“ one lives in fine as one can. Still, one has the illusion of freedom ”
Henry James, The Ambassadors (1903). copy citation
| Author | Henry James |
|---|---|
| Source | The Ambassadors |
| Topic | freedom illusion |
| Date | 1903 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/432/432-h/432-h.htm |
Context
“for it’s at the best a tin mould, either fluted and embossed, with ornamental excrescences, or else smooth and dreadfully plain, into which, a helpless jelly, one’s consciousness is poured—so that one ‘takes’ the form as the great cook says, and is more or less compactly held by it: one lives in fine as one can. Still, one has the illusion of freedom; therefore don’t be, like me, without the memory of that illusion. I was either, at the right time, too stupid or too intelligent to have it; I don’t quite know which. Of course at present I’m a case of reaction against the mistake;”
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