Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.
Robertson DaviesRead
All real fantasy is serious. Only faked fantasy is not serious. That is why it is so wrong to impose faked fantasy on children.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True fantasy carries depth and significance, unlike artificial or insincere fantasy, which can mislead children.
Robertson Davies emphasizes the importance of authentic fantasy, suggesting that true imaginative works possess a serious and meaningful essence. Imposing false or contrived fantasies on children undermines their understanding and appreciation of genuine creativity, which can inhibit their ability to differentiate between reality and fiction.
Themes
FantasyImaginationChildrenAuthenticityCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture on children's literature, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of authentic storytelling.
More from Robertson Davies
All quotes βPessimism is a very easy way out because it is a short view of life. If you look at what is happening around us today, you can't help but feel that life is a terrible complexity of problems. But if you look back a few thousand years, you realize that we have advanced fantastically. If you take a long view, I do not see how you can be pessimistic about the future of mankind.
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This is one of the cruelties of the theatre of life; we all think of ourselves as stars and rarely recognize it when we are indeed mere supporting characters or even supernumeraries.
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Everything matters. The Universe is approximately fifteen billion years old, and I swear that in all that time, nothing has ever happened that has not mattered, has not contributed in some way to the totality.
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The egotist is all surface; underneath is a pulpy mess and a lot of self-doubt. But the egoist may be yielding and even deferential in things he doesn't consider important; in anything that touches his core he is remorseless.
Robertson DaviesRead
The world is full of people whose notion of a satisfactory future is, in fact, a return to the idealized past.
Robertson DaviesRead
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