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Literature is that which he can not read without pain, without choking on truth.
Roland Barthes
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Literature can expose harsh truths that may cause discomfort or challenge our perceptions.

In this quote by Roland Barthes, he emphasizes that literature often contains profound truths that can be difficult for individuals to confront. The act of engaging with such literature may evoke a visceral reaction, as it forces readers to grapple with realities that can be painful or unsettling, ultimately highlighting the powerful role of literature in shaping human experience and understanding.

Themes

LiteratureTruthPainReadingUnderstanding

In practice

Example use cases

In a book club discussion, one might introduce this quote to emphasize the challenging nature of literature.

More from Roland Barthes

Is not the most erotic part of the body wherever the clothing affords a glimpse?
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If I acknowledge my dependency, I do so because for me it is a means of signifying my demand: in the realm of love, futility is not a "weakness" or an "absurdity": it is a strong sign: the more futile, the more it signifies and the more it asserts itself as strength.)
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The gesture of the amorous embrace seems to fulfill, for a time, the subject's dream of total union with the loved being: The longing for consummation with the other.
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The text is a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture.
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I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.
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All those young photographers who are at work in the world, determined upon the capture of actuality, do not know that they are agents of Death.
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