--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was the ultimate cautionary tale, the…" description: "\"“It was the ultimate cautionary tale, the moral being Don't fall, as if they were made of glass. In a sense they were--their fragility was irrefutable,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8a/stewart-o-nan-16780_accidents_it-was-the-ultimate-cautionary-tale-the_1146991.jpg" --- # It was the ultimate cautionary tale, the moral being Don't… ![“It was the ultimate cautionary tale, the moral being Don't fall, as if they were made of glass. In a sense they were--their fragility was irrefutable, medically proven--and yet Emily detested the inevitable rundown of accidents and tragedies, the more fortunate clucking their tongues and counting…” quote by Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8a/stewart-o-nan-16780_accidents_it-was-the-ultimate-cautionary-tale-the_1146991.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8a/stewart-o-nan-16780_accidents_it-was-the-ultimate-cautionary-tale-the_1146991.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8a/stewart-o-nan-16780_accidents_it-was-the-ultimate-cautionary-tale-the_1146991.jpg) > ““It was the ultimate cautionary tale, the moral being Don't fall, as if they were made of glass. In a sense they were--their fragility was irrefutable, medically proven--and yet Emily detested the inevitable rundown of accidents and tragedies, the more fortunate clucking their tongues and counting their blessings, all the while knowing it was just a matter of time. She didn't need to be reminded that she was a single misstep from disaster, especially here, without Henry, surrounded by the survivors of an earlier life.”” [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels constantly on the brink of disaster, aware that fragility and chance make life precarious. **In simple terms:** Life feels fragile and unpredictable, like walking on glass. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and build resilience. Themes fragility chance anxiety survival Mood tense reflective Type philosophical dramatic When to use this quote - personal crisis - disaster preparedness - mental health - support groups Key Concepts existential risk human vulnerability psychology narrative tension Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance awareness with calm? - What habits reduce fear of inevitable mishaps? A Different Perspective Focusing on danger can increase paranoia and paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Matter of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-of-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Vulnerability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulnerability/) ## Related quotes > [Rather than working to the exclusion of everything else in order to flood our bank accounts in the hope that we can eventually buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-komisar/rather-than-working-to-the-exclusion-of-everything-else-in-order-to/) [Randy Komisar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-komisar/) > [“I will tell you a few—each one with a moral!” Sri Yukteswar’s eyes twinkled with his warning. “My mother once tried to frighten me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/i-will-tell-you-a-few-each-one-with-a-moral-sri-yukteswar-s-eyes/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“I will tell you, too, that every fairy tale has a moral. 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It's bound to disappoint you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-tell-you-this-as-a-cautionary-tale-beware-of-getting-what-you-want/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Jason Nash's journey to and fall from influencer fame should serve as a cautionary tale to everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-cooper/jason-nash-s-journey-to-and-fall-from-influencer-fame-should-serve-as/) [Brett Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-cooper/) > [“I suspected those people were seeking to make sense of the world by turning her into a cautionary tale, the lesson being, look both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-kade/i-suspected-those-people-were-seeking-to-make-sense-of-the-world-by/) [Stacey Kade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-kade/) > [You can think of my films as cautionary tales, but you might even think of them as despairing tales, because at least in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/you-can-think-of-my-films-as-cautionary-tales-but-you-might-even/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [“Take my story as a cautionary tale, a narrative argument against ready-made solutions. 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First read this cautionary tale, especially if you think your ideas come from God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-vischer/have-you-ever-been-tempted-to-start-your-own-business-first-read-this/) [Phil Vischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-vischer/) > [If 'The Lord of the Rings' is a cautionary tale about the desire for power and the use of power, then it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamelle-bouie/if-the-lord-of-the-rings-is-a-cautionary-tale-about-the-desire-for/) [Jamelle Bouie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamelle-bouie/) > [Unless we face the future with answers to the real and dangerous challenges facing our country and our world we risk becoming a cautionary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-streeting/unless-we-face-the-future-with-answers-to-the-real-and-dangerous/) [Wes Streeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-streeting/) ## More by Stewart O'Nan > [The happiest she'd ever been was with him, and the saddest. Was that the true test of love?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/the-happiest-she-d-ever-been-was-with-him-and-the-saddest-was-that/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [It is not brilliance or facility that is necessary, but the determination to bear and even enjoy the dull process of wading into one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/it-is-not-brilliance-or-facility-that-is-necessary-but-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [You couldn't relive your life, skipping the awful parts, without losing what made it worthwhile. 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"Should be like a wood bee," she said. It was a private joke, a mocking appreciation of the slipperiness of even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/they-should-should-be-like-a-wood-bee-she-said-it-was-a-private-joke/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [I've always been a big reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/i-ve-always-been-a-big-reader/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [I'm not sure the risks I take are any different from what other writers take, since we all serve at the pleasure of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/i-m-not-sure-the-risks-i-take-are-any-different-from-what-other/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“Come then, come with us, out into the night. Come now, America the lovesick, America the timid, the blessed, the educated, come stalk the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/come-then-come-with-us-out-into-the-night-come-now-america-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [“Often, as she leafed through the sticky, plastic-coated pages, spotting herself with a frizzy perm or wearing a loud, printed blouse, she was struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/often-as-she-leafed-through-the-sticky-plastic-coated-pages-spotting/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [As a fiction writer, my favorite tools are my imagination and the peculiar opportunities offered by different points of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/as-a-fiction-writer-my-favorite-tools-are-my-imagination-and-the/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [You can't run from your roots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/you-can-t-run-from-your-roots/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [The two hardest things about writing are starting and not stopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/the-two-hardest-things-about-writing-are-starting-and-not-stopping/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) > [I like the idea of being a working writer, not of saying that it's going to take me 30 years to write my magnum opus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-o-nan/i-like-the-idea-of-being-a-working-writer-not-of-saying-that-it-s/) [Stewart O'Nan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) [Explore all 39 Stewart O'Nan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-o-nan/) ## More Accidents quotes > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/) [Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/) [Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/) > [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/) [Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/) > [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/) [Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/) > [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/) [Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/) > [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/) [Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) [Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was the ultimate cautionary tale, the moral being Don't fall, as if they were made of glass. 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