It has always seemed to me that so long as you produce your dramatic effect, accuracy of detail matters little. I have never striven for it and I have made some bad mistakes in consequence. What matter if I hold my readers?
Arthur Conan DoyleRead
I had neither kith nor kin in England, and was therefore as free as air -- or as free as an income of eleven shillings and sixpence a day will permit a man to be. Under such circumstances, I naturally gravitated to London, that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on freedom and the constraints of financial limitations.
Arthur Conan Doyle's quote expresses a sense of freedom in being unanchored by familial ties, yet it also highlights the irony of that freedom being curtailed by economic realities. The reference to 'London, that great cesspool' suggests that while one may feel liberated by lack of ties, societal or financial pressures can trap individuals in a cycle of idleness and dependence.
Themes
FreedomEconomic ConstraintsLondonIdentitySociety
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the nature of freedom and financial independence.
More from Arthur Conan Doyle
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You yourself may not be luminous, but you are a conductor of light.
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I could not rest, Watson, I could not sit quiet in my chair, if I thought that such a man as Professor Moriarty were walking the streets of London unchallenged.
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It seems very strange ... that in the course of the world's history so obvious an improvement should never have been adopted. ... The next generation of Britishers would be the better for having had this extra hour of daylight in their childhood.
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One dumb-bell, Watson! Consider an athlete with one dumb-bell. Picture to yourself the unilateral development - the imminent danger of a spinal curvature. Shocking, Watson, shocking!
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