--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only people who hate escapism are…" description: "\"The only people who hate escapism are jailers.\" — C. S. Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/c-s-lewis-2-132_escapism_the-only-people-who-hate-escapism-are-ja_2202767.png" --- # The only people who hate escapism are jailers. ![“The only people who hate escapism are jailers.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/c-s-lewis-2-132_escapism_the-only-people-who-hate-escapism-are-ja_2202767.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/c-s-lewis-2-132_escapism_the-only-people-who-hate-escapism-are-ja_2202767.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/c-s-lewis-2-132_escapism_the-only-people-who-hate-escapism-are-ja_2202767.png) > “The only people who hate escapism are jailers.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Escapism is criticized only by those who imprison imagination; freedom of thought is essential. **In simple terms:** Only jailers hate escapism. Key Takeaway Protect imagination. Themes freedom imagination control Mood reflective critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - education - creative work - mental health - political discourse Key Concepts psychology literature authority Questions to Reflect On - Do you limit your own imagination? - How does freedom of thought benefit society? A Different Perspective Escapism can also be used to avoid responsibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Escapism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escapism/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I never fully understood it till my friend Professor Tolkien asked me the very simple question, 'What class of men would you expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-never-fully-understood-it-till-my-friend-professor-tolkien-asked-me/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Beware of those who seek to take care of you lest your caretakers become your jailers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/beware-of-those-who-seek-to-take-care-of-you-lest-your-caretakers/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Do not help your jailers to pretend that their jail is your natural state of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/do-not-help-your-jailers-to-pretend-that-their-jail-is-your-natural/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [In prison we are their jailers On trial their judges Persecuted their punishers Dead their conquerors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macneill/in-prison-we-are-their-jailers-on-trial-their-judges-persecuted-their/) Eoin MacNeill > [“Hence the uneasiness which they arouse in those who, for whatever reason, wish to keep us wholly imprisoned in the immediate conflict. That perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/hence-the-uneasiness-which-they-arouse-in-those-who-for-whatever/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“...those who are locked up know better than their jailers the taste of free air.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/those-who-are-locked-up-know-better-than-their-jailers-the-taste-of/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [“Like the hostages, I can’t find any excuses for my jailers, even if some of them are rootless exiles. They change continuously as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanan-al-shaykh/like-the-hostages-i-can-t-find-any-excuses-for-my-jailers-even-if/) [Hanan Al-Shaykh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanan-al-shaykh/) > [“quiet, unprovocative, unfailingly polite to one another and to them, and whose occasional sadness bore the stamp of a dignity their jailers could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rappaport/quiet-unprovocative-unfailingly-polite-to-one-another-and-to-them-and/) [Helen Rappaport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rappaport/) > [“We buy our chains from our jailers and only when we put need before desire will we escape the prison of neo-liberalism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/we-buy-our-chains-from-our-jailers-and-only-when-we-put-need-before/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [“I got out late winter. I was off on the exact day by thirty-some hours, which is not bad calculations. I made the decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-got-out-late-winter-i-was-off-on-the-exact-day-by-thirty-some-hours/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [“Many novelists fumed at men they saw as jailers. A host of masculine villains paraded through their plots—neglectful fathers, cruel husbands, and assorted gamblers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/many-novelists-fumed-at-men-they-saw-as-jailers-a-host-of-masculine/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [The continual looking forward to the eternal world is not a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-continual-looking-forward-to-the-eternal-world-is-not-a-form-of/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I like to think of myself as a 'Mord the jailer' type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-weiss/i-like-to-think-of-myself-as-a-mord-the-jailer-type/) [D. B. Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-weiss/) > [Church membership was so important that Paul and Silas baptized the Philippian jailer into the membership of Christ's church at midnight with Paul's back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-adams/church-membership-was-so-important-that-paul-and-silas-baptized-the/) [Jay Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-adams/) > [“A prisoner is imprisoned by the crime that he has committed. A jailer is imprisoned — in the very same prison — by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-prisoner-is-imprisoned-by-the-crime-that-he-has-committed-a-jailer/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To every soul, God will look like its first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-every-soul-god-will-look-like-its-first-love-because-he-is-its/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/really-great-moral-teachers-never-do-introduce-new-moralities-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-he-died-in-the-wounded-world-he-died-not-for-men-but-for-each/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-a-man-is-going-to-write-on-chemistry-he-learns-chemistry-the-same/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Escapism quotes > [Music is escapism from the grim realities of life. But then as soon as you escape into the music, from my point of view,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/music-is-escapism-from-the-grim-realities-of-life-but-then-as-soon-as/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [What 'Escapism' did, of course I'm over the moon about that - but if that's the biggest moment that I ever get then so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raye/what-escapism-did-of-course-i-m-over-the-moon-about-that-but-if-that/) [Raye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raye/) > [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I loved underground comics and psychedelic art. I did like some supernatural horror, but mainly fantasy. I was into escapism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arik-roper/i-loved-underground-comics-and-psychedelic-art-i-did-like-some/) [Arik Roper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arik-roper/) > [“We both knew no bounds to our escapism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-lillith-assadi/we-both-knew-no-bounds-to-our-escapism/) [Hannah Lillith Assadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-lillith-assadi/) > [“Often the most tricky questions are the ones we secretly know the answers of. What are you running from? What are you waiting for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanhita-baruah/often-the-most-tricky-questions-are-the-ones-we-secretly-know-the/) [Sanhita Baruah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanhita-baruah/) > [Everything we do is escapism, because we'll all be dead and everything we do is completely meaningless. Why brush your teeth? Why not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/everything-we-do-is-escapism-because-we-ll-all-be-dead-and-everything/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [Fashion is, after all, a form of escapism, and in fact people are buying more special things than ever, nowadays. They deny and deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-ford/fashion-is-after-all-a-form-of-escapism-and-in-fact-people-are-buying/) [Tom Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-ford/) > [I think everybody wants to feel validated in some way, and when you're looking for leisure activities or if you're looking for escapism or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-priest/i-think-everybody-wants-to-feel-validated-in-some-way-and-when-you-re/) [Christopher Priest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-priest/) > [A great book provides escapism for me. The artistry and the creativity in a story are better than any drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/a-great-book-provides-escapism-for-me-the-artistry-and-the-creativity/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [Expeditions are escapism. The stuff that we're normally concerned about just doesn't matter out there. Tax returns, gas bill, none of it. Life becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-saunders/expeditions-are-escapism-the-stuff-that-we-re-normally-concerned/) [Ben Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-saunders/) > [“Time spent doing whatever it is you do to escape your daily life would be better spent acquiring a life that needs no escape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-hick/time-spent-doing-whatever-it-is-you-do-to-escape-your-daily-life/) [Shaun Hick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-hick/) > [Fashion is so close in revealing a person's inner feelings and everybody seems to hate to lay claim to vanity so people tend to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-blum/fashion-is-so-close-in-revealing-a-person-s-inner-feelings-and/) Stella Blum > [Without its roots in reality, I don't think escapism can survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajkumar-hirani/without-its-roots-in-reality-i-don-t-think-escapism-can-survive/) [Rajkumar Hirani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajkumar-hirani/) > [I love all that kind of gothic Bram Stoker kind of thing. I love to get lost in that kind of escapism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-halford/i-love-all-that-kind-of-gothic-bram-stoker-kind-of-thing-i-love-to/) [Rob Halford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-halford/) [Browse all 264 Escapism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escapism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only people who hate escapism are jailers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. S. 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