"We demand windows. Literature as Logos is a series of windows, even of doors. One of the things we feel after reading a great work is 'I have got out.' Or from another point of view, 'I have got in'; pierced the shell of some other monad and discovered what it is like inside ... In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in a Greek poem, I see with a thousand eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do." ~C.S. Lewis
Do you ever wonder why fiction exists-- why you write or read it? I love Lewis's take. Any additional thoughts?
That's beautiful! I have not heard that one before. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI love C.S. Lewis. He was so clever with his wording, and his imagination was unlike any other. Thanks for sharing this :)
ReplyDeleteAh, so beautiful. Lewis was so wise. I think another reason fiction exists is that we are more easily able to portray truth in fiction than in non-fiction at times...we can mirror the truth and order of the world in a way that is beautiful and even primal; there is something inherent in man that recognizes the truth of stories.
ReplyDeleteBecause real life doesn't have enough aliens and dragons and such?
ReplyDeleteCS Lewis is amazing. Thanks for sharing that quote:)
Fiction is a means of walking a mile in the other person's shoes.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great quote. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and so true!
ReplyDeleteSo interesting! I really like the answers everyone has given so far. I'll add that fiction is fun!
ReplyDeleteHe was brilliant. I completely agree. I feel the world opens more with each book I read.
ReplyDeleteCatherine Denton
My fiction exists to woo women.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Who Who
Hi Amy .. so true - our imagination is our escape. Truth can happen too quickly to record - so that can be fiction later on .. our minds are just wonderful resources to draw ideas together and create stories - we do it naturally all the time, when we talk ... Have a great weekend .. Hilary
ReplyDeleteI adore C.S. Lewis. Haven't read this quote before, but I will use it tomorrow on a quote page, so thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteIn "Shadowlands," the movie about Lewis and his wife where Lewis is portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, a student of Lewis' suggests: "We read to know we're not alone." This is suggested in your passage here, though I don't know if that quote really came from Lewis' life. I've always loved that line, though.
C.S. Lewis is a genius. I'd never thought of it in such a deep manner. But I love that conflicting nature he describes. . . The escape that let's us be more real.
ReplyDeleteGreat quote!
That's interesting. I never really "thought" about it before. But yes, I think that's why I love to read and write fiction: to get out and experience something yet still remain myself.
ReplyDeletevery late in commenting on this one, Amy, but letting you know I linked over here . . . couldn't help thinking of this as I'd just had a philosophical "discussion" about fiction with the kiddoes. ;)
ReplyDeleteMaybe to allow us to live vicariously? I love his thoughts, too. I love looking out windows, and I'm a huge fan of movies. Great stuff, thanks for sharing! :o)
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