---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were full of experiments and reforms…"
description: "\"“We were full of experiments and reforms, we were going to do without table napkins. Everything was going to be new, everything was going to be differe..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/virginia-woolf-49_napkins_we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms_281742.jpg"
---

#  We were full of experiments and reforms, we were going to…

![“We were full of experiments and reforms, we were going to do without table napkins. Everything was going to be new, everything was going to be different. Everything was on trial.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/virginia-woolf-49_napkins_we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms_281742.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/virginia-woolf-49_napkins_we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms_281742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/virginia-woolf-49_napkins_we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms_281742.jpg)

> ““We were full of experiments and reforms, we were going to do without table napkins. Everything was going to be new, everything was going to be different. Everything was on trial.””

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes a period of radical experimentation and change, where everything is provisional and subject to trial.

**In simple terms:** A time of constant experimentation and change.

Key Takeaway

Embrace flexibility and trial.

Themes

change experimentation uncertainty

Mood

introspective inquisitive

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- business innovation
- artistic projects
- personal growth

Key Concepts

modernism creative process

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you handle uncertainty?
- What experiments are you willing to try?

A Different Perspective

Constant change can cause instability.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Different Trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-trial-2731249/) [Experiments Reforms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments-reforms-2731248/) [Napkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napkins/) [Napkins Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napkins-going-2731250/) [Trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trial/)

## Related quotes

> [ \[On living in New York City:\] I'm oblivious to everything. I just don't notice anything. I sat in a coffee shop, drank half a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kightlinger/on-living-in-new-york-city-i-m-oblivious-to-everything-i-just-don-t/)

[Laura Kightlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kightlinger/)

> [I still like paper books. Like, book is a flammable object. After you read it, you could use it to get warm. Or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-still-like-paper-books-like-book-is-a-flammable-object-after-you/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [When planning your wedding you make so many decisions: 'Do I want this fork or that fork?' But in the end people aren't going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-stone/when-planning-your-wedding-you-make-so-many-decisions-do-i-want-this/)

[Lara Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-stone/)

> [I never use a napkin on my lap at a restaurant...because I believe in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal-buress/i-never-use-a-napkin-on-my-lap-at-a-restaurant-because-i-believe-in/)

[Hannibal Buress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal-buress/)

> [So Stapes conducted a dinner for just the two of us, then informed me of a dozen small but important mistakes I had made.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/so-stapes-conducted-a-dinner-for-just-the-two-of-us-then-informed-me/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“... I say and maintain, that of all torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders, tail-napkins, bunghole cleansers, and wipe-breeches, there is none in the world comparable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-say-and-maintain-that-of-all-torcheculs-arsewisps-bumfodders-tail/)

[François Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/)

> [I swear, guys in groups are capable of the stupidest things." "Like war," Kellan says, heaping napkins and ketchup packets onto her tray. "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/i-swear-guys-in-groups-are-capable-of-the-stupidest-things-like-war/)

[Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/)

> [The most exciting business ideas fit on the back of an airplane napkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmine-gallo/the-most-exciting-business-ideas-fit-on-the-back-of-an-airplane-napkin/)

[Carmine Gallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmine-gallo/)

> [At the dinner table, if you can't think of anything to say, sit quietly. Don't throw rolls, or chew on your napkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/at-the-dinner-table-if-you-can-t-think-of-anything-to-say-sit-quietly/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [“Professor Butts walks in his sleep, strolls through a cactus field in his bare feet, and screams out an idea for a self-operating napkin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rube-goldberg/professor-butts-walks-in-his-sleep-strolls-through-a-cactus-field-in/)

[Rube Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rube-goldberg/)

> [Fletch then kisses me on the forehead before opening the cabinet under the coffeemaker to grab placemats and napkins. Retrieving these items is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/fletch-then-kisses-me-on-the-forehead-before-opening-the-cabinet/)

[Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/)

> [As we're leaving the King's Arms Hotel after Sunday lunch, I watch a beautiful white dove walking down the wet road. A car approaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/as-we-re-leaving-the-king-s-arms-hotel-after-sunday-lunch-i-watch-a/)

[Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/)

> [The only test of possession is use. The talent that is buried is not owned. The napkin and the hole in the ground are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maltbie-davenport-babcock/the-only-test-of-possession-is-use-the-talent-that-is-buried-is-not/)

[Maltbie Davenport Babcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maltbie-davenport-babcock/)

> [I received rejection letters for ten years (one on a napkin, written in crayon.) I had all my rejection notices stored in a box.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-received-rejection-letters-for-ten-years-one-on-a-napkin-written-in/)

[Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/)

