I have occupied this idle, empty winter with writing a story. It has been written to please myself, without thought of my own vanity or modesty, without regard for other people's feelings, without considering whether I shock or hurt the living, without scrupling to speak of the dead. The world, I know, is changing. I am not indifferent to the revolution that has caught us in its mighty skirts, to the enormity of the flood that is threatening to submerge us. But what could I do? In the welter of the surrounding storm, I have taken refuge for a moment on this little raft, constructed with the salvage of my memory. I have tried to steer it into that calm haven of art in which I still believe. I have tried to avoid some of the rocks and sandbanks that guard its entrance.[from the introduction].Dorothy Bussy
About This Quote
In the introduction to his short story “Rip Tide,” James Joyce explored the nature of memory. In it, he described a young man’s childhood as a place of memories and dreams. In this story set in 1907, he describes a man standing on a nearby beach who is overwhelmed by the power of memories and regrets. He can see all of the things that were and could have been — the things that should have been — but he also sees all of the things that could not be and will never be.
Source: Olivia
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