--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But there is no doubt that to attempt a…" description: "\"“But there is no doubt that to attempt a novel of ideas is to give oneself a handicap: the parochialism of our culture is intense. For instance, decade..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/doris-lessing-501_able_but-there-is-no-doubt-that-to-attempt-a_587079.jpg" --- # But there is no doubt that to attempt a novel of ideas is… ![“But there is no doubt that to attempt a novel of ideas is to give oneself a handicap: the parochialism of our culture is intense. For instance, decade after decade bright young men and women emerge from their universities able to say proudly: 'Of course I know nothing about German literature.' It…” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/doris-lessing-501_able_but-there-is-no-doubt-that-to-attempt-a_587079.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/doris-lessing-501_able_but-there-is-no-doubt-that-to-attempt-a_587079.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f15/doris-lessing-501_able_but-there-is-no-doubt-that-to-attempt-a_587079.jpg) > ““But there is no doubt that to attempt a novel of ideas is to give oneself a handicap: the parochialism of our culture is intense. For instance, decade after decade bright young men and women emerge from their universities able to say proudly: 'Of course I know nothing about German literature.' It is the mode. The Victorians knew everything about German literature, but were able with a clear conscience not to know much about the French.”” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting novel ideas is hindered by cultural narrowness; people often claim ignorance in one area while mastering another, reflecting selective knowledge. **In simple terms:** Cultural bias limits learning. Key Takeaway Seek breadth, not just depth. Themes culture knowledge humility Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - cross‑cultural study - personal reading habits Key Concepts intellectual humility parochialism education Questions to Reflect On - What areas do you ignore out of comfort? - How can you broaden your intellectual horizons? A Different Perspective Specializing too narrowly may prevent interdisciplinary insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Clear conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear-conscience/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Handicaps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handicaps/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Parochialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parochialism/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) [Young men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-men/) ## Related quotes > [Coming up with novel ideas and converting them into real products has always been as natural as breathing for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-h-baer/coming-up-with-novel-ideas-and-converting-them-into-real-products-has/) [Ralph H. Baer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-h-baer/) > [Keep on the lookout for novel ideas that others have used successfully. Your idea has to be original only in its adaptation to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-on-the-lookout-for-novel-ideas-that-others-have-used/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Whatever our problems are, dreams can provide novel ideas and sometimes magnificent resolutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-garfield/whatever-our-problems-are-dreams-can-provide-novel-ideas-and/) [Patricia Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-garfield/) > [I feel like I have a lot of novel ideas, but they often come up while I'm already in the process of working on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-de-la-pena/i-feel-like-i-have-a-lot-of-novel-ideas-but-they-often-come-up-while/) [Matt de la Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-de-la-pena/) > [If ideas are what feed serious literature and arresting language, who today is writing a novel of ideas (which can often mean comedy)? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/if-ideas-are-what-feed-serious-literature-and-arresting-language-who/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [There's a long relationship between science fiction and the 'novel of ideas,' and I think writers of science fiction are able to draw on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kitamura/there-s-a-long-relationship-between-science-fiction-and-the-novel-of/) [Katie Kitamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kitamura/) > [I know some writers that have a million novel ideas, but I don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-know-some-writers-that-have-a-million-novel-ideas-but-i-don-t/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I think that parochialism is built into many kinds of nationalism and educational institutions in which children are brought up to treat their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-l-garfield/i-think-that-parochialism-is-built-into-many-kinds-of-nationalism-and/) [Jay L. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-l-garfield/) > [We are in the middle of a tough, ideological conflict that is being waged across the entire continent. On the one side are those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-are-in-the-middle-of-a-tough-ideological-conflict-that-is-being/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Parochialism and provincialism are direct opposites. A provincial is always trying to live by other people's loves, but a parochial is self-sufficient.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-kavanagh/parochialism-and-provincialism-are-direct-opposites-a-provincial-is/) [Patrick Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-kavanagh/) > [“... Mr Jellyband was indeed a typical rural John Bull of those days --- the days when our prejudiced insularity was at its height,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baroness-orczy/mr-jellyband-was-indeed-a-typical-rural-john-bull-of-those-days-the/) [Baroness Orczy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baroness-orczy/) > [The day of parochialism in sports is over. The world is too small for what people like to call 'the good old days.' Fans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/the-day-of-parochialism-in-sports-is-over-the-world-is-too-small-for/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [The world's religions, for all their parochialism, did supply a kind of consolation for this great ache... This shattering recognition of our mortality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/the-world-s-religions-for-all-their-parochialism-did-supply-a-kind-of/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [I assume the same problem exists in Australia as in America of back-biting and jealousy and parochialism among disciplines - there are the scientists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lewontin/i-assume-the-same-problem-exists-in-australia-as-in-america-of-back/) [Richard Lewontin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lewontin/) > [“Parochialism remains the Danes’ defining characteristic, but their radically recalibrated sense of identity and national pride has created a curious duality best described as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-booth/parochialism-remains-the-danes-defining-characteristic-but-their/) Michael Booth ## More by Doris Lessing > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. 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I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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