Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Was it confusing because it was artistic, or artistic because it was confusing?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the relationship between confusion and artistic expression.
Joyce Carol Oates' quote prompts us to ponder whether the perplexity found in certain art forms is a result of their artistic nature or if the artistry is born from the confusion itself. It suggests an intrinsic link between these two concepts, challenging the audience to reflect on how they perceive and interpret creativity.
Themes
ArtConfusionCreativityExpressionInterpretation
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared in a discussion about modern art and its abstract forms.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes →I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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