What was any art but a mould in which to imprison for a moment the shining elusive element which is life itself - life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose.
Willa CatherRead
This is reality, whether you like it or not--all those frivolities of summer, the light and shadow, the living mask of green that trembled over everything, they were lies, and this is what was underneath. This is the truth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the distinction between superficial appearances and the deeper truths of reality.
Willa Cather's quote speaks to the notion that the beauty and vibrancy often observed in life can mask the underlying truths that exist beneath the surface. The 'frivolities of summer' represent the distractions and illusions we encounter, suggesting that what we perceive may not reflect the deeper reality that lies underneath, prompting a reflection on how one views and interprets the world around them.
Themes
RealityTruthIllusionPerceptionBeauty
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about facing harsh realities, one might say, 'As Willa Cather put it, this is reality, whether you like it or not.'
More from Willa Cather
All quotes →That is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great.
Willa CatherRead
Our tree became the talking tree of the fairy tale; legends and stories nestled like birds in its branches.
Willa CatherRead
Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand - a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods - or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.
Willa CatherRead
The air and the earth interpenetrated in the warm gusts of spring; the soil was full of sunlight, and the sunlight full of red dust. The air one breathed was saturated with earthy smells, and the grass under foot had a reflection of the blue sky in it.
Willa CatherRead
Only solitary men know the full joys of friendship. Others have their family; but to a solitary and an exile, his friends are everything.
Willa CatherRead
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For in the long run, either through a lie, or through truth, people were bound to give themselves away.
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