I don't pretend to be an author or to know anything about writing. I'm doing this simply because Dr Reilly asked me to, and somehow when Dr Reilly asks you to do a thing you don't like to refuse.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker denies being an author, stating they wrote only because a doctor asked them to and they dislike refusing requests.
- In plain terms
- I am not an author; I wrote because someone asked and I hate saying no.
- What can you take from it?
- Actions are sometimes taken out of obligation rather than personal ambition.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do we struggle to refuse?
- Does obligation diminish creativity?
Another view
It may undervalue the speaker's actual writing ability.
More from Agatha Christie
Exactly! It is absurd - improbable - it cannot be. So I myself have said. And yet, my friend, there it is! one cannot escape from the facts.
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Permalink to quote #17 The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances.
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