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Quote by Angela Carter

Work

The Sadeian Woman: And the Ideology of Pornography

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Author

Angela Carter
Angela Carter

Angela Carter was an English novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She is recognized for her imaginative and surreal narratives, frequently incorporating elements of fantasy, folklore, and Gothic literature. Carter's writing is celebrated for its intricate prose and exploration of themes like gender, class, and identity. more

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“Jeremy Bentham startled the world many years ago by stating in effect that if the amount of pleasure obtained from each be equal there is nothing to choose between poetry and push-pin. Since few people now know what push-pin is, I may explain that it is a child's game in which one player tries to push his pin across that of another player, and if he succeeds and then is able by pressing down on the two pins with the ball of his thumb to lift them off the table he wins possession of his opponent's pin. [...] The indignant retort to Bentham's statement was that spiritual pleasures are obviously higher than physical pleasures. But who say so? Those who prefer spiritual pleasures. They are in a miserable minority, as they acknowledge when they declare that the gift of aesthetic appreciation is a very rare one. The vast majority of men are, as we know, both by necessity and choice preoccupied with material considerations. Their pleasures are material. They look askance at those who spent their lives in the pursuit of art. That is why they have attached a depreciatory sense to the word aesthete, which means merely one who has a special appreciation of beauty. How are we going to show that they are wrong? How are we going to show that there is something to choose between poetry and push-pin? I surmise that Bentham chose push-pin for its pleasant alliteration with poetry. Let us speak of lawn tennis. It is a popular game which many of us can play with pleasure. It needs skill and judgement, a good eye and a cool head. If I get the same amount of pleasure out of playing it as you get by looking at Titian's 'Entombment of Christ' in the Louvre, by listening to Beethoven's 'Eroica' or by reading Eliot's 'Ash Wednesday', how are you going to prove that your pleasure is better and more refined than mine? Only, I should say, by manifesting that this gift you have of aesthetic appreciation has a moral effect on your character.”

PleasureEliotUtilitarianismBeethovenGeorge EliotLudwig Van BeethovenTitianJeremy BenthamBenthem
Book:Vagrant Mood
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“The simple rule to abide by and become excellent is that “Don’t see what you have achieved yesterday with the same pleasure eyes you used to see it when it was done by you”. Look forward and do better than you did earlier!”

PleasureAchieveExcellenceFood For ThoughtIsraelmore AyivorEyesComplacencyBetterComplacentRuleDo ItExtra MileExcelDon TExtraPress OnAbideLook ForwardDo It BetterEarlierComplacence
Book:The Great Hand Book of Quotes
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