"A book is simply the container of an idea like a bottle; what is inside the book is what matters"
- Angela Carter
About this Quote
This quote by Angela Carter is a metaphor for the value of the material of a book. She is suggesting that the book itself is merely a vessel, like a bottle, and what is inside the book is what is genuinely important. This might be translated as a suggestion to focus on the compound of a book, rather than its physical type. Carter is highlighting the importance of the ideas and stories consisted of within a book, rather than the book itself. This quote might likewise be analyzed as a suggestion to focus on the content of any form of communication, instead of the form itself. Carter is suggesting that the concepts and stories consisted of within a book are what truly matters, which the physical form of the book is secondary.
"I sort of try to read the books when they come out impartially and not make up my mind, but the fact is when I was reading the sixth, 'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince', there were bits in there where I was going, 'God, I would love to do that because it's so good'"