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About this quote

What does it mean?
The author identifies deeply with her protagonist, suggesting the character embodies her inner life.
In plain terms
The writer sees herself in her main character.
What can you take from it?
Authors often embed personal truths in fiction.

Where it applies

  • reading novels
  • writing fiction
  • analyzing characters

Putting it to work

  • explore author intent
  • connect with characters

Questions to consider

  • What parts of yourself appear in your work?
  • Do you see yourself in the stories you read?

Another view

Authors also create characters distinct from themselves.

More from Gustave Flaubert

  1. Be regular and orderly in your life like a bourgeois, so that you

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  2. Of all lies, art is the least untrue.

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  3. Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.

    Permalink to quote #89

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