(W.D.) Howells asserted that the Americans' 'love of the…
““(W.D.) Howells asserted that the Americans' 'love of the supernatural is their common inheritance from no particular ancestry.' Their fiction, he added, often gathers in the gray 'twilight of the reason,' on 'the borderland between experience and illusion." Howells's geographical metaphor was derived, of course, from Hawthorne's idea of a moonlit 'neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land, where the Actual and the Imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other.' Whether literally, as in Cooper's The Spy, or metaphorically, as in Hawthorne's works, the neutral territory/borderland was the familiar setting of the American romance. As American writers came to realize, not only was there a borderland between East and West, civilization and wilderness, but also between the here and the hereafter, between conscious and unconscious, 'experience and illusion' - psychic frontiers on the edge of territories both enticing and terrifying.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
American writers use a “borderland” metaphor to blend reality with imagination, reflecting cultural and psychic frontiers.
In simple terms: Authors mix real and imagined worlds to explore deeper truths.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the value of liminal spaces in storytelling.
Themes
literature
imagination
culture
Mood
analytical
thoughtful
Type
critical
educational
When to use this quote
- creative writing
- film analysis
- art critique
- psychology study
Key Concepts
borderland metaphor
psychic frontier
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this liminal space affect your perception?
- What modern works use similar borders?
A Different Perspective
May over‑emphasize ambiguity, confusing readers.