--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stephen began to dream again. This time…" description: "\"“Stephen began to dream again. This time he dreamt that hills walked and the sky wept. Trees came and spoke to him and told him their secrets and also ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/susanna-clarke-1559_dream_stephen-began-to-dream-again-this-time-h_2172398.png" --- # Stephen began to dream again. This time he dreamt that… ![“Stephen began to dream again. This time he dreamt that hills walked and the sky wept. Trees came and spoke to him and told him their secrets and also whether or not he might regard them as friends or enemies. Important destinies were hidden inside pebbles and crumpled leaves. He dreamt that…” quote by Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/susanna-clarke-1559_dream_stephen-began-to-dream-again-this-time-h_2172398.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/susanna-clarke-1559_dream_stephen-began-to-dream-again-this-time-h_2172398.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88d/susanna-clarke-1559_dream_stephen-began-to-dream-again-this-time-h_2172398.png) > ““Stephen began to dream again. This time he dreamt that hills walked and the sky wept. Trees came and spoke to him and told him their secrets and also whether or not he might regard them as friends or enemies. Important destinies were hidden inside pebbles and crumpled leaves. He dreamt that everything in the world – stones and rivers, leaves and fire – had a purpose which it was determined to carry out with the utmost rigour, but he also understood that it was possible sometimes to persuade things to a different purpose.”” [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The protagonist perceives a world where every element has intent and can be guided, suggesting agency in nature and the power of imagination. **In simple terms:** Everything has purpose and can be persuaded. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect hidden purposes. Themes imagination nature agency purpose perception Mood wonderful reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - philosophical reflection - environmental stewardship Key Concepts metaphysics animism intentionality Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern true intent versus projection? - Can we ethically influence natural processes? A Different Perspective Nature may not always be persuadable; human interpretation can misread signs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [She could see the name Fukamachi on a shiny name-plate by the door of the house, but it was a name that meant nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasutaka-tsutsui/she-could-see-the-name-fukamachi-on-a-shiny-name-plate-by-the-door-of/) [Yasutaka Tsutsui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasutaka-tsutsui/) > [“Mostly everything that exists began with a dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-cunningham-leverette/mostly-everything-that-exists-began-with-a-dream/) Sonia Cunningham Leverette > [Everything that is or was began with a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everything-that-is-or-was-began-with-a-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I soon began to dream. ... I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. ... I left my bed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-soon-began-to-dream-i-heard-subdued-sobs-as-if-a-number-of-people/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [ I loved doing school musicals \[as a kid\], I even started at an early age to write little plays for the school to perform.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ogilvie/i-loved-doing-school-musicals-as-a-kid-i-even-started-at-an-early-age/) [George Ogilvie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ogilvie/) > [When he awoke it was dawn. Or something like dawn. The light was watery, dim and incomparably sad. Vast, grey, gloomy hills rose up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/when-he-awoke-it-was-dawn-or-something-like-dawn-the-light-was-watery/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“Stephen had never seen a landscape so calculated to reduce the onlooker to utter despair in an instant. “This is one of your kingdoms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/stephen-had-never-seen-a-landscape-so-calculated-to-reduce-the/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [It would need someone very remarkable to recover your name, Stephen, someone of rare perspicacity, with extraordinary talents and incomparable nobility of character. Me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/it-would-need-someone-very-remarkable-to-recover-your-name-stephen/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“..(As to what they might be resting upon, Stephen was determined not to consider).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/as-to-what-they-might-be-resting-upon-stephen-was-determined-not-to/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [I admired Stephen Fleming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nasser-hussain/i-admired-stephen-fleming/) [Nasser Hussain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nasser-hussain/) > [ “\[Prison Break is\] one of the craziest, most unpredictable roller-coaster rides on TV today.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/prison-break-is-one-of-the-craziest-most-unpredictable-roller-coaster/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“How terrifyingly efficient she sounds," said Stephen. "I think I should faint in her presence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-p-hartley/how-terrifyingly-efficient-she-sounds-said-stephen-i-think-i-should/) [L.P. Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-p-hartley/) > [There are many dimensions to Stephen A.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-a-smith/there-are-many-dimensions-to-stephen-a/) [Stephen A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-a-smith/) > [When Stephen was first diagnosed, we weren't actually going out together, but I was already falling in love with him. He had beautiful eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hawking/when-stephen-was-first-diagnosed-we-weren-t-actually-going-out/) [Jane Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hawking/) > [“George's hand lifted and fell away again. 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Let someone explain that to me. It is like asking a politician to achieve high office…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/how-is-a-magician-to-exist-without-books-let-someone-explain-that-to/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“Mr Norrell was delighted. He did not believe that anyone had ever proposed such a piece of magic before and begged Sir Walter to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/mr-norrell-was-delighted-he-did-not-believe-that-anyone-had-ever/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/the-house-is-valuable-because-it-is-the-house-it-is-enough-in-and-of/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“...hatching his poems..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/hatching-his-poems/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“It was as if a door had opened somewhere. Or possibly a series of doors. 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They believe that stones, doors, trees, fire, clouds and so forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/fairies-do-not-make-a-strong-distinction-between-the-animate-and-the/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [There is nothing in the world so easy to explain as failure - it is, after all, what everybody does all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/there-is-nothing-in-the-world-so-easy-to-explain-as-failure-it-is/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [How quickly was every bad thing discovered to be the fault of the previous administration (an evil set of men who wedded general stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/how-quickly-was-every-bad-thing-discovered-to-be-the-fault-of-the/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [“Mr. Norrell gazed at Strange with an odd expression upon his face as though he would have been glad of a little conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/mr-norrell-gazed-at-strange-with-an-odd-expression-upon-his-face-as/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) [Explore all 228 Susanna Clarke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. 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I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Stephen began to dream again. This time he dreamt that hills walked and the sky wept. Trees came and spoke to him and told him their secrets and also whether or not he might regard them as friends or enemies. Important destinies were hidden inside pebbles and crumpled leaves. 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