--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no denying that we are suffering…" description: "\"There is no denying that we are suffering from a collective neurosis and the novel which does not face this is not a novel of our time.\" — Anais Nin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/anais-nin-288_books_there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-sufferin_2879283.png" --- # There is no denying that we are suffering from a… ![“There is no denying that we are suffering from a collective neurosis and the novel which does not face this is not a novel of our time.” quote by Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/anais-nin-288_books_there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-sufferin_2879283.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/anais-nin-288_books_there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-sufferin_2879283.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/anais-nin-288_books_there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-sufferin_2879283.png) > “There is no denying that we are suffering from a collective neurosis and the novel which does not face this is not a novel of our time.” [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern literature must confront societal anxieties; ignoring them renders works irrelevant to contemporary readers. **In simple terms:** Novels must address collective anxieties. Key Takeaway Write stories that reflect current psychological struggles. Themes literature societal anxiety relevance psychology Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - author essay - literary criticism - cultural analysis Key Concepts collective neurosis modernism cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can writers responsibly portray societal neuroses? - What impact does confronting collective anxiety have on readers? A Different Perspective Readers may resist confronting discomfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Neurosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurosis/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Although the patriarchal ego prides itself on being reasonable, the twentieth century has been anything but the Age of Reason. In our collective neurosis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-woodman/although-the-patriarchal-ego-prides-itself-on-being-reasonable-the/) [Marion Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-woodman/) > [Especially in times of collective neurosis, the existence of . . . mature people is of crucial importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-louise-von-franz/especially-in-times-of-collective-neurosis-the-existence-of-mature/) [Marie-Louise von Franz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-louise-von-franz/) > [We'd all like to increase pleasure and minimize pain, but the truth is, suffering, even collective suffering that we're going through, is often the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-holmes/we-d-all-like-to-increase-pleasure-and-minimize-pain-but-the-truth-is/) [Pete Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-holmes/) > [If you haven't written a novel by the time you're forty you never will!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-yates/if-you-haven-t-written-a-novel-by-the-time-you-re-forty-you-never-will/) [Richard Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-yates/) > [Whenever I write a novel, most of the time it starts with barest slip of an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/whenever-i-write-a-novel-most-of-the-time-it-starts-with-barest-slip/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [And the nice thing about writing a novel is you take your time, you sit with the character sometimes nine years, you look very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/and-the-nice-thing-about-writing-a-novel-is-you-take-your-time-you/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“I can resist anything except temptation." Ren, main character in Sherrilyn Kenyon's novel Time Untime.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-can-resist-anything-except-temptation-ren-main-character-in/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [If you wait until you got time to write a novel, or time to write a story, or time to read the hundred thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-crews/if-you-wait-until-you-got-time-to-write-a-novel-or-time-to-write-a/) [Harry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-crews/) > [ The hardest thing in a novel is time. You've got \[a line like\] "two weeks later, he woke up with a headache," and you've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/the-hardest-thing-in-a-novel-is-time-you-ve-got-a-line-like-two-weeks/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [The only reason for the existence of a novel is that it does attempt to represent life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-only-reason-for-the-existence-of-a-novel-is-that-it-does-attempt/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“The novel does not say, it shows; it shows me my life in a figure: it compels me to stare at my toes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/the-novel-does-not-say-it-shows-it-shows-me-my-life-in-a-figure-it/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [Every once in a while I feel the tremendous force of the novel. But it does not stay with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/every-once-in-a-while-i-feel-the-tremendous-force-of-the-novel-but-it/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [In a sense, the first (if not necessarily the prime) function of a novelist, of ANY artist, is to entertain. If the poem, painting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/in-a-sense-the-first-if-not-necessarily-the-prime-function-of-a/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [“A novel does not assert anything, a novel poses questions... The stupidity of people comes from having an answer for everything. When Don Quixote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/a-novel-does-not-assert-anything-a-novel-poses-questions-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All novels are about crime. You'd be hard pressed to find any novel that does not have an element of crime. I don't see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/all-novels-are-about-crime-you-d-be-hard-pressed-to-find-any-novel/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) ## More by Anais Nin > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“…For love it is never the same. What goes on inside is never the same just like this music which changes every instant. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/for-love-it-is-never-the-same-what-goes-on-inside-is-never-the-same/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I have so strong a sense of creation, of tomorrow, that I cannot get drunk, knowing I will be less alive, less well, less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-have-so-strong-a-sense-of-creation-of-tomorrow-that-i-cannot-get/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [We don't have a language for the senses. Feelings are images, sensations are like musical sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/we-don-t-have-a-language-for-the-senses-feelings-are-images/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Strange, isn't it, that no chemical will give a human being the iridescence that illusions have given them? Give me your hat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/strange-isn-t-it-that-no-chemical-will-give-a-human-being-the/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The personal, if it is deep enough, becomes universal, mythical, symbolic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-personal-if-it-is-deep-enough-becomes-universal-mythical-symbolic/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Introspection is a devouring monster. You have to feed it with much material, much experience, many people, many places, many loves, many creations, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/introspection-is-a-devouring-monster-you-have-to-feed-it-with-much/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [In each studio there is a human being dressed in the full regalia of his myth fearing to expore a vulnerable opening, spreading not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-each-studio-there-is-a-human-being-dressed-in-the-full-regalia-of/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I don't mind working, holding my ground intellectually, artistically; but as a woman, oh, God, as a woman I want to be dominated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-don-t-mind-working-holding-my-ground-intellectually-artistically/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“Laughter and tears are not separate experiences, with intervals of rest: they rush out together and it is like walking with a sword between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/laughter-and-tears-are-not-separate-experiences-with-intervals-of/) [Anaïs Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The basis of insincerity is the idealized image we hold of ourselves and wish to impose on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-basis-of-insincerity-is-the-idealized-image-we-hold-of-ourselves/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I write emotional algebra.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-write-emotional-algebra/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say. Most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-role-of-the-writer-is-not-to-say-what-we-can-all-say-but-what-we/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I say quotations are literary. They are good only when dealing with ideas, not with experience. Experience should be pure, unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-say-quotations-are-literary-they-are-good-only-when-dealing-with/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) [Explore all 715 Anais Nin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no denying that we are suffering from a collective neurosis and the novel which does not face this is not a novel of our time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anais Nin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-suffering-from-a-collective-neurosis/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-suffering-from-a-collective-neurosis/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/anais-nin-288_books_there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-sufferin_2879283.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/anais-nin-288_books_there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-sufferin_2879283.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/anais-nin-288_books_there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-sufferin_2879283.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is no denying that we are suffering from a collective neurosis and the novel which does not face this…” — Anais Nin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anais Nin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is no denying that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-suffering-from-a-collective-neurosis/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/there-is-no-denying-that-we-are-suffering-from-a-collective-neurosis/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```