--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: for my own purpose, I defined the art of…" description: "\"for my own purpose, I defined the art of fiction as experience illuminated.\" — Ellen Glasgow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/ellen-glasgow-1897_art_for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of_756594.png" --- # for my own purpose, I defined the art of fiction as… ![“for my own purpose, I defined the art of fiction as experience illuminated.” quote by Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/ellen-glasgow-1897_art_for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of_756594.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/ellen-glasgow-1897_art_for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of_756594.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/ellen-glasgow-1897_art_for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of_756594.png) > “for my own purpose, I defined the art of fiction as experience illuminated.” [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction is defined as experience made clear through storytelling. **In simple terms:** Storytelling clarifies experience. Key Takeaway Write to illuminate life. Themes fiction experience illumination Mood analytical inspirational Type literary educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - teaching - personal memoirs - media production Key Concepts narrative theory creative expression Questions to Reflect On - How does illumination shape narrative? - When is ambiguity valuable? A Different Perspective Clarity may limit artistic ambiguity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-fiction-653109/) [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Experience Illuminated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-illuminated-5874914/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-experience-725910/) [Illuminated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illuminated/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [Ive lost much of my heart and the spark or fire that once created, or produced, the art of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bass/ive-lost-much-of-my-heart-and-the-spark-or-fire-that-once-created-or/) [Rick Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bass/) > [This fact was something I also learned from this first novel that I needed personal experience to invent, to fantasize, to create fiction, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/this-fact-was-something-i-also-learned-from-this-first-novel-that-i/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“The real measure of 'truth' in any novel is not whether the characters, places and events portrayed exist beyond the pages of the book,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-macrae-burnet/the-real-measure-of-truth-in-any-novel-is-not-whether-the-characters/) [Graeme Macrae Burnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-macrae-burnet/) > [My most memorable science fiction experience was 'Star Wars' and seeing R2D2 and C3PO. I fell in love with those robots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-breazeal/my-most-memorable-science-fiction-experience-was-star-wars-and-seeing/) [Cynthia Breazeal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-breazeal/) > [However much, as readers, we lose ourselves in a novel or story, fiction itself is an experience on the order of memory -not on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/however-much-as-readers-we-lose-ourselves-in-a-novel-or-story-fiction/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [It is so common to write autobiographical fiction in which your own experience is thinly disguised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/it-is-so-common-to-write-autobiographical-fiction-in-which-your-own/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [... if we can imagine the art of fiction come alive and standing in our midst, she would undoubtedly bid us to break her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/if-we-can-imagine-the-art-of-fiction-come-alive-and-standing-in-our/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Art, you know, art and fiction, especially in big books, you know, it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bock/art-you-know-art-and-fiction-especially-in-big-books-you-know-it/) [Charles Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bock/) > [Fiction seeks to represent human experience as it is lived and as it reverberates in our hopes, fears, dreams, and memories. So much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/varley-o-connor/fiction-seeks-to-represent-human-experience-as-it-is-lived-and-as-it/) [Varley O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/varley-o-connor/) > [And really the purpose of art - for me, fiction - is to alert, to indicate to stop, to say: Make certain that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/and-really-the-purpose-of-art-for-me-fiction-is-to-alert-to-indicate/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [“Life scars the writer but he is not without weapons of vengeance. The art of fiction is a prism that he can use to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerima-polotan/life-scars-the-writer-but-he-is-not-without-weapons-of-vengeance-the/) [Kerima Polotan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerima-polotan/) > [“The art of fiction has not changed much since prehistoric times. The formula for telling a powerful story has remained the same: create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bova/the-art-of-fiction-has-not-changed-much-since-prehistoric-times-the/) [Ben Bova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bova/) > [“And if we can imagine the art of fiction come alive and standing in our midst, she would undoubtedly bid us break her and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/and-if-we-can-imagine-the-art-of-fiction-come-alive-and-standing-in/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The art of fiction does not begin until the novelist thinks of his story as a matter to be shown, to be so exhibited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-lubbock/the-art-of-fiction-does-not-begin-until-the-novelist-thinks-of-his/) [Percy Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-lubbock/) > [“I don’t think there’s any border between science and art. All the fiction films I have made were always on the same subject,—a discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rouch/i-don-t-think-there-s-any-border-between-science-and-art-all-the/) [Jean Rouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rouch/) ## More by Ellen Glasgow > [Too much principle is often more harmful than too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/too-much-principle-is-often-more-harmful-than-too-little/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I have watchedmany literary fashions shoot up and blossom, and then fade and drop… Yet with the many that I have seen comeand go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-have-watchedmany-literary-fashions-shoot-up-and-blossom-and-then/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [After a day of rain the sun came out suddenly at five o'clock and threw a golden bar into the deep Victorian gloom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/after-a-day-of-rain-the-sun-came-out-suddenly-at-five-o-clock-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [What I hated even more than the conflict was the lurid spectacle of a world of unreason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/what-i-hated-even-more-than-the-conflict-was-the-lurid-spectacle-of-a/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Preserve, within a wild sanctuary, an inaccessible valley of reverie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/preserve-within-a-wild-sanctuary-an-inaccessible-valley-of-reverie/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [The attraction of horror is a mental, or even an intellectual, excitement, but the fascination of the repulsive, so noticeable incontemporary writing, can spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/the-attraction-of-horror-is-a-mental-or-even-an-intellectual/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I was always a feminist, for I liked intellectual revolt as much as I disliked physical violence. On the whole, I think women havelost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-was-always-a-feminist-for-i-liked-intellectual-revolt-as-much-as-i/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Although the primitive in art may be both interesting and impressive, as portrayed in American fiction it is conspicuous for dullness alone. Drab persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/although-the-primitive-in-art-may-be-both-interesting-and-impressive/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Do you know there is always a barrier between me and any man or woman who does not like dogs?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/do-you-know-there-is-always-a-barrier-between-me-and-any-man-or-woman/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [You look as if you lived on duty and it hadn't;t agreed with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/you-look-as-if-you-lived-on-duty-and-it-hadn-t-t-agreed-with-you/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [there are times when life surprises one, and anything may happen, even what one had hoped for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/there-are-times-when-life-surprises-one-and-anything-may-happen-even/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Life may take away happiness. But it can't take away having had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/life-may-take-away-happiness-but-it-can-t-take-away-having-had-it/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [So long as one is able to pose one has still much to learn about suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/so-long-as-one-is-able-to-pose-one-has-still-much-to-learn-about/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [...I had grown up in a world that was dominated by immature age. Not by vigorous immaturity, but by immaturity that was old and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-had-grown-up-in-a-world-that-was-dominated-by-immature-age-not-by/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [I hated the things they believe in, the things they so innocently and charmingly pretended. I hated the sanctimonious piety that let people hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/i-hated-the-things-they-believe-in-the-things-they-so-innocently-and/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) [Explore all 200 Ellen Glasgow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "for my own purpose, I defined the art of fiction as experience illuminated.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Glasgow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of-fiction-as-experience/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of-fiction-as-experience/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/ellen-glasgow-1897_art_for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of_756594.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/ellen-glasgow-1897_art_for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of_756594.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e8/ellen-glasgow-1897_art_for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of_756594.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“for my own purpose, I defined the art of fiction as experience illuminated.” — Ellen Glasgow", "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": "Ellen Glasgow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "for my own purpose, I defined...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of-fiction-as-experience/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/for-my-own-purpose-i-defined-the-art-of-fiction-as-experience/#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 } } ] } ```