--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was clear he had remained unflustered…" description: "\"“It was clear he had remained unflustered by recent public events, at the age he had reached perhaps disillusioned with the commonplaces of life; too k..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/anthony-powell-2659_life_it-was-clear-he-had-remained-unflustered_2178675.jpg" --- # It was clear he had remained unflustered by recent public… ![“It was clear he had remained unflustered by recent public events, at the age he had reached perhaps disillusioned with the commonplaces of life; too keen a theatre-goer to spare time for any but the columns of dramatic criticism, however indifferently written, permitting no international crises…” quote by Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/anthony-powell-2659_life_it-was-clear-he-had-remained-unflustered_2178675.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/anthony-powell-2659_life_it-was-clear-he-had-remained-unflustered_2178675.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0c/anthony-powell-2659_life_it-was-clear-he-had-remained-unflustered_2178675.jpg) > ““It was clear he had remained unflustered by recent public events, at the age he had reached perhaps disillusioned with the commonplaces of life; too keen a theatre-goer to spare time for any but the columns of dramatic criticism, however indifferently written, permitting no international crises from the news pages to cloud the keenness of aesthetic consideration. That was an understandable outlook.”” [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He stays emotionally detached, focusing on art despite world turmoil, showing a preference for aesthetic over political concerns. **In simple terms:** He ignores news, preferring art. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal passions over external chaos. Themes detachment artistic focus worldview Mood contemplative detached Type literary observational When to use this quote - reading literature - visiting theater - avoiding sensational news - cultivating personal taste Key Concepts aestheticism escapism critical observation Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on art affect your perception of current events? - Can aesthetic detachment be a form of resistance? A Different Perspective May miss important societal issues by focusing only on art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disillusioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusioned/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Spare time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-time/) ## Related quotes > [“Ten times a day I am compelled to reflect on my past life ... and I can never justify to myself the spending of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/ten-times-a-day-i-am-compelled-to-reflect-on-my-past-life-and-i-can/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [To many people, dramatic criticism must seem like an attempt to tattoo soap bubbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mason-brown/to-many-people-dramatic-criticism-must-seem-like-an-attempt-to-tattoo/) [John Mason Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mason-brown/) > [“I used to imagine life divided into separate compartments, consisting, for example, of such dual abstractions as pleasure and pain, love and hate, friendship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-used-to-imagine-life-divided-into-separate-compartments-consisting/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [I was kind of burned out, a little jaded, and just sort of disillusioned by all the 'Mighty Duck' movies and everything just being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elden-henson/i-was-kind-of-burned-out-a-little-jaded-and-just-sort-of/) [Elden Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elden-henson/) > [When she was younger, my mother was quite committed to Roman Catholicism. But she got disillusioned with it and moved closer to something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fiennes/when-she-was-younger-my-mother-was-quite-committed-to-roman/) [Ralph Fiennes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fiennes/) > [I went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it. 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And this makes most leaders today realize that populist illusions can't be sustained before they collapse into stagnation and leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/globalization-is-a-reality-and-this-makes-most-leaders-today-realize/) [Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/) > [Psychological factors are vital. We don't learn how to improve our emotional intelligence. Even in ancient cultures, such as the Greeks, cultivation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-holford/psychological-factors-are-vital-we-don-t-learn-how-to-improve-our/) [Patrick Holford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-holford/) > [To be poor, ugly and, moreover, intelligent condemns one in our society to a dark and disillusioned life...to beauty all is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/to-be-poor-ugly-and-moreover-intelligent-condemns-one-in-our-society/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“Personal disillusionment accompanied by self-pity and self-loathing are the Achilles’ heel of modern humankind, representing the weakness of the human spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/personal-disillusionment-accompanied-by-self-pity-and-self-loathing/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Young people all over the world are very frustrated. They are very disillusioned. Many of them are turning their backs on religion. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/young-people-all-over-the-world-are-very-frustrated-they-are-very/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [Our modern world of old story is completely failing humanity. This is the reason that increasing numbers of people have become and are becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/our-modern-world-of-old-story-is-completely-failing-humanity-this-is/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) ## More by Anthony Powell > [I was impressed for the ten thousandth time by the fact that literature illuminates life only for those to whom books are a necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-was-impressed-for-the-ten-thousandth-time-by-the-fact-that/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Like everything that's any good, it has about twenty different meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/like-everything-that-s-any-good-it-has-about-twenty-different-meanings/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“I have absolutely no histrionic talent, none at all, a constitutional handicap in almost all undertakings of life;but then, after all, plenty of actors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-have-absolutely-no-histrionic-talent-none-at-all-a-constitutional/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“The crematorium was a blaze of sunshine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-crematorium-was-a-blaze-of-sunshine/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Parents. . . are sometimes a bit of a disappointment to their children. 