---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even when they are geniuses in spite of…"
description: "\"“Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.”\" — Christopher Isherwood"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/christopher-isherwood-2302_a-single-man_even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of_165540.png"
---

#  Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their…

![“Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.” quote by Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/christopher-isherwood-2302_a-single-man_even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of_165540.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/christopher-isherwood-2302_a-single-man_even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of_165540.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/christopher-isherwood-2302_a-single-man_even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of_165540.png)

> ““Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.””

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Even talented individuals can produce work that is distorted or flawed, suggesting that brilliance does not guarantee flawless creation.

**In simple terms:** Geniuses can still create imperfect work.

Key Takeaway

Recognize that talent coexists with imperfection.

Themes

talent imperfection art creativity critique

Mood

thoughtful critical analytical

Type

philosophical artistic

When to use this quote

- evaluating art
- teaching creativity
- self‑assessment

Key Concepts

artistic fallibility human limitation creative process

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do masterpieces become warped?
- How can we appreciate flawed genius?

A Different Perspective

The statement may generalize without acknowledging context.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[A-single-man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/a-single-man-1782/) [Genius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genius/) [Geniuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geniuses/) [Geniuses Spite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/geniuses-spite-1805389/) [Invariably Warped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invariably-warped-1805392/) [Masterpieces Invariably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masterpieces-invariably-1805390/) [Spite Masterpieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spite-masterpieces-1805391/)

## Related quotes

> [“I'm like a book you have to read. A book can't read itself to you. It doesn't even know what it's about.” Christopher Isherwood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-m-like-a-book-you-have-to-read-a-book-can-t-read-itself-to-you-it-2/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“No one ever hates without a cause…” Christopher Isherwood, A Single Man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/no-one-ever-hates-without-a-cause-christopher-isherwood-a-single-man/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“Staring and staring into the mirror, it sees many faces within its face - the face of the child, the boy, the young man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/staring-and-staring-into-the-mirror-it-sees-many-faces-within-its/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“Do you think it makes people nasty to be loved? You know it doesn’t! Then why should it make them nice to be loathed?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/do-you-think-it-makes-people-nasty-to-be-loved-you-know-it-doesn-t/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [I am the life-force power of the universe. I am the life-force power of the 50 trillion beautiful molecular geniuses that make up my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-bolte-taylor/i-am-the-life-force-power-of-the-universe-i-am-the-life-force-power/)

[Jill Bolte Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-bolte-taylor/)

> [Why hire these geniuses if they're forced to stick with the script? You want to empower your actors as collaborators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-levy/why-hire-these-geniuses-if-they-re-forced-to-stick-with-the-script/)

[Shawn Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-levy/)

> [Geniuses are people who notice things and connections between things which others haven't noticed. Genius must be a surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ricks/geniuses-are-people-who-notice-things-and-connections-between-things/)

[Christopher Ricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-ricks/)

> [You look around the world at geniuses, and they don't appear randomly, they appear in genius clusters. Athens in 50 BC, Florence 1500, Silicon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/you-look-around-the-world-at-geniuses-and-they-don-t-appear-randomly/)

[Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/)

> [The lead singer for Deerhunter, Bradford Cox... I don't like saying people are geniuses or whatever, but I just think that dude is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-anderson/the-lead-singer-for-deerhunter-bradford-cox-i-don-t-like-saying/)

[Blake Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-anderson/)

> [The difference in the education of men and women must give the former great advantages over the latter, even where geniuses are equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-richardson/the-difference-in-the-education-of-men-and-women-must-give-the-former/)

[Samuel Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-richardson/)

> [The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught man to look within himself to find God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it-was-moses-buddha-plato/)

[Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/)

> [All children are born geniuses, and we spend the first six years of their lives degeniusing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/all-children-are-born-geniuses-and-we-spend-the-first-six-years-of/)

[R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/)

> [Messi and Ronaldo are certainly the best in the world. They are both unbelievable. I am very happy to be a contemporary of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radamel-falcao/messi-and-ronaldo-are-certainly-the-best-in-the-world-they-are-both/)

[Radamel Falcao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radamel-falcao/)

> [The art music of the West has developed through out its history by means of individual geniuses, and out of the soil supporting them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toru-takemitsu/the-art-music-of-the-west-has-developed-through-out-its-history-by/)

[Toru Takemitsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toru-takemitsu/)

