“ To submit himself to the criticisms of an obtuse middle class which entrusted its morality to policemen and its fine arts to impresarios? ”
James Joyce, Dubliners (1914). copy citation
| Author | James Joyce |
|---|---|
| Source | Dubliners |
| Topic | morality criticism |
| Date | 1914 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2814/2814-h/2814-h.htm |
Context
“No social revolution, he told her, would be likely to strike Dublin for some centuries.
She asked him why did he not write out his thoughts. For what, he asked her, with careful scorn. To compete with phrasemongers, incapable of thinking consecutively for sixty seconds? To submit himself to the criticisms of an obtuse middle class which entrusted its morality to policemen and its fine arts to impresarios? He went often to her little cottage outside Dublin; often they spent their evenings alone. Little by little, as their thoughts entangled, they spoke of subjects less remote. Her companionship was like a warm soil about an exotic.” source
She asked him why did he not write out his thoughts. For what, he asked her, with careful scorn. To compete with phrasemongers, incapable of thinking consecutively for sixty seconds? To submit himself to the criticisms of an obtuse middle class which entrusted its morality to policemen and its fine arts to impresarios? He went often to her little cottage outside Dublin; often they spent their evenings alone. Little by little, as their thoughts entangled, they spoke of subjects less remote. Her companionship was like a warm soil about an exotic.” source
