Personal relations are the important thing for ever and ever, and not this outer life of telegrams and anger.
E. M. ForsterRead
I have said that each aspect of the novel demands a different quality of the reader. Well, the prophetic aspect demands two qualities: humility and the suspension of the sense of humour.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Reading novels requires an open mind and humility, especially when interpreting deeper aspects of the narrative.
E. M. Forster highlights that engaging with the prophetic aspects of a novel necessitates specific qualities from the reader: humility and the ability to set aside humor. Readers must approach these profound themes with respect and an earnest desire to understand, rather than with irreverence or a dismissive attitude. This reflects the idea that true understanding of literature, especially its deeper messages, often requires a serious and respectful mindset.
Themes
NovelReaderHumilityPropheticLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion about a thought-provoking novel.
More from E. M. Forster
All quotes →A poem is true if it hangs together. Information points to something else. A poem points to nothing but itself.
E. M. ForsterRead
One must be fond of people and trust them if one is not to make a mess of life.
E. M. ForsterRead
Oxford is Oxford: not a mere receptacle for youth, like Cambridge. Perhaps it wants its inmates to love it rather than to love one another.
E. M. ForsterRead
The fact is we can only love what we know personally. And we cannot know much. In public affairs, in the rebuilding of civilization, something less dramatic and emotional is needed, namely tolerance.
E. M. ForsterRead
One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.
E. M. ForsterRead
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