--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unless criticism refuses to take itself…" description: "\"Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously or at least to permit its readers not to, it will inevitably continue to reflect the finicky..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/leslie-fiedler-13246_books_unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself_634871.png" --- # Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously… ![“Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously or at least to permit its readers not to, it will inevitably continue to reflect the finicky canons of the genteel tradition and the depressing pieties of the Culture Religion of Modernism.” quote by Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/leslie-fiedler-13246_books_unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself_634871.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/leslie-fiedler-13246_books_unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself_634871.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/leslie-fiedler-13246_books_unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself_634871.png) > “Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously or at least to permit its readers not to, it will inevitably continue to reflect the finicky canons of the genteel tradition and the depressing pieties of the Culture Religion of Modernism.” [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criticism that takes itself too seriously mirrors elitist, outdated standards and hinders honest discourse. **In simple terms:** Overly serious criticism repeats old, restrictive rules. Key Takeaway Critique with humility and openness. Themes literature criticism modernism elitism Mood analytical reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic writing - book reviews - media analysis Key Concepts cultural critique self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can criticism stay rigorous yet flexible? - What role does humility play in evaluating art? A Different Perspective Rigid criticism can stifle creative thought. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Canon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canon/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticism Refuses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-refuses-5109409/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Culture religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture-religion/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Depressing Pieties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing-pieties-5109407/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Permit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permit/) [Piety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piety/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Refuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Tradition Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition-depressing-5109406/) [Unless Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unless-criticism-5109408/) ## Related quotes > [What gets in our way is history and culture and religion and economic conditions. It is part of the hypnosis of our social conditioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/what-gets-in-our-way-is-history-and-culture-and-religion-and-economic/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Culture is religion incarnate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-colson/culture-is-religion-incarnate/) [Charles Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-colson/) > [Being Jewish is a culture and a religion; we have food, music, and land specific to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shaffir/being-jewish-is-a-culture-and-a-religion-we-have-food-music-and-land/) [Ari Shaffir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shaffir/) > [When it comes to culture, religion and mentality, most Russians identify with Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-ivanov/when-it-comes-to-culture-religion-and-mentality-most-russians/) [Sergei Ivanov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-ivanov/) > [I'm very happy because I'm muslim my culture is my religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdi-shakur/i-m-very-happy-because-i-m-muslim-my-culture-is-my-religion/) [Abdi Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdi-shakur/) > [Warhol and other Pop artists had brought the art religion of art for art's sake to an end. If art was only business, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-graham/warhol-and-other-pop-artists-had-brought-the-art-religion-of-art-for/) [Dan Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-graham/) > [“Culture is religion externalized.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/culture-is-religion-externalized/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Present-day American society-whether through pop culture, religion, or institutions-conflates sexuality and morality constantly. Idolizing virginity as a stand-in for women’s morality means that nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/present-day-american-society-whether-through-pop-culture-religion-or/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [Perhaps the single most powerful event facing humanity today is a great awakening on a planetary scale that has been millennia in the making.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashok-gangadean/perhaps-the-single-most-powerful-event-facing-humanity-today-is-a/) [Ashok Gangadean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashok-gangadean/) > [A faith in culture is as bad as a faith in religion; both expressions imply a turning away from those very things which culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-faith-in-culture-is-as-bad-as-a-faith-in-religion-both-expressions/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [They who seek religion for culture's sake are aesthetic, not religious, and will never gain that grace which religion adds to culture, because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-campbell-shairp/they-who-seek-religion-for-culture-s-sake-are-aesthetic-not-religious/) [John Campbell Shairp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-campbell-shairp/) > [Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of offending culture, religion or traditions,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/staffan-de-mistura/freedom-of-speech-does-not-mean-freedom-of-offending-culture-religion/) [Staffan de Mistura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/staffan-de-mistura/) > [Company culture is a religion, not a sermon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-vaynerchuk/company-culture-is-a-religion-not-a-sermon/) [Gary Vaynerchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-vaynerchuk/) > [Each person is sacred, no matter what his or her culture, religion, handicap, or fragility. Each person is created in God’s image; each one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/each-person-is-sacred-no-matter-what-his-or-her-culture-religion/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [From the Vedas we learn a practical art of surgery, medicine, music, house building under which mechanized art is included. They are encyclopedia of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/from-the-vedas-we-learn-a-practical-art-of-surgery-medicine-music/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by Leslie Fiedler > [I have, I admit, a low tolerance for detached chronicling and cool analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-have-i-admit-a-low-tolerance-for-detached-chronicling-and-cool/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [“Our great novelists, though experts on indignity and assault, on loneliness and terror, tend to avoid treating the passionate encounter of a man and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/our-great-novelists-though-experts-on-indignity-and-assault-on/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [The novel doesn't come into existence until certain methods of reproducing fiction come along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/the-novel-doesn-t-come-into-existence-until-certain-methods-of/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I love it now that a large minority of people who are handicapped prefer to call themselves crippled. This is all part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-love-it-now-that-a-large-minority-of-people-who-are-handicapped/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Saul Bellow never took my advice when he was my friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/saul-bellow-never-took-my-advice-when-he-was-my-friend/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Of the female black authors, I really like Morrison's early books a lot. But she's really become so much a clone of Faulkner. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/of-the-female-black-authors-i-really-like-morrison-s-early-books-a/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [When I was 12 years old, someone took me to see Martha Graham. It was nothing like what I thought of as serious dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/when-i-was-12-years-old-someone-took-me-to-see-martha-graham-it-was/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I long for the raised voice, the howl of rage or love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-long-for-the-raised-voice-the-howl-of-rage-or-love/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I never met anybody in my life who says, I want to be a critic. People want to be a fireman, poet, novelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-never-met-anybody-in-my-life-who-says-i-want-to-be-a-critic-people/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student asked a question ineptly, he answered the question with what the student had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/faulkner-turned-out-to-be-a-great-teacher-when-a-student-asked-a/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [DeLillo never seems committed to me to what he is writing. Very nice surfaces, but he's got nothing underneath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/delillo-never-seems-committed-to-me-to-what-he-is-writing-very-nice/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I've had a tough time with Pynchon. I liked him very much when I first read him. I liked him less with each book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-ve-had-a-tough-time-with-pynchon-i-liked-him-very-much-when-i-first/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [My assignment is what every writer's assignment is: tell the truth of his own time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/my-assignment-is-what-every-writer-s-assignment-is-tell-the-truth-of/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [I gave up writing blurbs because you make one friend and 200 enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-gave-up-writing-blurbs-because-you-make-one-friend-and-200-enemies/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Henry Miller wrote novels, but he calls his protagonist Henry, often Henry Miller, and his books are in this gray area between memoir and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/henry-miller-wrote-novels-but-he-calls-his-protagonist-henry-often/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) [Explore all 51 Leslie Fiedler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously or at least to permit its readers not to, it will inevitably continue to reflect the finicky canons of the genteel tradition and the depressing pieties of the Culture Religion of Modernism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leslie Fiedler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself-quite-so-seriously-or-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself-quite-so-seriously-or-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/leslie-fiedler-13246_books_unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself_634871.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/leslie-fiedler-13246_books_unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself_634871.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c89/leslie-fiedler-13246_books_unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself_634871.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Unless criticism refuses to take itself quite so seriously or at least to permit its readers not to, it will…” — Leslie Fiedler", "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": "Leslie Fiedler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Unless criticism refuses to take itself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself-quite-so-seriously-or-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/unless-criticism-refuses-to-take-itself-quite-so-seriously-or-at/#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 } } ] } ```