Libraries Quote by George Orwell
““The woman at the desk was a university graduate, young, colourless, spectacled, and intensely disagreeable. She had a fixed suspicion that no one — at least, no male person — ever consulted works of reference except in search of pornography. As soon as you approached she pierced you through and through with a flash of her pince-nez and let you know that your dirty secret was no secret from HER. After all, all works of reference are pornographical, except perhaps Whitaker’s Almanack. You can put even the Oxford Dictionary to evil purposes by looking up words like —— and ——.””
About This Quote
Source Short story: “The New Men” by George Orwell, 1939
A critical view of a pedantic librarian who assumes all reference work is pornographic, highlighting absurdity and bias in scholarly attitudes.
In simple terms: Stereotyping scholars leads to absurd conclusions.
Key Takeaway
Challenge assumptions about knowledge seekers.
Themes
satire
bias
absurdity
Mood
wry
critical
Type
satirical
commentary
When to use this quote
- academic settings
- library interactions
- cultural stereotypes
Key Concepts
social critique
literary humor
Questions to Reflect On
- How do stereotypes affect our view of intellectual work?
- What can we learn from questioning bias?
A Different Perspective
The humor may oversimplify complex attitudes toward research.
![“Thus Hawkes (1975)maintained that pornography is not explicit sex, but 'uncaring sex,' but could add that '[t]o me, censorship is pornographic.” quote by Martha Cornog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ec0/martha-cornog-260559_quote_thus-hawkes-1975-maintained-that-pornogr_1744338.jpg)
