--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It seems to me that Canadian sensibility…" description: "\"It seems to me that Canadian sensibility has been profoundly disturbed, not so much by our famous problem of identity, important as that is, as by a se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/northrop-frye-3483_canada_it-seems-to-me-that-canadian-sensibility_643089.png" --- # It seems to me that Canadian sensibility has been… ![“It seems to me that Canadian sensibility has been profoundly disturbed, not so much by our famous problem of identity, important as that is, as by a series of paradoxes in what confronts that identity. It is less perplexed by the question "Who am I?" than by some such riddle as "Where is here?” quote by Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/northrop-frye-3483_canada_it-seems-to-me-that-canadian-sensibility_643089.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/northrop-frye-3483_canada_it-seems-to-me-that-canadian-sensibility_643089.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e61/northrop-frye-3483_canada_it-seems-to-me-that-canadian-sensibility_643089.png) > “It seems to me that Canadian sensibility has been profoundly disturbed, not so much by our famous problem of identity, important as that is, as by a series of paradoxes in what confronts that identity. It is less perplexed by the question "Who am I?" than by some such riddle as "Where is here?” [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Canadian identity struggles more with spatial and cultural paradoxes than with personal self‑questioning. **In simple terms:** Identity is shaped by place and paradox. Key Takeaway Explore how environment shapes self. Themes culture identity paradox Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - teaching literature - writing essays - debating national narratives Key Concepts philosophy postcolonial theory Questions to Reflect On - Where does "here" reside for you? - How do paradoxes influence personal identity? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex cultural dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Canada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canada/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riddle/) [Sensibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensibility/) ## Related quotes > [At the end of the day, what would be a Canadian sensibility? Is it Michael Ondaatje? Alice Munro? Is Margaret Atwood more Canadian than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/at-the-end-of-the-day-what-would-be-a-canadian-sensibility-is-it/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [When we're growing up and being teenagers, oftentimes you try so hard to define yourself. You try to create an image of yourself because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amandla-stenberg/when-we-re-growing-up-and-being-teenagers-oftentimes-you-try-so-hard/) [Amandla Stenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amandla-stenberg/) > [I stay close to my identity - that's something I find important - but I don't completely shut myself off from the outside world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/memphis-depay/i-stay-close-to-my-identity-that-s-something-i-find-important-but-i/) [Memphis Depay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/memphis-depay/) > [Football should not be your source of identity. This one is important to me because I am much more than the player. My faith,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-ertz/football-should-not-be-your-source-of-identity-this-one-is-important/) [Zach Ertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-ertz/) > [Being Nigerian is a strong part of my identity. Being American is a strong part of my identity. And there are important parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/being-nigerian-is-a-strong-part-of-my-identity-being-american-is-a/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [My Irish identity is important as it's a part of who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-kirwan/my-irish-identity-is-important-as-it-s-a-part-of-who-i-am/) [Dervla Kirwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-kirwan/) > [Carving out an identity for yourself is important so I'm trying to do that as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lambert/carving-out-an-identity-for-yourself-is-important-so-i-m-trying-to-do/) [Adam Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lambert/) > [You own your identity; it is important to feel that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-golding/you-own-your-identity-it-is-important-to-feel-that-way/) [Henry Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-golding/) > [As you get older, you realise that your identity becomes more important - the environment in which you have grown is actually part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-elliott/as-you-get-older-you-realise-that-your-identity-becomes-more/) [Marianne Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-elliott/) > [If your company is mostly men, make sure to have women on the interview team. While you don't want to 'tokenize' someone for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-conte/if-your-company-is-mostly-men-make-sure-to-have-women-on-the/) [Jack Conte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-conte/) > [Young kids don't have their identity, so everything is so important. Now I'm mature. I know who I am and I know what my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-phair/young-kids-don-t-have-their-identity-so-everything-is-so-important/) [Liz Phair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-phair/) > [Men and women with freed minds may often be mistaken, but they are seldom fooled. They may be influenced, but they cannot be intimidated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/men-and-women-with-freed-minds-may-often-be-mistaken-but-they-are/) [Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/) > [He was so excited by this little bit of intelligence that he might have gone off, perplexed, pondering for a long time. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/he-was-so-excited-by-this-little-bit-of-intelligence-that-he-might/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-cars-of-the-migrant-people-crawled-out-of-the-side-roads-onto-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I'm very excited about my new Spotify account, which gives me access to twenty gazillion songs any time, all the time. The day I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-orlean/i-m-very-excited-about-my-new-spotify-account-which-gives-me-access/) [Susan Orlean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-orlean/) ## More by Northrop Frye > [I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-soon-realized-that-a-student-of-english-literature-who-does-not/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . Canada is practically the only country left in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/our-country-has-shown-a-lack-of-will-to-resist-its-own-disintegration/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The only thing that words can do with any real precision or accuracy is hang together. Accuracy of description in language is not possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-only-thing-that-words-can-do-with-any-real-precision-or-accuracy/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [The bedrock of doubt is the total nothingness of death. Death is a leveler, not because everybody dies, but because nobody understands what