God how I hate new countries: They are older than the old, more sophisticated, much more conceited, only young in a certain puerile vanity more like senility than anything.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The artist usually sets out -- or used to -- to point a moral and adorn a tale. The tale, however, points the other way, as a rule. Two blankly opposing morals, the artist's and the tale's. Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The proper functions of a critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that the story itself holds the true meaning, not the artist's interpretation. It emphasizes the importance of the narrative over the creator's intent.
D. H. Lawrence's quote reflects on the relationship between an artist and their work, asserting that while artists may intend to convey specific morals through their creations, the narratives themselves often tell a different story. In essence, Lawrence argues that the focus should be on the tale that emerges rather than the artist's purpose, highlighting the inherent tension between intention and interpretation. The role of the critic is thus framed as a protector of the tale, ensuring that its essence is not overshadowed by the artist's potentially misguided moral interpretations.
Themes
ArtistTaleMoralCriticismInterpretation
In practice
Example use cases
In a literature class discussing the role of authors in their narratives.
More from D. H. Lawrence
All quotes →A young man is afraid of his demon and puts his hand over the demon's mouth sometimes and speaks for him. And the things the young man says are very rarely poetry.
D. H. LawrenceRead
And besides, look at elder flowers and bluebells-they are a sign that pure creation takes place - even the butterfly. But humanity never gets beyond the caterpillar stage -it rots in the chrysalis, it never will have wings.It is anti-creation, like monkeys and baboons.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The Christian fear of the pagan outlook has damaged the whole consciousness of man.
D. H. LawrenceRead
The cosmos is a vast living body, of which we are still parts. The sun is a great heart whose tremors run through our smallest veins. The moon is a great nerve center from which we quiver forever. Who knows the power that Saturn has over us, or Venus? But it is a vital power, rippling exquisitely through us all the time.
D. H. LawrenceRead
... he preferred his own madness, to the regular sanity. He rejoiced in his own madness, he was free. He did not want that old sanity of the world, which was become so repulsive. He rejoiced in the new-found world of his madness. It was so fresh and delicate and so satisfying.
D. H. LawrenceRead
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