"Torn between the ideal and the real, Cabellian man is forever thwarted in his quest for the ideal by the demands of the real. Cabell explores all the aspects of this human dilemma, perhaps reaching the conclusion that man can never achieve his ideals, simply because he must exist in the world of reality; and yet, for his self-preservation in that world he must, paradoxically, cling to these very ideals, unrealized, unrealizable. Even in the face of materialistic denial of spiritual value, man must believe in some kind of transcendent worth. Although the meaning of Cabellian comedy can be comprehended without the ability to recognize each learned allusion, the incidents of the novels are often based on classical, Russian, Hebrew, medieval, and even Aztec myths and legends."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
William L. Godshalk, in "James Branch Cabell at William and Mary: the Education of a Novelist," in The William and Mary Review, 5 (1967).
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Idealism
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Idealism
22 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Idealism →
Related Quotes
"Be these people either Conservatives or Socialists, Yellows or Reds, the most important thing is — and that is the po…"
"The highest point of democratic idealism and conviction was towards the end of the eighteenth century, when the Ameri…"
"It is a common error, I think, among the Radical idealists of my own party and period to suggest that financiers and …"
"The great ideals of the past failed not by being outlived (which must mean over-lived), but by not being lived enough…"
"There are considerable affinities between idealism and romanticism, indicated in part by Kant’s admiration for Jean-J…"
"I urge you to work together in promoting a true, worldwide ethical mobilization which, beyond all differences of reli…"
"You are not controlling the storm, and you are not lost in it. You are the storm."
"An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes th…"
"Man is born a predestined idealist, for he is born to act. To act is to affirm the worth of an end, and to persist in…"
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world."