while it is certainly the biographer's business to describe the foibles, passions and idiosyncrasies which make his subject a person, his work will be very meagre if these individual traits are not also seen as part of a universal drama - for each man's life is also the story of Everyman.
Iris OrigoJust as, in travel, one may miss seeing the sunset because one cannot find the ticket-office or is afraid of missing the train, so in even the closest human relationships a vast amount of time and of affection is drained away in minor misunderstandings, missed opportunities, and failures in consideration or understanding.
Iris OrigoThe biographer's real business - if it is not too arrogant to say so - is simply this: to bring the dead to life.
Iris Origo[On writing biography:] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him.
Iris OrigoBehind each biography there should always be a rich treasury of unformulated knowledge, a tapestry that has not been unrolled.
Iris OrigoI believe, not theoretically, but from direct personal experience, that very few of the things that happen to us are purposeless or accidental (and this includes suffering and grief - even that of others), and that sometimes one catches a glimpse of the link between these happenings. I believe - even when I am myself blind and deaf, or even indifferent - in the existence of a mystery.
Iris Origo