> [Potassium cyanide," says the talent wrangler as she leans over to pick up a paper napkin off the floor. "Found naturally in the cassava…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/potassium-cyanide-says-the-talent-wrangler-as-she-leans-over-to-pick/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

## More by Virginia Woolf

> [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here &amp; read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

[Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## More Napkins quotes

> [ \[On living in New York City:\] I'm oblivious to everything. I just don't notice anything. I sat in a coffee shop, drank half a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kightlinger/on-living-in-new-york-city-i-m-oblivious-to-everything-i-just-don-t/)

[Laura Kightlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kightlinger/)

> [I received rejection letters for ten years (one on a napkin, written in crayon.) I had all my rejection notices stored in a box.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-received-rejection-letters-for-ten-years-one-on-a-napkin-written-in/)

[Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/)

> [The only test of possession is use. The talent that is buried is not owned. The napkin and the hole in the ground are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maltbie-davenport-babcock/the-only-test-of-possession-is-use-the-talent-that-is-buried-is-not/)

[Maltbie Davenport Babcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maltbie-davenport-babcock/)

> [As we're leaving the King's Arms Hotel after Sunday lunch, I watch a beautiful white dove walking down the wet road. A car approaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-sher/as-we-re-leaving-the-king-s-arms-hotel-after-sunday-lunch-i-watch-a/)

[Antony Sher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-sher/)

> [Fletch then kisses me on the forehead before opening the cabinet under the coffeemaker to grab placemats and napkins. Retrieving these items is his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/fletch-then-kisses-me-on-the-forehead-before-opening-the-cabinet/)

[Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/)

> [“Professor Butts walks in his sleep, strolls through a cactus field in his bare feet, and screams out an idea for a self-operating napkin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rube-goldberg/professor-butts-walks-in-his-sleep-strolls-through-a-cactus-field-in/)

[Rube Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rube-goldberg/)

> [At the dinner table, if you can't think of anything to say, sit quietly. Don't throw rolls, or chew on your napkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/at-the-dinner-table-if-you-can-t-think-of-anything-to-say-sit-quietly/)

[Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/)

> [The most exciting business ideas fit on the back of an airplane napkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmine-gallo/the-most-exciting-business-ideas-fit-on-the-back-of-an-airplane-napkin/)

[Carmine Gallo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmine-gallo/)

> [I swear, guys in groups are capable of the stupidest things." "Like war," Kellan says, heaping napkins and ketchup packets onto her tray. "And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/i-swear-guys-in-groups-are-capable-of-the-stupidest-things-like-war/)

[Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/)

> [“... I say and maintain, that of all torcheculs, arsewisps, bumfodders, tail-napkins, bunghole cleansers, and wipe-breeches, there is none in the world comparable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/i-say-and-maintain-that-of-all-torcheculs-arsewisps-bumfodders-tail/)

[François Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/)

> [So Stapes conducted a dinner for just the two of us, then informed me of a dozen small but important mistakes I had made.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/so-stapes-conducted-a-dinner-for-just-the-two-of-us-then-informed-me/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [I never use a napkin on my lap at a restaurant...because I believe in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal-buress/i-never-use-a-napkin-on-my-lap-at-a-restaurant-because-i-believe-in/)

[Hannibal Buress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal-buress/)

> [When planning your wedding you make so many decisions: 'Do I want this fork or that fork?' But in the end people aren't going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-stone/when-planning-your-wedding-you-make-so-many-decisions-do-i-want-this/)

[Lara Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-stone/)

> [I still like paper books. Like, book is a flammable object. After you read it, you could use it to get warm. Or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-still-like-paper-books-like-book-is-a-flammable-object-after-you/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [Potassium cyanide," says the talent wrangler as she leans over to pick up a paper napkin off the floor. "Found naturally in the cassava…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/potassium-cyanide-says-the-talent-wrangler-as-she-leans-over-to-pick/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

[Browse all 95 Napkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/napkins/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“We were full of experiments and reforms, we were going to do without table napkins. Everything was going to be new, everything was going to be different. Everything was on trial.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Virginia Woolf"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms-we-were-going-to-do-without/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Napkins"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms-we-were-going-to-do-without/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/virginia-woolf-49_napkins_we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms_281742.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/virginia-woolf-49_napkins_we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms_281742.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/129/virginia-woolf-49_napkins_we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms_281742.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We were full of experiments and reforms, we were going to do without table napkins. Everything was going to…” — Virginia Woolf",
                "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": "Virginia Woolf",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“We were full of experiments and...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms-we-were-going-to-do-without/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-were-full-of-experiments-and-reforms-we-were-going-to-do-without/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
