--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In eighteenth-century England, there was…" description: "\"In eighteenth-century England, there was a practice of hiring a picturesque hermit who would inhabit the beautiful ruin on your estate. To me it rhymes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/david-grubbs-27090_beautiful_in-eighteenth-century-england-there-was_1019441.jpg" --- # In eighteenth-century England, there was a practice of… ![“In eighteenth-century England, there was a practice of hiring a picturesque hermit who would inhabit the beautiful ruin on your estate. To me it rhymes with certain kinds of pop-music entertainers and eccentrics - both touted and tolerated.” quote by David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/david-grubbs-27090_beautiful_in-eighteenth-century-england-there-was_1019441.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/david-grubbs-27090_beautiful_in-eighteenth-century-england-there-was_1019441.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/david-grubbs-27090_beautiful_in-eighteenth-century-england-there-was_1019441.jpg) > “In eighteenth-century England, there was a practice of hiring a picturesque hermit who would inhabit the beautiful ruin on your estate. To me it rhymes with certain kinds of pop-music entertainers and eccentrics - both touted and tolerated.” [David Grubbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grubbs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wealthy landowners hired eccentric hermits to enhance the romantic ruin of their estates, reflecting a blend of aesthetic taste and social tolerance for oddities. **In simple terms:** Rich owners used hermits as living art. Key Takeaway Consider how aesthetics can mask exploitation. Themes aesthetics class eccentricity Mood reflective critical Type historical cultural When to use this quote - Estate design - tourism - heritage preservation - art installations Key Concepts Romanticism social performance Questions to Reflect On - What modern equivalents serve similar purposes? - Do we still romanticize the exotic? A Different Perspective The practice reinforced class hierarchies under the guise of charm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Entertainers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainers/) [Estates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/estates/) [Hermits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hermits/) [Pop music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pop-music/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Ruins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruins/) ## Related quotes > [I do not always find the streets interesting, so I wait until I see picturesque groups and those that compose well in relation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/childe-hassam/i-do-not-always-find-the-streets-interesting-so-i-wait-until-i-see/) [Childe Hassam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/childe-hassam/) > [I know exaggerators of both kinds: people whose lies are only picturesque adjectives, and people whose picturesque adjectives are only lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/i-know-exaggerators-of-both-kinds-people-whose-lies-are-only/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [This is the beauty of Rajasthan; everything is so picturesque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-penty/this-is-the-beauty-of-rajasthan-everything-is-so-picturesque/) [Diana Penty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-penty/) > [Neither realism nor romance furnishes a more striking and picturesque figure than that of Christopher Columbus. 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