Life is like a typographical error: we're constantly writing and rewriting things over each other.

Bret Easton Ellis, The Rules of Attraction (1987).

Life, with all its imperfections and uncertainties, often feels like a work in progress. It is a journey filled with trials, missteps, revisions, and continuous adjustments. This concept is powerfully encapsulated in the quote by Bret Easton Ellis from his novel The Rules of Attraction:

“Life is like a typographical error: we’re constantly writing and rewriting things over each other.”

This metaphor likens life to a piece of writing riddled with errors, where instead of neatly correcting mistakes, we layer new versions over the old, creating a palimpsest of experience. Each new stroke does not entirely erase what came before; rather, it adds to the complexity and depth of the story we are telling. In exploring this metaphor, we dive into themes of human imperfection, self-editing, and the fluidity of identity.

At its heart, this quote captures the essence of …

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the human experience. Typographical errors are accidental, unintended mistakes made while typing or writing, often due to haste, lack of attention, or an uncontrollable urge to get thoughts onto the page as quickly as possible. Similarly, life is full of unforeseen and unplanned moments that don’t always go according to the script we imagine for ourselves.

Ellis’ analogy suggests that these “errors” are not only inevitable but also intrinsic to the process of living. Just as a typist might strike a wrong key, we too stumble through life, making decisions that may not always be the best. However, instead of starting over or erasing those errors entirely, we continue onward, making new decisions, revising old ones, and constantly overlapping layers of experience.

This metaphor is particularly powerful because it captures both the creative and chaotic nature of human existence. The act of “writing and rewriting things over each other” suggests that life is never finished or perfect. There is no final, polished version of ourselves or our journey. Instead, our lives are messy and fluid, full of incomplete sentences and overwritten paragraphs, where traces of past decisions remain visible beneath the surface of new ones.

Ellis’ Writing Style and Worldview

Bret Easton Ellis is known for his provocative and often dark portrayal of modern life, particularly in the context of disillusionment, superficiality, and existential aimlessness. His characters frequently grapple with feelings of confusion, alienation, and the search for meaning in a postmodern world. This theme of imperfection and revision fits naturally within the broader themes of his work, particularly in The Rules of Attraction, which deals with the complexities of relationships and identity among college students in the 1980s.

In The Rules of Attraction, the characters often find themselves caught in cycles of emotional confusion and hedonism, searching for connection while making the same mistakes repeatedly. This cyclical behavior mirrors the act of rewriting over old mistakes without necessarily correcting them. Ellis presents life as a process where we are constantly in motion, trying to create coherence out of disorder, only to find that it’s a never-ending, imperfect process.

This quote also ties into Ellis’ larger commentary on postmodern life. In an era characterized by fragmented identities, where individuals constantly shift between roles and personas, there is a sense of living in a continual state of revision. Much like a manuscript riddled with errors, human identity is subject to constant change, redefinition, and the influence of external forces. In this world, authenticity is elusive, and perfection is an illusion.

The Human Tendency to Revise and Rewrite Life

The metaphor of rewriting resonates with the common human desire to revise our past mistakes. When we look back at our lives, it’s easy to identify moments we would like to change—things we wish we hadn’t said, opportunities we should have taken, or relationships we could have handled differently. However, like a manuscript filled with typographical errors, life does not afford us the luxury of starting over with a clean slate. The marks of past decisions remain, sometimes visible, sometimes faded, but always part of the larger picture.

As people, we are constantly in a state of revision, whether we realize it or not. We revise our self-perceptions, our beliefs, and our relationships over time. Just as a writer might add new paragraphs to an existing text, we add new experiences, relationships, and decisions to the patchwork of our lives. Each new layer doesn’t erase the previous one but complicates it, creating a multidimensional narrative that is at once beautiful and flawed.

What’s crucial about Ellis’ metaphor is the idea that life’s revisions are ongoing. Just as a writer rarely achieves a perfect draft on the first attempt, human beings rarely achieve perfection in life. Mistakes are bound to happen, and the process of writing and rewriting is continuous. The metaphor offers a measure of forgiveness: it’s okay to make mistakes because life itself is a process of endless revision. The best we can do is keep moving forward, learning from our errors, and continuing to write our story.

Imperfection as a Central Theme

A key takeaway from this quote is that imperfection is not something to be ashamed of, but an inherent part of the human condition. The typographical errors in our lives—our mistakes, failures, and regrets—are not flaws to be erased but integral parts of our story. They contribute to who we are and how we understand ourselves and the world.

Moreover, this quote implies that life’s meaning is not found in achieving perfection, but in the act of continuing to write despite the errors. The beauty of a typographical error is that it signifies movement and progress; it is a byproduct of creation. Similarly, the mistakes we make in life are evidence that we are living, growing, and trying to find our way in a world that does not come with clear instructions.

The Fluidity of Identity

The quote also touches on the fluidity of identity. Just as a piece of writing can undergo revisions, so too can our sense of self. We are never finished products. Instead, we are constantly evolving, shaped by the experiences and choices we make. The person we were five years ago is not the same person we are today, and the person we will be in the future will be shaped by the ongoing process of revision that life demands of us.

This idea of fluid identity is especially relevant in the postmodern context in which Ellis writes. In a world where traditional markers of identity (such as career, religion, or nationality) are increasingly questioned or destabilized, individuals find themselves continually reinventing who they are. The quote suggests that this process of reinvention is not a failure, but rather a natural part of being human. We are all works in progress, constantly rewriting our own stories.

Embracing the Process of Revision

Bret Easton Ellis’ quote “Life is like a typographical error: we’re constantly writing and rewriting things over each other” encapsulates the inherent imperfection and ongoing revision that defines human life. Just as a writer continually revises their work, we too must continually revise our lives, making choices, learning from our mistakes, and layering new experiences over old ones.

This metaphor invites us to embrace the messiness of life rather than striving for an unattainable perfection. Our errors, far from being marks of failure, are evidence that we are engaged in the act of living. Life’s beauty lies not in the absence of mistakes but in our ability to move forward, revise, and keep writing our story, even when it feels unfinished or flawed.

In a world obsessed with perfection and control, Ellis reminds us that life is not a neatly typed, error-free manuscript. It is a messy, overlapping, ever-changing draft. The best we can do is continue to write, embracing the errors as part of the process.