--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The tangible and intangible collide to…" description: "\"“The tangible and intangible collide to cast a spell. But can a person or thing ever be stripped naked? Can we ever discover reality hiding under the m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/siri-hustvedt-860_fiction_the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-c_1611421.jpg" --- # The tangible and intangible collide to cast a spell. But… ![“The tangible and intangible collide to cast a spell. But can a person or thing ever be stripped naked? Can we ever discover reality hiding under the meanings we give to people and things? I don't think so. And I don't think Fitzgerald thought so either. His book meditates on the necessity of…” quote by Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/siri-hustvedt-860_fiction_the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-c_1611421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/siri-hustvedt-860_fiction_the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-c_1611421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/siri-hustvedt-860_fiction_the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-c_1611421.jpg) > ““The tangible and intangible collide to cast a spell. But can a person or thing ever be stripped naked? Can we ever discover reality hiding under the meanings we give to people and things? I don't think so. And I don't think Fitzgerald thought so either. His book meditates on the necessity of fiction, not only as lies but as truths.”” [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. Fiction blurs reality and illusion, revealing truth through narrative. **In simple terms:** Stories mix real and imagined to uncover deeper truths. Key Takeaway Use fiction to explore hidden realities. Themes fiction truth reality meaning literature Mood thoughtful introspective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading - creative writing - critical analysis - teaching Key Concepts ontological narrative theory philosophy of art Questions to Reflect On - How does narrative shape our perception? - What truths can only be expressed through fiction? A Different Perspective Fiction may mislead if taken as literal truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths/) ## Related quotes > [I had to admit that in his old-fashioned way O'Hara was still romantic about sex; like Scott Fitzgerald, he thought of it as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-kazin/i-had-to-admit-that-in-his-old-fashioned-way-o-hara-was-still/) [Alfred Kazin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-kazin/) > [F. Scott Fitzgerald thought that prolonging his adolescence would protect his talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/f-scott-fitzgerald-thought-that-prolonging-his-adolescence-would/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Like all good works of fiction, it lies like the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crossley/like-all-good-works-of-fiction-it-lies-like-the-truth/) Robert Crossley > [All fiction is lies – if it weren’t, it would be biography, history, or reportage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-spinrad/all-fiction-is-lies-if-it-weren-t-it-would-be-biography-history-or/) [Norman Spinrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-spinrad/) > [“Non-fiction can distort; facts can be realigned. But fiction never lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul-2/non-fiction-can-distort-facts-can-be-realigned-but-fiction-never-lies/) [V.S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul-2/) > [“let’s get our semantics straight. Story does not equal fiction, much less “lies.” It’s the world we Christians inhabit as “people of the Book.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/let-s-get-our-semantics-straight-story-does-not-equal-fiction-much/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [An autobiography can distort; facts can be realigned. But fiction never lies: it reveals the writer totally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-s-naipaul/an-autobiography-can-distort-facts-can-be-realigned-but-fiction-never/) [V. S. Naipaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-s-naipaul/) > [“He rolled his eyes. "Fiction lies for the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristine-grayson/he-rolled-his-eyes-fiction-lies-for-the-truth/) [Kristine Grayson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristine-grayson/) > [“The magic of fiction lies in deluding reason that it is fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-bert-g-l/the-magic-of-fiction-lies-in-deluding-reason-that-it-is-fiction/) Róbert Gál > [Fiction is lies; we're writing about people who never existed and events that never happened when we write fiction, whether its science fiction or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/fiction-is-lies-we-re-writing-about-people-who-never-existed-and/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [fiction and lies are both works of creative art, and creation always reveals the creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mccloy/fiction-and-lies-are-both-works-of-creative-art-and-creation-always/) [Helen McCloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mccloy/) > [The most valuable thing I can share is the importance of living in truth. Sometimes, facing those truths can actually be your worst fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-ross/the-most-valuable-thing-i-can-share-is-the-importance-of-living-in/) [Liberty Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-ross/) > [The rules and principles of case law have never been treated as final truths but as working hypotheses, continually retested in those great laboratories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-n-cardozo/the-rules-and-principles-of-case-law-have-never-been-treated-as-final/) [Benjamin N. Cardozo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-n-cardozo/) > [“First love is stripping down everything to essential truths, setting aside your fears and doubts and seeing who you are in someone else's eyes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-thurlow/first-love-is-stripping-down-everything-to-essential-truths-setting/) [Chloe Thurlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-thurlow/) > [“What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don’t tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-tudor/what-shapes-us-is-not-always-our-achievements-but-our-omissions-not/) [C.J. Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-tudor/) ## 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 Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The tangible and intangible collide to cast a spell. But can a person or thing ever be stripped naked? Can we ever discover reality hiding under the meanings we give to people and things? I don't think so. And I don't think Fitzgerald thought so either. His book meditates on the necessity of fiction, not only as lies but as truths.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siri Hustvedt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-cast-a-spell-but-can-a-person/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-cast-a-spell-but-can-a-person/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/siri-hustvedt-860_fiction_the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-c_1611421.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/siri-hustvedt-860_fiction_the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-c_1611421.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/siri-hustvedt-860_fiction_the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-c_1611421.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The tangible and intangible collide to cast a spell. But can a person or thing ever be stripped naked? Can…” — Siri Hustvedt", "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": "Siri Hustvedt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The tangible and intangible collide to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-cast-a-spell-but-can-a-person/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-tangible-and-intangible-collide-to-cast-a-spell-but-can-a-person/#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 } } ] } ```