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But I will take the book and look at it, and tell you what I think of the writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/i-hate-anything-superficial-but-i-will-take-the-book-and-look-at-it/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“It is rather an occasion, darling,’ said Moreland, vexed at these objections. ‘After all, I am noted among composers for the smallness of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/it-is-rather-an-occasion-darling-said-moreland-vexed-at-these/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“There seemed no particular object in avoiding banality from the start, as the evening showed every sign of developing into a banal one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/there-seemed-no-particular-object-in-avoiding-banality-from-the-start/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [Dinner at the Huntercombes possessed only two dramatic features: the wine was a farce and the food a tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/dinner-at-the-huntercombes-possessed-only-two-dramatic-features-the/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Even then I did not recognise the quest for power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/even-then-i-did-not-recognise-the-quest-for-power/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“Some of the best of us are quite unambitious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/some-of-the-best-of-us-are-quite-unambitious/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [One passes through the world knowing few, if any, of the important things about even the people with whom one has been from time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/one-passes-through-the-world-knowing-few-if-any-of-the-important/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) > [“He stood pondering this flat, forthright declaration of anti-simianism on Miss Weedon’s part. The notion that some people might not like monkeys was evidently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/he-stood-pondering-this-flat-forthright-declaration-of-anti-simianism/) [Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) [Explore all 156 Anthony Powell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/) ## More Disillusioned quotes > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Our modern world of old story is completely failing humanity. This is the reason that increasing numbers of people have become and are becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kumar/our-modern-world-of-old-story-is-completely-failing-humanity-this-is/) [Satish Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kumar/) > [Young people all over the world are very frustrated. They are very disillusioned. Many of them are turning their backs on religion. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/young-people-all-over-the-world-are-very-frustrated-they-are-very/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [“Personal disillusionment accompanied by self-pity and self-loathing are the Achilles’ heel of modern humankind, representing the weakness of the human spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/personal-disillusionment-accompanied-by-self-pity-and-self-loathing/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [To be poor, ugly and, moreover, intelligent condemns one in our society to a dark and disillusioned life...to beauty all is forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/to-be-poor-ugly-and-moreover-intelligent-condemns-one-in-our-society/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [Psychological factors are vital. We don't learn how to improve our emotional intelligence. Even in ancient cultures, such as the Greeks, cultivation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-holford/psychological-factors-are-vital-we-don-t-learn-how-to-improve-our/) [Patrick Holford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-holford/) > [Globalization is a reality. And this makes most leaders today realize that populist illusions can't be sustained before they collapse into stagnation and leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-henrique-cardoso/globalization-is-a-reality-and-this-makes-most-leaders-today-realize/) [Fernando Henrique Cardoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-henrique-cardoso/) > [So one time for my disillusioned artists, I hear ya Two times for the kid that air-guitars in the mirror Three times for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-denzongpa/so-one-time-for-my-disillusioned-artists-i-hear-ya-two-times-for-the/) [Danny Denzongpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-denzongpa/) > [One of the great sadnesses of modern life, because of our disenfranchisement and disillusionment with religion, is that we don't have access to these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/one-of-the-great-sadnesses-of-modern-life-because-of-our/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [I went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it. If people are disillusioned by that remark, I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/i-went-into-the-business-for-the-money-and-the-art-grew-out-of-it-if/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [When she was younger, my mother was quite committed to Roman Catholicism. But she got disillusioned with it and moved closer to something like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fiennes/when-she-was-younger-my-mother-was-quite-committed-to-roman/) [Ralph Fiennes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fiennes/) > [I was kind of burned out, a little jaded, and just sort of disillusioned by all the 'Mighty Duck' movies and everything just being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elden-henson/i-was-kind-of-burned-out-a-little-jaded-and-just-sort-of/) [Elden Henson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elden-henson/) > [I have been disillusioned, however, this long, long time in the means used by any but the saints to live in this world God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-have-been-disillusioned-however-this-long-long-time-in-the-means/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I'm just disillusioned with the hip-hop sound right now. It's too materialistic. You know, I'm the kind of guy ... I can't do that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-t/i-m-just-disillusioned-with-the-hip-hop-sound-right-now-it-s-too/) [Ice T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-t/) > [We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrie-schwartz/we-put-our-values-in-the-wrong-things-and-it-leads-to-very/) [Morrie Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrie-schwartz/) [Browse all 163 Disillusioned quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disillusioned/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It was clear he had remained unflustered by recent public events, at the age he had reached perhaps disillusioned with the commonplaces of life; too keen a theatre-goer to spare time for any but the columns of dramatic criticism, however indifferently written, permitting no international crises from the news pages to cloud the keenness of aesthetic consideration. 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