Absent minded Quote by Edith Wharton
““He had built up within himself a kind of sanctuary in which she throned among his secret thoughts and longings. Little by little it became the scene of his real life, of his only rational activities; thither he brought the books he read, the ideas and feelings which nourished him, his judgments and his visions. Outside it, in the scene of his actual life, he moved with a growing sense of unreality and insufficiency, blundering against familiar prejudices and traditional points of view as an absent-minded man goes on bumping into the furniture of his own room.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: The House of Mirth, 1905
A man creates an inner sanctuary of thoughts and ideas, contrasting with his external reality, leading to a sense of unreality.
In simple terms: He retreats into his mind, feeling detached from real life.
Key Takeaway
Balance inner reflection with external engagement.
Themes
psychology
inner life
reality
introspection
fiction
Mood
reflective
melancholic
Type
literary
philosophical
When to use this quote
- personal journals
- creative writing
- literary analysis
Key Concepts
selfhood
sanctuary
illusion
Questions to Reflect On
- What safeguards against losing touch with reality?
- How can inner ideas inform external actions?
A Different Perspective
Over‑reliance on inner world may cause disconnection.
![“I think that sense of unreality inspired me to write the story within the book that [August] Brill tells himself, one of the stories he tells himself.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fc6/paul-auster-351_august_i-think-that-sense-of-unreality-inspired_3009692.jpg)
