--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a novel lacks the indefinable…" description: "\"“When a novel lacks the indefinable, unmistakable thing we call beauty, one looks in it for sound delineation of character, or humour of situation, or ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/george-orwell-57_beauty_when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmis_2118338.jpg" --- # When a novel lacks the indefinable, unmistakable thing we… ![“When a novel lacks the indefinable, unmistakable thing we call beauty, one looks in it for sound delineation of character, or humour of situation, or verbal wit.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/george-orwell-57_beauty_when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmis_2118338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/george-orwell-57_beauty_when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmis_2118338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/george-orwell-57_beauty_when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmis_2118338.jpg) > ““When a novel lacks the indefinable, unmistakable thing we call beauty, one looks in it for sound delineation of character, or humour of situation, or verbal wit.”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A novel lacking beauty relies on character depth, humor, or wit to engage readers, but true art blends all. **In simple terms:** Without beauty, novels depend on other qualities. Key Takeaway Seek balance of beauty and substance. Themes literature beauty character humor wit Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - character study - humorous scenes - sharp dialogue - literary analysis Key Concepts aesthetic value narrative craft Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story beautiful to you? - Can humor replace aesthetic appeal? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on intellect can alienate emotional readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-looks-739842/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character Humour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-humour-4309151/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Thing Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-beauty/) [Verbal Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/verbal-wit-4309152/) ## Related quotes > [Beauty is not about LOOKS, MAKE-UP, OR CLOTHES. True beauty comes from being yourself, the more you show who you really are the PRETTIER…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bheby-ann/beauty-is-not-about-looks-make-up-or-clothes-true-beauty-comes-from/) [Bheby Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bheby-ann/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Words Do Not Define Beauty. People Do Not Define Beauty. Looks Do Not Define Beauty. YOU Define Beauty. In Your Depth,In Your Speech,In Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sherman/words-do-not-define-beauty-people-do-not-define-beauty-looks-do-not/) [Alice Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sherman/) > [I think that we have two things going on in the world right now. We have one sort of vibe that's love who you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-fanning/i-think-that-we-have-two-things-going-on-in-the-world-right-now-we/) [Dakota Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-fanning/) > [Whenever Beauty looks, Love is also there; Whenever beauty shows a rosy cheek Love lights Her fire from that flame. When beauty dwells in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whenever-beauty-looks-love-is-also-there-whenever-beauty-shows-a-rosy/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [If you look after truth and goodness, beauty looks after herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-gill/if-you-look-after-truth-and-goodness-beauty-looks-after-herself/) [Eric Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-gill/) > [Beauty, what is beauty? Looks? Paradise ? Something attractive ? Or is it just our own perception and preferance that makes us define beauty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-c/beauty-what-is-beauty-looks-paradise-something-attractive-or-is-it/) [Gabrielle C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-c/) > [Beauty is not about looks, make up or clothes. True beauty comes from being yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-is-not-about-looks-make-up-or-clothes-true-beauty-comes-from-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't know if I could, like, see a face and know what the face of beauty looks like, but after I've seen it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-don-t-know-if-i-could-like-see-a-face-and-know-what-the-face-of/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) > [To me, beauty is looks you can never forget. A face should jolt, not soothe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/to-me-beauty-is-looks-you-can-never-forget-a-face-should-jolt-not/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [I think that my looks through the years have served me well because I was never a great beauty and I was never cast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-hunter/i-think-that-my-looks-through-the-years-have-served-me-well-because-i/) [Holly Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-hunter/) > [I think the beauty looks I most regret are those I was persuaded into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dita-von-teese/i-think-the-beauty-looks-i-most-regret-are-those-i-was-persuaded-into/) [Dita Von Teese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dita-von-teese/) > [Whenever Beauty looks, Love is also there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/whenever-beauty-looks-love-is-also-there/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Where there are obstacles, a thing of beauty has a miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/where-there-are-obstacles-a-thing-of-beauty-has-a-miracle/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most liberating thing about beauty is realizing you are the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/the-most-liberating-thing-about-beauty-is-realizing-you-are-the/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When a novel lacks the indefinable, unmistakable thing we call beauty, one looks in it for sound delineation of character, or humour of situation, or verbal wit.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmistakable-thing-we-call-beauty/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmistakable-thing-we-call-beauty/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/george-orwell-57_beauty_when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmis_2118338.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/george-orwell-57_beauty_when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmis_2118338.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/392/george-orwell-57_beauty_when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmis_2118338.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a novel lacks the indefinable, unmistakable thing we call beauty, one looks in it for sound delineation…” — George Orwell", "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": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When a novel lacks the indefinable,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmistakable-thing-we-call-beauty/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-a-novel-lacks-the-indefinable-unmistakable-thing-we-call-beauty/#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 } } ] } ```