--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do literature a real disservice if we…" description: "\"We do literature a real disservice if we reduce it to knowledge or to use, to a problem to be solved. If literature solves problems, it does so by its ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/marjorie-garber-38268_books_we-do-literature-a-real-disservice-if-we_2955292.jpg" --- # We do literature a real disservice if we reduce it to… ![“We do literature a real disservice if we reduce it to knowledge or to use, to a problem to be solved. If literature solves problems, it does so by its own inexhaustibility, and by its ultimate refusal to be applied or used, even for moral good. This refusal, indeed, is literature's most moral act…” quote by Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/marjorie-garber-38268_books_we-do-literature-a-real-disservice-if-we_2955292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/marjorie-garber-38268_books_we-do-literature-a-real-disservice-if-we_2955292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa5/marjorie-garber-38268_books_we-do-literature-a-real-disservice-if-we_2955292.jpg) > “We do literature a real disservice if we reduce it to knowledge or to use, to a problem to be solved. If literature solves problems, it does so by its own inexhaustibility, and by its ultimate refusal to be applied or used, even for moral good. This refusal, indeed, is literature's most moral act. At a time when meanings are manifold, disparate, and always changing, the rich possibility of interpretation--the happy resistance of the text to ever be fully known and mastered--is one of the most exhilarating products of human culture.” [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature's value lies beyond utilitarian use; its resistance to being fully mastered preserves moral autonomy and cultural richness. **In simple terms:** Literature should stay free, not just a tool. Key Takeaway Respect literature's independence. Themes literature ethics interpretation culture autonomy Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - writing - publishing - media analysis Key Concepts philosophy aesthetics critical theory Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do readers have toward preserving a text's openness? - How does resisting utilitarian use enrich cultural dialogue? A Different Perspective Treating literature as a mere instrument can strip its moral depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Exhilarating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhilarating/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpretation/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Resistance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resistance/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [With certain rapturous exceptions, literature is the moral life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/with-certain-rapturous-exceptions-literature-is-the-moral-life/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [I refuse to see literature as amusement, as a game. I think that you ought not to approach literature without a moral responsibility for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/i-refuse-to-see-literature-as-amusement-as-a-game-i-think-that-you/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [All literature has this moral strain, but in Russian literature, it's particularly sharp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/all-literature-has-this-moral-strain-but-in-russian-literature-it-s/) [Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/) > [...I have come to make distinctions between what I call the academy and literature, the moral equivalents of church and God. The academy may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/i-have-come-to-make-distinctions-between-what-i-call-the-academy-and/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I'm not sure we're presenting ourselves as real role models. I don't think literature has ever been a real place for role models.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/i-m-not-sure-we-re-presenting-ourselves-as-real-role-models-i-don-t/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [“Writers of literature, if they are real writers, know that their readers are confused about reality and the emotions derived from that reality and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-cicero/writers-of-literature-if-they-are-real-writers-know-that-their/) [Noah Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-cicero/) > [Literature, real literature, must not be gulped down like some potion which may be good for the heart or good for the brain—the brain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/literature-real-literature-must-not-be-gulped-down-like-some-potion/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [I don't accept the idea that literature can be just entertainment and that there is no consequences of literature in the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-don-t-accept-the-idea-that-literature-can-be-just-entertainment-and/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I expected more from literature than from real, naked life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/i-expected-more-from-literature-than-from-real-naked-life/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [The Russian yearning for the meaning of life is the major theme of our literature, and this is the real point of our intelligentsia's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/the-russian-yearning-for-the-meaning-of-life-is-the-major-theme-of/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [“Literature is the real life of imaginary people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefanos-livos/literature-is-the-real-life-of-imaginary-people/) [Stefanos Livos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefanos-livos/) > [Just why I sent it to the publishers would be hard to say, but when I had finished it I felt that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-maclane/just-why-i-sent-it-to-the-publishers-would-be-hard-to-say-but-when-i/) [Mary MacLane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-maclane/) > [I would actually love to fly. I think that that would be probably the most exhilarating feeling, and as close as you can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-larter/i-would-actually-love-to-fly-i-think-that-that-would-be-probably-the/) [Ali Larter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-larter/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [My first big show was with Tim McGraw and Mark Chesnutt, and that was overwhelming. There was probably 25,000 people there. I was nervous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-ann-womack/my-first-big-show-was-with-tim-mcgraw-and-mark-chesnutt-and-that-was/) [Lee Ann Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-ann-womack/) ## More by Marjorie Garber > [Dog love is not the special realm of childhood or of boyhood, no matter what the movies keep telling us. It is highly significant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/dog-love-is-not-the-special-realm-of-childhood-or-of-boyhood-no/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [If any era should be aware of the temptations to rewrite history, it is our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/if-any-era-should-be-aware-of-the-temptations-to-rewrite-history-it/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [A study conducted by the State University of New York at Buffalo Medical School suggested that in times of stress a dog is likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/a-study-conducted-by-the-state-university-of-new-york-at-buffalo/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [The dog becomes the repository of those model human properties that we have cynically ceased to find among humans. 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It becomes a kind of macro, to use a computer term: a way of storing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/jargon-marks-the-place-where-thinking-has-been-it-becomes-a-kind-of/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [Well named, Quotology contains everything you always wanted to know about quotations, quoters, quotees, quotation books, 'quoox' (quotations out of context), and their fascinating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/well-named-quotology-contains-everything-you-always-wanted-to-know/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [They offer, if we are wise enough or simple enough to take it, a model for what it means to give your heart with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/they-offer-if-we-are-wise-enough-or-simple-enough-to-take-it-a-model/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [The dogs in our lives, the dogs we come to love and who (we fervently believe) love us in return, offer more than fidelity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/the-dogs-in-our-lives-the-dogs-we-come-to-love-and-who-we-fervently/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) > [“It's often the material things that provide the essence of memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-garber/it-s-often-the-material-things-that-provide-the-essence-of-memory/) [Marjorie Garber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) [Explore all 12 Marjorie Garber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-garber/) ## 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 > [“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 > [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": "We do literature a real disservice if we reduce it to knowledge or to use, to a problem to be solved. If literature solves problems, it does so by its own inexhaustibility, and by its ultimate refusal to be applied or used, even for moral good. This refusal, indeed, is literature's most moral act. 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