-unfinished/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I am an American, but a sense of otherness was part of my growing up. I spoke Norwegian before I spoke English. My mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-am-an-american-but-a-sense-of-otherness-was-part-of-my-growing-up-i/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [When I was an impoverished graduate student, I would sometimes spend $20 or $30 on a T-shirt or accessory I didn't need or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/when-i-was-an-impoverished-graduate-student-i-would-sometimes-spend/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) [Explore all 330 Siri Hustvedt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) ## More Coherence quotes > [I have a strong spiritual commitment, and I try to express that in my work. Salvation cannot be worked out in human terms. 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To fill people's mailboxes, eyes, ears and brains with commercial rubbish against their will, television programs that are impossible to watch with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/freedom-to-fill-people-s-mailboxes-eyes-ears-and-brains-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [By exposing the multiplicity, the facticity, the repetition and stereotype at the heart of every aesthetic gesture, photography deconstructs the possibility of differentiating between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-e-krauss/by-exposing-the-multiplicity-the-facticity-the-repetition-and/) [Rosalind E. Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-e-krauss/) > [We have power... Our power isn’t in a political system, or a religious system, or in an economic system, or in a military system;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-trudell/we-have-power-our-power-isn-t-in-a-political-system-or-a-religious/) [John Trudell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-trudell/) > [“To live, it seems, is to explain, to justify, and to find coherence among diverse outcomes, characteristics, and causes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/to-live-it-seems-is-to-explain-to-justify-and-to-find-coherence-among/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [No one can threaten poetry. It's always been there, always will be. Humans need it to live: it has sustaining powers. How could we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-orr/no-one-can-threaten-poetry-it-s-always-been-there-always-will-be/) [Gregory Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-orr/) > [Art and ideology often interact on each other; but the plain fact is that both spring from a common source. Both draw on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/art-and-ideology-often-interact-on-each-other-but-the-plain-fact-is/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Whether it is good or evil, whether life in itself is pain or pleasure, whether it is uncertain-that it may perhaps be this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/whether-it-is-good-or-evil-whether-life-in-itself-is-pain-or-pleasure/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Coherence suggests that there is harmony, unity, and integrity between your vision and mission, your roles and goals, your priorities and plans, and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/coherence-suggests-that-there-is-harmony-unity-and-integrity-between/) [Stephen R. 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