 In this passage, Cavendish speaks to the way in which participation in fictional stories does not lead to some of the difficult and problematic consequences that would occur if those stories unfolded in real life. We know that Cavendish witnessed the horrors of civil war in her own time, and she might subscribe to the view that social change needs to be gradual if it is to occur at all and not lead to such consequences – in particular, to the kind of backlash that sets progress back further still. Writing is no doubt a platform that can make more malleable some of the resistance to social change. If a tradition is predominant and entrenched, and a critical mass of individuals benefit from its continued existence, the attempt to overturn it in real life will be countered with at least as much force. Imagination would appear to be more fluid, and over the long haul a vividly entertained scenario might become so familiar as to be innocuous. If we are the author of that scenario, we might even become famous for playing a part in changing the world.