--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: His manner showed a curious mixture of…" description: "\"“His manner showed a curious mixture of longing and enthusiasm, which is to say that his enthusiasms were always of a wistful sort, and his longings, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/eleanor-catton-2384_children_his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-l_2084299.png" --- # His manner showed a curious mixture of longing and… ![“His manner showed a curious mixture of longing and enthusiasm, which is to say that his enthusiasms were always of a wistful sort, and his longings, always enthusiastic. He was delighted by things of an improbable or impractical nature, which he sought out with the open-hearted gladness of a child…” quote by Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/eleanor-catton-2384_children_his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-l_2084299.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/eleanor-catton-2384_children_his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-l_2084299.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/eleanor-catton-2384_children_his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-l_2084299.png) > ““His manner showed a curious mixture of longing and enthusiasm, which is to say that his enthusiasms were always of a wistful sort, and his longings, always enthusiastic. He was delighted by things of an improbable or impractical nature, which he sought out with the open-hearted gladness of a child at play. When he spoke, he did so originally, and with an idealistic agony that was enough to make all but the most rigid of his critics smile; when he was silent, one had the sense, watching him, that his imagination was nevertheless usefully occupied, for he often sighed, or nodded, as though in agreement with an interlocutor whom no one else could see.”” [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person can blend deep yearning with lively curiosity, finding joy in the unlikely while maintaining a vivid inner life even in silence. **In simple terms:** Longing meets playful curiosity, imagination stays active. Key Takeaway Embrace both yearning and wonder. Themes longing curiosity imagination playfulness Mood reflective hopeful Type literary character study When to use this quote - creative projects - personal reflection - artistic pursuits - exploring new ideas Key Concepts idealism inner conflict creative thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance yearning with practicality? - What fuels your inner imagination? A Different Perspective Idealistic passion may clash with practical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. 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Hallowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-hallowell/) > [All noble enthusiasms pass through a feverish stage, and grow wiser and more serene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/all-noble-enthusiasms-pass-through-a-feverish-stage-and-grow-wiser/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [“Hang on to your youthful enthusiasms -- you’ll be able to use them better when you’re older.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca/hang-on-to-your-youthful-enthusiasms-you-ll-be-able-to-use-them/) [Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca/) > [Enthusiasms, like stimulants, are often affected by people with small mental ballast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minna-antrim/enthusiasms-like-stimulants-are-often-affected-by-people-with-small/) [Minna Antrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minna-antrim/) > [We are all experiments in enthusiasms, narrow and preordained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/we-are-all-experiments-in-enthusiasms-narrow-and-preordained/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [a committee, of course, exists for the purpose of damping enthusiasms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-benson/a-committee-of-course-exists-for-the-purpose-of-damping-enthusiasms/) [Stella Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-benson/) > [“I had schooled myself since the war-days never to speak of my enthusiasms; when other people did not share them, which was usual, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/i-had-schooled-myself-since-the-war-days-never-to-speak-of-my/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) ## More by Eleanor Catton > [“We spend our entire lives thinking about death. Without that project to divert us, I expect we would all be dreadfully bored. We would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/we-spend-our-entire-lives-thinking-about-death-without-that-project/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [I often feel intellectually frustrated when I'm in a position where I'm not moving forward; when I'm not enquiring about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/i-often-feel-intellectually-frustrated-when-i-m-in-a-position-where-i/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“own reputation, by associating himself with a story of cuckoldry, blackmail, murder, and revenge, and nor did he spare a thought for how Balfour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/own-reputation-by-associating-himself-with-a-story-of-cuckoldry/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“In my experience people are rarely contented to end up where they started.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/in-my-experience-people-are-rarely-contented-to-end-up-where-they/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“His temperament was deeply nostalgic, not for for his own past, but for past ages; he was cynical of the present, fearful of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-temperament-was-deeply-nostalgic-not-for-for-his-own-past-but-for/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [“What was glimpsed in Aquarius—what was envisioned, believed in, prophesied, predicted, doubted, and forewarned—is made, in Pisces, manifest. 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When he spoke, he did so originally, and with an idealistic agony that was enough to make all but the most rigid of his critics smile; when he was silent, one had the sense, watching him, that his imagination was nevertheless usefully occupied, for he often sighed, or nodded, as though in agreement with an interlocutor whom no one else could see.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eleanor Catton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-longing-and-enthusiasm-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-longing-and-enthusiasm-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/eleanor-catton-2384_children_his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-l_2084299.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/eleanor-catton-2384_children_his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-l_2084299.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c84/eleanor-catton-2384_children_his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-l_2084299.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“His manner showed a curious mixture of longing and enthusiasm, which is to say that his enthusiasms were…” — Eleanor Catton", "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": "Eleanor Catton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“His manner showed a curious mixture...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-longing-and-enthusiasm-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/his-manner-showed-a-curious-mixture-of-longing-and-enthusiasm-which/#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 } } ] } ```