death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-bedrock-of-doubt-is-the-total-nothingness-of-death-death-is-a/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Even the human heart is slightly left of centre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/even-the-human-heart-is-slightly-left-of-centre/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Physics is an organized body of knowledge about nature, and a student of it says that he is learning physics, not nature. Art, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/physics-is-an-organized-body-of-knowledge-about-nature-and-a-student/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Literature as a whole is not an aggregate of exhibits with red and blue ribbons attached to them, like a cat-show, but the range…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-as-a-whole-is-not-an-aggregate-of-exhibits-with-red-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [One doesn't bother to believe the credible: the credible is believed already, by definition. There's no adventure of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/one-doesn-t-bother-to-believe-the-credible-the-credible-is-believed/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Culture's essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/culture-s-essential-service-to-a-religion-is-to-destroy-intellectual/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“Tendintele autoritate ale conservatorismului trebuie corectate prin mituri ale libertatii, in vreme ce un simt conservator al ordinii trebuie sa tempereze tendintele liberalismului spre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/tendintele-autoritate-ale-conservatorismului-trebuie-corectate-prin/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Literature is a human apocalypse, man's revelation to man, and criticism is not a body of adjudications, but the awareness of that revelation, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/literature-is-a-human-apocalypse-man-s-revelation-to-man-and/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“The particular myth that's been organizing this talk, and in a way the whole series, is the story of the Tower of Babel in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-particular-myth-that-s-been-organizing-this-talk-and-in-a-way-the/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Every human society possesses a mythology which is inherited, transmitted and diversified by literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/every-human-society-possesses-a-mythology-which-is-inherited/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Science begins with the world we have to live in, accepting its data and trying to explain its laws. From there, it moves toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/science-begins-with-the-world-we-have-to-live-in-accepting-its-data/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [In the world of the imagination, anything goes that's imaginatively possible, but nothing really happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/in-the-world-of-the-imagination-anything-goes-that-s-imaginatively/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) [Explore all 129 Northrop Frye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## More Canada quotes > [You, of Canada, are building a magnificent record of achievement. My country rejoices in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/you-of-canada-are-building-a-magnificent-record-of-achievement-my/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Our country has shown a lack of will to resist its own disintegration .. . Canada is practically the only country left in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/our-country-has-shown-a-lack-of-will-to-resist-its-own-disintegration/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [“Not very long ago I was driving with my husband on the back roads of Grey County, which is to the north and east…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/not-very-long-ago-i-was-driving-with-my-husband-on-the-back-roads-of/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Purchasing items made in the U.S. for our stores here or Canadian goods for our stores in Canada makes good business sense because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/purchasing-items-made-in-the-u-s-for-our-stores-here-or-canadian/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [One of the things that I miss about Canada is that even the strangers, you have an immediate rapport, there's just an understanding that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/one-of-the-things-that-i-miss-about-canada-is-that-even-the-strangers/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [I've never been invited to do an exhibition or do a talk in England, except once, about 10 years ago. I've given talks all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wildsmith/i-ve-never-been-invited-to-do-an-exhibition-or-do-a-talk-in-england/) [Brian Wildsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wildsmith/) > [Canada has become such a staging area for Chinese money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kwan/canada-has-become-such-a-staging-area-for-chinese-money/) [Kevin Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kwan/) > [“To be honest, it's a real relief to go to Canada where I can be among my relatives. Just the kind of break I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-puddicombe/to-be-honest-it-s-a-real-relief-to-go-to-canada-where-i-can-be-among/) [Ken Puddicombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-puddicombe/) > [When I left Canada for Bayern, people said, 'You'll never make it. You'll be back in a year.' I stopped going to school because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-hargreaves/when-i-left-canada-for-bayern-people-said-you-ll-never-make-it-you-ll/) [Owen Hargreaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-hargreaves/) > [LEGO has announced that they are shutting down their U.S. factory and moving it to Canada. LEGO employees say it's their fault because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/lego-has-announced-that-they-are-shutting-down-their-u-s-factory-and/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [It's so Canada. On some level, you laugh, but on another level, it's just depressing. We pride ourselves: We're not like the bad old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/constance-backhouse/it-s-so-canada-on-some-level-you-laugh-but-on-another-level-it-s-just/) [Constance Backhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/constance-backhouse/) > [The movement across Canada to fight toxic chemicals is a women's movement. It's a concern about health; it's very intimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-may/the-movement-across-canada-to-fight-toxic-chemicals-is-a-women-s/) [Elizabeth May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-may/) > [I grew up working in Canada so everything was low budget.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-page/i-grew-up-working-in-canada-so-everything-was-low-budget/) [Ellen Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-page/) [Browse all 1,873 Canada quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/canada/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It seems to me that Canadian sensibility has been profoundly disturbed, not so much by our famous problem of identity, important as that is, as by a series of paradoxes in what confronts that identity. 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