But it is curious how you can see that an idea is absolutely true and correct and yet not believe it deeply enough to act on it.
Lydia DavisSo the question really is, Why doesn't that pain make you say, I won't do it again? When the pain is so bad that you have to say that, but you don't.
Lydia DavisI don't feel I have to struggle against allegory. I let the readers do the interpreting.
Lydia DavisWe all have an ongoing narrative inside our heads, the narrative that is spoken aloud if a friend asks a question. That narrative feels deeply natural to me. We also hang on to scraps of dialogue. Our memories donโt usually serve us up whole scenes complete with dialogue. So I suppose Iโm saying that I like to work from what a character is likely to remember, from a more interior place.
Lydia DavisYou know the pain is part of the whole thing. And it isnโt that you can say afterwards the pleasure was greater than the pain and thatโs why you would do it again. That has nothing to do with it. You canโt measure it, because the pain comes after and it lasts longer. So the question really is, Why doesnโt that pain make you say, I wonโt do it again? When the pain is so bad that you have to say that, but you donโt.
Lydia Davis