--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We haven't remained idle, twiddling our…" description: "\"“We haven't remained idle, twiddling our thumbs while you were off having a good time. Through books Cathy and I have lived a zillion lives . . . our v..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/v-c-andrews-2743_abandoned_we-haven-t-remained-idle-twiddling-our-t_1894732.jpg" --- # We haven't remained idle, twiddling our thumbs while you… ![“We haven't remained idle, twiddling our thumbs while you were off having a good time. Through books Cathy and I have lived a zillion lives . . . our vicarious way to feel alive.” quote by V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/v-c-andrews-2743_abandoned_we-haven-t-remained-idle-twiddling-our-t_1894732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/v-c-andrews-2743_abandoned_we-haven-t-remained-idle-twiddling-our-t_1894732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff0/v-c-andrews-2743_abandoned_we-haven-t-remained-idle-twiddling-our-t_1894732.jpg) > ““We haven't remained idle, twiddling our thumbs while you were off having a good time. Through books Cathy and I have lived a zillion lives . . . our vicarious way to feel alive.”” [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Through reading, the characters experience countless lives vicariously, using books as a means to feel alive while others enjoy leisure. **In simple terms:** Books let them live many lives and feel excitement. Key Takeaway Read to expand empathy and experience. Themes imagination escape literature vicarious living Mood contemplative nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - using books to cope with boredom - finding purpose through stories - enhancing empathy - avoiding passive disengagement Key Concepts narrative immersion identity exploration emotional fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - How do stories shape your sense of self? - When is reading a substitute for lived experience? A Different Perspective May suggest escapism over real-world action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Book reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-reading/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Good time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-time/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Through books Cathy and I have lived a zillion lives . . . our vicarious way to feel alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/through-books-cathy-and-i-have-lived-a-zillion-lives-our-vicarious/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“Then turn your eyes back on me, and tell me that Cathy and I are still children to be treated with condescension, and are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/then-turn-your-eyes-back-on-me-and-tell-me-that-cathy-and-i-are-still/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“I am not so different in my history of abandonment from anyone else after all. We have all been split away from each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/i-am-not-so-different-in-my-history-of-abandonment-from-anyone-else/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [Ironically, white America will catapult books about race to the top of the best-seller list, even as racism remains a national open wound. Obsession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marita-golden/ironically-white-america-will-catapult-books-about-race-to-the-top-of/) [Marita Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marita-golden/) > [Fiction is all about vicarious experiences and getting into other people's heads in a way that no other art form lets you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/fiction-is-all-about-vicarious-experiences-and-getting-into-other/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) > [Do you young people want a sure way to eliminate the influence of the adversary in your life? Immerse yourself in searching for your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/do-you-young-people-want-a-sure-way-to-eliminate-the-influence-of-the/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [public work brings a vicarious but assured sense of immortality. We may be poor, weak, timid, in debt to our landlady, bullied by our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/public-work-brings-a-vicarious-but-assured-sense-of-immortality-we/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [Napster's only alleged liability is for contributory or vicarious infringement. So when Napster's users engage in noncommercial sharing of music, is that activity copyright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-boies/napster-s-only-alleged-liability-is-for-contributory-or-vicarious/) [David Boies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-boies/) > [No vicarious charity can substitute for justice which is due as an obligation and is wrongfully denied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xi/no-vicarious-charity-can-substitute-for-justice-which-is-due-as-an/) [Pope Pius XI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xi/) > [It would be hard to conceive a system of instincts more nicely adjusted, where the constituents should represent or support one another better. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/it-would-be-hard-to-conceive-a-system-of-instincts-more-nicely/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Every campaign, Garry Wills once wrote, "taught Nixon the same lesson: mobilize resentment against those in power." History taught the same to many conservative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-campaign-garry-wills-once-wrote-taught-nixon-the-same-lesson/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I think that horror fiction is one of the ways to approach these problems of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/i-think-that-horror-fiction-is-one-of-the-ways-to-approach-these/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [It would have been impossible for me to have told anyone what I derived from these novels, for it was nothing less than a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/it-would-have-been-impossible-for-me-to-have-told-anyone-what-i/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“Pleasure of tragedy is vicarious suicide”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/pleasure-of-tragedy-is-vicarious-suicide/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [A love that left people alone in their guilt would not have real people as its object. So, in vicarious responsibility for people, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/a-love-that-left-people-alone-in-their-guilt-would-not-have-real/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) ## More by V.C. Andrews > [“Oh, it was wicked of me to make him the troublesome thing I was. He should stay always what he was, the happy-go-lucky cheerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/oh-it-was-wicked-of-me-to-make-him-the-troublesome-thing-i-was-he/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“I sighed, he sighed, the wind and flowers sighed too. I think those marble statues sighed along as well, in their lack of understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/i-sighed-he-sighed-the-wind-and-flowers-sighed-too-i-think-those/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“We are perfect children. Mentally, physically, emotionally, we are wholesome, and godly in every way possible. We have as much right to live, love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/we-are-perfect-children-mentally-physically-emotionally-we-are/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“Death can be a good friend to those in extreme pain. I wondered how he held on so long...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/death-can-be-a-good-friend-to-those-in-extreme-pain-i-wondered-how-he/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“Cathy, don't look so defeated. She was only trying to put us down again. Maybe nothing did work out right for her, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/cathy-don-t-look-so-defeated-she-was-only-trying-to-put-us-down-again/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“His blue eyes gazed down into mine. Eyes so much alike. I loved him as I loved the better side of myself, the brighter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/his-blue-eyes-gazed-down-into-mine-eyes-so-much-alike-i-loved-him-as/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“We all have to love you, and believe in you, and think you are looking out for our best interests. But look at us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/we-all-have-to-love-you-and-believe-in-you-and-think-you-are-looking/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“What if I am a curse?" "Then you're the prettiest and nicest curse I know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/what-if-i-am-a-curse-then-you-re-the-prettiest-and-nicest-curse-i-know/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“There were shadows in the corners and whispers on the stairs and time was irrelevant as honesty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/there-were-shadows-in-the-corners-and-whispers-on-the-stairs-and-time/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“Y, sin embargo, me sentia irritada cada vez que alguien venia a preguntar como habia muerto y a decir que era una lastima que…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/y-sin-embargo-me-sentia-irritada-cada-vez-que-alguien-venia-a/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“We don’t anticipate accidents, nor do we expect to die young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/we-don-t-anticipate-accidents-nor-do-we-expect-to-die-young/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“Cathy—look at me! Don’t turn your head and pretend you don’t know what I’m doing, what I’m saying! Look and see the torment you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/cathy-look-at-me-don-t-turn-your-head-and-pretend-you-don-t-know-what/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“To my lady Catherine, I give you gold with a diamond you can barely see, But the gem would be castle-sized if it expressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/to-my-lady-catherine-i-give-you-gold-with-a-diamond-you-can-barely/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“me to see the contents. Was she giving me a gift, like she gave Bart anything he wanted? He was the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/me-to-see-the-contents-was-she-giving-me-a-gift-like-she-gave-bart/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) > [“I don’t explain love, Bart. I don’t think anyone can. It grows from day to day from having contact with that other person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-c-andrews/i-don-t-explain-love-bart-i-don-t-think-anyone-can-it-grows-from-day/) [V.C. Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) [Explore all 122 V.C. Andrews quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-c-andrews/) ## More Abandoned quotes > [“I'm surprised when I walk right into yet another abandoned hunters' camp. Tattered plastic sheeting still hangs askew here and there. 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But in doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-russia-there-is-an-emigration-of-intelligence-migr-s-cross-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Early on in my life, I had a broken soul. I was abused by my father, abandoned by my mother and ended up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/early-on-in-my-life-i-had-a-broken-soul-i-was-abused-by-my-father/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [We should be recklessly abandoned to Jesus, and just turn it over to Him. Through the support I think the sacrifices will be made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/we-should-be-recklessly-abandoned-to-jesus-and-just-turn-it-over-to/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) > [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/) > [The whole force of the respectable circles to which I belonged, that respectable circle which knew as I did notthe value of security won,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-tarbell/the-whole-force-of-the-respectable-circles-to-which-i-belonged-that/) [Ida Tarbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-tarbell/) > [Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left Al Qaida was done for. 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It doesn't seem to solve the main problem with adoption, which is that somebody feels she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-ve-never-been-keen-on-open-adoption-it-doesn-t-seem-to-solve-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Blacks abandoned morals, fathers, and real belief in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-peterson/blacks-abandoned-morals-fathers-and-real-belief-in-god/) [Jesse Lee Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-peterson/) > [I just feel abandoned. And I feel, I don't feel represented by the Republican Party. 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