--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Style is as much under the words as in…" description: "\"Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much the soul as it is the flesh of a work.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/gustave-flaubert-354_fashion_style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-t_786134.jpg" --- # Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as… ![“Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much the soul as it is the flesh of a work.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/gustave-flaubert-354_fashion_style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-t_786134.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/gustave-flaubert-354_fashion_style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-t_786134.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/gustave-flaubert-354_fashion_style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-t_786134.jpg) > “Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much the soul as it is the flesh of a work.” [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. Style exists both in the words chosen and the underlying essence, shaping a work’s soul as much as its surface. **In simple terms:** Style is both word and soul. Key Takeaway Cultivate depth beyond surface language. Themes literature art expression authenticity Mood analytical thoughtful instructive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - editing - art criticism - teaching literature Key Concepts aesthetic theory literary criticism creative process Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of a work reveal its “soul”? - How does style influence reader perception? A Different Perspective Emphasis on soul may overlook technical precision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [Flesh will not stand in front of God, so all the decisions you make from your flesh will be paid for with your soul.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-johnson/flesh-will-not-stand-in-front-of-god-so-all-the-decisions-you-make/) [Monica Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-johnson/) > [“The Tradition we seek to experience is so alive and eternal that only the living dead will fail to grasp its relevance. Style is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raido/the-tradition-we-seek-to-experience-is-so-alive-and-eternal-that-only/) raido > [Oddly enough, I suppose, I don't give much thought to my style, and I don't attempt to be consistent - except within a story.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-gloeckner/oddly-enough-i-suppose-i-don-t-give-much-thought-to-my-style-and-i/) [Phoebe Gloeckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-gloeckner/) > [Accuracy is the basis of style. Words dress our thoughts and should fit; and should fit not only in their utterances, but in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/accuracy-is-the-basis-of-style-words-dress-our-thoughts-and-should/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference. It was the content. I wasn't a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-never-thought-it-was-my-style-or-the-words-i-used-that-made-a/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“I think that being a soul in flesh is really challenging and we should all give ourselves more credit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/i-think-that-being-a-soul-in-flesh-is-really-challenging-and-we/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [“This was his soul made flesh, the truth of him laid bare in the blazing sun, shorn of mystery and shadow. This was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/this-was-his-soul-made-flesh-the-truth-of-him-laid-bare-in-the-2/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [“re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-in-school-or-church-or-in-any-book-3/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“human happiness is lodged in the soul, not in the flesh”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-jelbert/human-happiness-is-lodged-in-the-soul-not-in-the-flesh/) [Will Jelbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-jelbert/) > [“Ursula is something I will never feel again: she is Melancholy, cut into the soul and flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-blissett/ursula-is-something-i-will-never-feel-again-she-is-melancholy-cut/) [Luther Blissett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-blissett/) > [“This was his soul made flesh, the truth of him laid bare in the blazing sun, shorn of mystery and shadow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/this-was-his-soul-made-flesh-the-truth-of-him-laid-bare-in-the/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Re-examine all you have been told in school or church or in any book, and dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/re-examine-all-you-have-been-told-in-school-or-church-or-in-any-book-2/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [I should learn to run, to wrestle, to swim, to ride horses, to row, to drive a car, to fire a rifle. I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/i-should-learn-to-run-to-wrestle-to-swim-to-ride-horses-to-row-to/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [Mind over matter and soul before flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mind-over-matter-and-soul-before-flesh/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Writing is not lying, nor is it theft. It is a journey and search for transparency between one’s words and one’s soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/writing-is-not-lying-nor-is-it-theft-it-is-a-journey-and-search-for/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) ## 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 Fashion quotes > [“I can either be a victim—or a winner. Fuck victimhood. I don’t wear it well; it clashes with my wardrobe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-can-either-be-a-victim-or-a-winner-fuck-victimhood-i-don-t-wear-it/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Personal Style comes from within. It's when the woman, her individuality and spirit come through. She uses clothes to express who she is and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-karan/personal-style-comes-from-within-it-s-when-the-woman-her/) [Donna Karan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-karan/) > [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/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [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/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Never in a million years would I imagine Calvin Klein flying me out to my first men's fashion show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-dallas/never-in-a-million-years-would-i-imagine-calvin-klein-flying-me-out/) [Cameron Dallas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-dallas/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [No one knows whom the shoe pinches - no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sholom-aleichem/no-one-knows-whom-the-shoe-pinches-no-one/) [Sholom Aleichem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sholom-aleichem/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [I have always been too round to do fashion shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-klum/i-have-always-been-too-round-to-do-fashion-shows/) [Heidi Klum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-klum/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [I've retired my sneakers for stilettos, baby!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivica-a-fox/i-ve-retired-my-sneakers-for-stilettos-baby/) [Vivica A. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivica-a-fox/) [Browse all 19,830 Fashion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much the soul as it is the flesh of a work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-the-words-it-is-as-much-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fashion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-the-words-it-is-as-much-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/gustave-flaubert-354_fashion_style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-t_786134.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/gustave-flaubert-354_fashion_style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-t_786134.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/783/gustave-flaubert-354_fashion_style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-t_786134.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Style is as much under the words as in the words. It is as much the soul as it is the flesh of a work.” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Style is as much under the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-the-words-it-is-as-much-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/style-is-as-much-under-the-words-as-in-the-words-it-is-as-much-the/#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 } } ] } ```