--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I hate that which we have decided to call…" description: "\"I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even though I have been made one of its high priests.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/gustave-flaubert-354_decided_i-hate-that-which-we-have-decided-to-cal_2340304.jpg" --- # I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even… ![“I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even though I have been made one of its high priests.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/gustave-flaubert-354_decided_i-hate-that-which-we-have-decided-to-cal_2340304.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/gustave-flaubert-354_decided_i-hate-that-which-we-have-decided-to-cal_2340304.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/gustave-flaubert-354_decided_i-hate-that-which-we-have-decided-to-cal_2340304.jpg) > “I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even though I have been made one of its high priests.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author criticizes the label “realism” despite being a leading figure, suggesting it can be restrictive **In simple terms:** Even experts can feel confined by the categories they help define Key Takeaway Question the constraints of artistic labels Themes literature self‑critique identity Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing - critical theory - creative freedom - academic discourse Key Concepts realism artistic taxonomy Questions to Reflect On - What does “realism” mean to you? - Can a label both empower and limit an artist? A Different Perspective Labels may oversimplify complex works ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Priests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/priests/) [Realism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realism/) ## Related quotes > [Realism has to be such high quality, you can't fake it. It's all hanging out there like the laundry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-shanks/realism-has-to-be-such-high-quality-you-can-t-fake-it-it-s-all/) [Nelson Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-shanks/) > [“Deathless Kings, High Priests, let’s call them the thaumaturgical class, are growing used to power and the resources that accompany it. They form a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-gladstone/deathless-kings-high-priests-let-s-call-them-the-thaumaturgical-class/) [Max Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-gladstone/) > [What they're not ready for is guys like you and I and Nails and all the other gnarly gnarlingtons in my life, that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/what-they-re-not-ready-for-is-guys-like-you-and-i-and-nails-and-all/) [Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/) > [Once the high priests and the traders took over, we were lost as a species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/once-the-high-priests-and-the-traders-took-over-we-were-lost-as-a/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [The high priests and priestesses taught the children the secret meditation techniques, along with methods and ways of living that would increase their pranic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-high-priests-and-priestesses-taught-the-children-the-secret/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [In their meditations, the high priests and priestesses of Atlantis had seen that the Atlantean civilization was going to end cataclysmically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-their-meditations-the-high-priests-and-priestesses-of-atlantis-had/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“Know all ritual, ceremony, and conditions to be arbitrary (you have yourself to please): in the end, they are just a hindrance and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-osman-spare/know-all-ritual-ceremony-and-conditions-to-be-arbitrary-you-have/) [Austin Osman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-osman-spare/) > [“the Jewish high priests but to the custodians of any monotheistic faith, popes included, to maintain the purity of belief and of people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-blech/the-jewish-high-priests-but-to-the-custodians-of-any-monotheistic/) [Benjamin Blech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-blech/) > [“I can't admit of an old boy of a God who takes walks in his garden with a cane in his hand, who lodges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-can-t-admit-of-an-old-boy-of-a-god-who-takes-walks-in-his-garden/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I was under the influence of the early modern masters, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck and Hemingway, especially, when I was a kid. I reacted against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/i-was-under-the-influence-of-the-early-modern-masters-fitzgerald-and/) [Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/) > [There is no realism in American films. No realism, but something much better, great truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-renoir/there-is-no-realism-in-american-films-no-realism-but-something-much/) [Jean Renoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-renoir/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“When love carries us away on its brittle wings, we are too intoxicated to comprehend its power. We just want to soar and feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balroop-singh/when-love-carries-us-away-on-its-brittle-wings-we-are-too-intoxicated/) [Balroop Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balroop-singh/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Decided quotes > [My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. 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