Is fiction actually more real than the life we live?

Ideas & Philosophy · Published 18 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: We often use 'real life' to describe the world outside our screens or the mundane routines of adulthood. But literary history suggests a paradox: the curated types and archetypes found in great stories might actually possess a deeper sense of reality than our own unvarnished experiences.

The term 'real life' originated in literature as a tool to demarcate the physical world from the fictional, virtual, or idealized. In the theater, it serves a practical purpose: distinguishing the actor from the character. However, its philosophical weight shifted significantly in the late 18th century. In her 1788 work, 'Original Stories from Real Life,' Mary Wollstonecraft used the phrase to champion a middle-class ethos.

For her, 'real life' was a moral category, positioned as superior to the 'artificial' court culture of fairy tales or the 'chance and luck' found in stories for the poor. In this context, 'real' was synonymous with a specific set of virtues and social truths. This tension between the 'real' and the 'fictional' persists in modern digital culture.

Today, 'real life' (or IRL) is frequently used to denote physical presence—the 'meatspace' of our existence—as opposed to the internet. This distinction is becoming increasingly fluid, however. Some sociologists argue that the divide between online and offline worlds may eventually become 'quaint' as digital activities, such as sexual intrigues, transition into complete legitimacy and reality. Interestingly, there is a literary argument that authors select types that are rarely met in their entirety, yet these portrayals are 'more real' than real life itself. This suggests that while we use 'real life' to describe our physical location or our status as adults, the most profound truths might actually reside in the curated, distilled essence of human experience found in narrative.

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