--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who…" description: "\"Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who found Ulysses indecorous, at a London performance of Lenny Bruce—to which in fact he was once taken. Trying to ima..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/david-markson-10450_europe_trying-to-imagine-e-m-forster-who-found_2883839.jpg" --- # Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who found Ulysses… ![“Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who found Ulysses indecorous, at a London performance of Lenny Bruce—to which in fact he was once taken. Trying to imagine the same for a time-transported Nathaniel Hawthorne—who during his first visit to Europe was even shocked by the profusion of naked statues.” quote by David Markson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/david-markson-10450_europe_trying-to-imagine-e-m-forster-who-found_2883839.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/david-markson-10450_europe_trying-to-imagine-e-m-forster-who-found_2883839.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/david-markson-10450_europe_trying-to-imagine-e-m-forster-who-found_2883839.jpg) > “Trying to imagine E. M. Forster, who found Ulysses indecorous, at a London performance of Lenny Bruce—to which in fact he was once taken. Trying to imagine the same for a time-transported Nathaniel Hawthorne—who during his first visit to Europe was even shocked by the profusion of naked statues.” [David Markson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-markson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagining historical figures reacting to modern or foreign cultures reveals their rigidity. **In simple terms:** Historical figures would feel shocked by modern culture. Key Takeaway Consider cultural context in judgments. Themes culture history anachronism perspective Mood thoughtful curious Type literary historical When to use this quote - education - creative writing - media analysis Key Concepts cultural relativism historical empathy Questions to Reflect On - How do we avoid presentism? - What can we learn from past reactions? A Different Perspective Modern analogies may oversimplify past mindsets. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [Performances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performances/) [Ulysses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ulysses/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [It's Nathaniel Hawthorne Month in English. Poor Nathaniel. Does he know what they've done to him? We're reading The Scarlet Letter one sentence at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/it-s-nathaniel-hawthorne-month-in-english-poor-nathaniel-does-he-know/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [The American, who up to the present day, has evinced, in Literature, the largest brain with the largest heart, that man is Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/the-american-who-up-to-the-present-day-has-evinced-in-literature-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [Goodness! Golly! Good God! Blessed Allah! Zeus and Hera! Mary and Joseph! Nathaniel Hawthorne! Don't touch her! Grab her! Move closer! Run away! Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/goodness-golly-good-god-blessed-allah-zeus-and-hera-mary-and-joseph/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do you know what the lurid intermixture of complicated emotions produces, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne? That's right, it produces the illuminating blaze of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bachelder/do-you-know-what-the-lurid-intermixture-of-complicated-emotions/) Chris Bachelder > [The actual American childhood is less Norman Rockwell and Walt Disney than Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cheever/the-actual-american-childhood-is-less-norman-rockwell-and-walt-disney/) [Susan Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cheever/) > [My work holds up the mirror to hypocrisy, which puts me in a tradition of American writing that reaches back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-work-holds-up-the-mirror-to-hypocrisy-which-puts-me-in-a-tradition/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [“Nathaniel Hawthorne had placed the w in his name to distance himself from his cruel ancestor, his writing driven by his desire to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/nathaniel-hawthorne-had-placed-the-w-in-his-name-to-distance-himself/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [There is the grand truth about Nathaniel Hawthorne. He says NO! in thunder; but the Devil himself cannot make him say yes. For all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/there-is-the-grand-truth-about-nathaniel-hawthorne-he-says-no-in/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [ There is more suspense, more dramatic torque, in one page of \[Nathaniel\] Hawthorne's heart-racked ruminations onthe Christian consciencethaninall Demi Moore's woodland gallops and horizontal… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/there-is-more-suspense-more-dramatic-torque-in-one-page-of-nathaniel/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [My first attraction to writing novels was the plot, that almost extinct animal. 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Eliot the only poet one can think of who could have spent a year on his own in Paris at twenty-three—and managed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-markson/is-t-s-eliot-the-only-poet-one-can-think-of-who-could-have-spent-a/) [David Markson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-markson/) > [“Coincidences undeniably imply meaning. I am rereading Hart Crane. I notice the date On which he stepped off that boat Was April 26. Tomorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-markson/coincidences-undeniably-imply-meaning-i-am-rereading-hart-crane-i/) [David Markson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-markson/) [Explore all 54 David Markson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-markson/) ## More Europe quotes > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. 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I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) > [Perhaps our own opposition to even the level of European integration we have now, let alone any more, is well known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-farage/perhaps-our-own-opposition-to-even-the-level-of-european-integration/) [Nigel Farage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-farage/) > [Liberalism is the philosophy for our time, because it does not try to conserve every tradition of the past, because it does not apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-trudeau/liberalism-is-the-philosophy-for-our-time-because-it-does-not-try-to/) [Pierre Trudeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-trudeau/) > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“Conservatism aims to maintain in working order the loyalties of the community to perceived truths and also to those truths which in their judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr-2/conservatism-aims-to-maintain-in-working-order-the-loyalties-of-the/) [William F. 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