> [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

## More by Christopher Isherwood

> [“From his angle, the curtain seems to form itself into a shrouded, wavering figure, indescribably terrifying in its very indistinctness. Something waiting, hovering on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/from-his-angle-the-curtain-seems-to-form-itself-into-a-shrouded/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“If you really have talent, you know, you'll go on writing - whatever people say to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/if-you-really-have-talent-you-know-you-ll-go-on-writing-whatever/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [But seriously, I believe I'm a sort of Ideal Woman, if you know what I mean. I'm the sort of woman who can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/but-seriously-i-believe-i-m-a-sort-of-ideal-woman-if-you-know-what-i/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [If it’s going to be a world with no time for sentiment, it’s not a world that I want to live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/if-it-s-going-to-be-a-world-with-no-time-for-sentiment-it-s-not-a/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“By the time it has gotten dressed, it has become he; has become already more or less George — though still not the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/by-the-time-it-has-gotten-dressed-it-has-become-he-has-become-already/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“George feels that, even if all this double talk hasn't brought them any closer to understanding each other, the not-understanding, the readiness to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/george-feels-that-even-if-all-this-double-talk-hasn-t-brought-them/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“Now, for example, people with freckles aren’t thought of as a minority by the nonfreckled. They aren’t a minority in the sense we’re talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/now-for-example-people-with-freckles-aren-t-thought-of-as-a-minority/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“Here, in their midst, George feels a sort of vertigo. Oh God, what will become of them all? What chance have they? Ought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/here-in-their-midst-george-feels-a-sort-of-vertigo-oh-god-what-will/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“I put my genius into my life, not into my art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-put-my-genius-into-my-life-not-into-my-art/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [We must remember that nothing in this world really belongs to us. At best, we are merely borrowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/we-must-remember-that-nothing-in-this-world-really-belongs-to-us-at/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [In the eternal lazy morning of the Pacific, days slip away into months, months into years; the seasons are reduced to the faintest nuance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/in-the-eternal-lazy-morning-of-the-pacific-days-slip-away-into-months/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“Waking up begins with am and now. That which has awoken then lies for a while staring up at the ceiling and down into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/waking-up-begins-with-am-and-now-that-which-has-awoken-then-lies-for/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“Like a long train which stops at every dingy little station, the winter dragged slowly past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/like-a-long-train-which-stops-at-every-dingy-little-station-the/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [Every writer has certain subjects that they write about again and again, and . . . most people's books are just variations on certain themes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/every-writer-has-certain-subjects-that-they-write-about-again-and/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“The Europeans hate us because we’ve retired to live inside our advertisements, like hermits going into caves to contemplate. We sleep in symbolic bedrooms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/the-europeans-hate-us-because-we-ve-retired-to-live-inside-our/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

[Explore all 169 Christopher Isherwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

## More A-single-man quotes

> [“Do you think it makes people nasty to be loved? You know it doesn’t! Then why should it make them nice to be loathed?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/do-you-think-it-makes-people-nasty-to-be-loved-you-know-it-doesn-t/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“Staring and staring into the mirror, it sees many faces within its face - the face of the child, the boy, the young man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/staring-and-staring-into-the-mirror-it-sees-many-faces-within-its/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“No one ever hates without a cause…” Christopher Isherwood, A Single Man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/no-one-ever-hates-without-a-cause-christopher-isherwood-a-single-man/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

> [“I'm like a book you have to read. A book can't read itself to you. It doesn't even know what it's about.” Christopher Isherwood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-m-like-a-book-you-have-to-read-a-book-can-t-read-itself-to-you-it-2/)

[Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/)

[Browse all 5 A-single-man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/a-single-man-1782/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Christopher Isherwood"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of-it-their-masterpieces-are/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "A-single-man"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of-it-their-masterpieces-are/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/christopher-isherwood-2302_a-single-man_even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of_165540.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/christopher-isherwood-2302_a-single-man_even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of_165540.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/christopher-isherwood-2302_a-single-man_even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of_165540.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Even when they are geniuses in spite of it, their masterpieces are invariably warped.” — Christopher Isherwood",
                "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": "Christopher Isherwood",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Even when they are geniuses in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of-it-their-masterpieces-are/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/even-when-they-are-geniuses-in-spite-of-it-their-masterpieces-are/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
