Original artwork, not a still
Time Enough for Love · 1973
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The opening offers writers a qualified reassurance, then immediately undermines it. Privacy and handwashing are presented as necessary precautions, as though writing were a grubby habit. That contradiction gives the advice its humour, treating a respectable activity with exaggerated suspicion and embarrassment.
Context reviewed
