Original artwork, not a still
A Dance with Dragons • 2011
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Jojen, known mostly for his green dreams, makes the case for reading as borrowed lifetimes. It lands harder in a book where the characters read the past through weirwoods and where Bran's whole future depends on seeing more than one life. Book lovers have since taken the line up as a motto for why stories matter.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for A Dance with DragonsShow the scene
A Dance with Dragons, Bran III. Bran, Hodor, Jojen and Meera are living in the cave of the three-eyed crow, beyond the Wall, among the children of the forest. Jojen is growing sadder and more solemn there and shaking in fits, while Meera tries to keep her brother's spirits up. Wikiquote files the line under this chapter, where Jojen says it to Bran: a reader lives a thousand lives, and the man who never reads lives only one. The same chapter has Bran learning to enter ravens and to see the past through weirwoods.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: A Song of Ice and FireA Dance with Dragons (2011), Bran (III)Reference checked
- A Wiki of Ice and Fire: A Dance with Dragons Chapter 34Infobox and SynopsisReference checked
- A Wiki of Ice and Fire: Jojen ReedRecent Events, A Dance with DragonsReference checked
Context reviewed