--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dickens didn't have access to any other…" description: "\"Dickens didn't have access to any other epistemologies other than those prevailing in Britain. But a novelist today cannot plausibly claim ignorance of..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/pankaj-mishra-2875_access_dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other_662434.jpg" --- # Dickens didn't have access to any other epistemologies… ![“Dickens didn't have access to any other epistemologies other than those prevailing in Britain. But a novelist today cannot plausibly claim ignorance of his society's manifold connections with the wider world, the fact that prosperity and security at home, for instance, often depend on extensive…” quote by Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/pankaj-mishra-2875_access_dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other_662434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/pankaj-mishra-2875_access_dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other_662434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/pankaj-mishra-2875_access_dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other_662434.jpg) > “Dickens didn't have access to any other epistemologies other than those prevailing in Britain. But a novelist today cannot plausibly claim ignorance of his society's manifold connections with the wider world, the fact that prosperity and security at home, for instance, often depend on extensive violence and exploitation abroad.” [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern writers must recognize global interdependence, not claim isolation from worldwide impacts of their societies. **In simple terms:** Writers must acknowledge global ties. Key Takeaway Consider global effects in your work. Themes globalism responsibility literature Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - journalism - novel writing - policy analysis - education - activism Key Concepts interconnectedness colonialism ethical awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does your work reflect global connections? - What responsibilities do writers have to reveal hidden impacts? A Different Perspective Ignoring global context can oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Access](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access/) [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Claims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/claims/) [Connections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connections/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Depends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depends/) [Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) [Dickens Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens-didn-334105/) [Epistemologies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemologies-2656667/) [Epistemologies Prevailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemologies-prevailing-5275676/) [Epistemology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epistemology/) [Exploitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploitation/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Ignorance Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance-society-3550774/) [Instance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance/) [Manifold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manifold/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Prevailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prevailing/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [We are most of us governed by epistemologies that we know to be wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/we-are-most-of-us-governed-by-epistemologies-that-we-know-to-be-wrong/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“Dickens didn't write what people wanted. He wanted what people wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/dickens-didn-t-write-what-people-wanted-he-wanted-what-people-wanted/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Media are epistemologies. Every medium implies a particular way of thinking about things, influences to great extent what things we will think about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-k-fallon/media-are-epistemologies-every-medium-implies-a-particular-way-of/) [Peter K. Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-k-fallon/) > [Mark Twain didn't psychoanalyze Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer. Dickens didn't put Oliver Twist on the couch because he was hungry! Good copy comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/mark-twain-didn-t-psychoanalyze-huck-finn-or-tom-sawyer-dickens-didn/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [“We have to make it a personal responsibility to eradicate ignorance from our society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/we-have-to-make-it-a-personal-responsibility-to-eradicate-ignorance/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [There's just so many facets, I think, of the ignorance in our society that have to be corrected if we're really going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-huerta/there-s-just-so-many-facets-i-think-of-the-ignorance-in-our-society/) [Dolores Huerta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-huerta/) > [“We must be true ambassadors of Christ on the earth in order to be able to put an end to the plague of ignorance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/we-must-be-true-ambassadors-of-christ-on-the-earth-in-order-to-be/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [The relative importance of the white and gray matter is often misunderstood. Were it not for the manifold connection of the nerve cells in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-anthony-spitzka/the-relative-importance-of-the-white-and-gray-matter-is-often/) [Edward Anthony Spitzka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-anthony-spitzka/) > [If we understood the world, we would realize that there is a logic of harmony underlying its manifold apparent dissonances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-sibelius/if-we-understood-the-world-we-would-realize-that-there-is-a-logic-of/) [Jean Sibelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-sibelius/) > [Beyond the horizon, or even the knowledge, of the cities along the coast, a great, creative impulse is at work -- the only thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-palmer/beyond-the-horizon-or-even-the-knowledge-of-the-cities-along-the/) [Vance Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-palmer/) > [Shakespeare's personages live and move as if they had just come from the hand of God, with a life that, though manifold, is one,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-mazzini/shakespeare-s-personages-live-and-move-as-if-they-had-just-come-from/) [Giuseppe Mazzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-mazzini/) > [A large city cannot be experientially known; its life is too manifold for any individual to be able to participate in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/a-large-city-cannot-be-experientially-known-its-life-is-too-manifold/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [In the mythic tradition, the Mountain is the bond between Earth and Sky. Its solitary summit reaches the sphere of eternity, and its base…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-daumal/in-the-mythic-tradition-the-mountain-is-the-bond-between-earth-and/) [Rene Daumal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-daumal/) > [Adventure is humdrum and routine unless one assimilates it, unless one relates it to a central core which grows within and gives it contour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/adventure-is-humdrum-and-routine-unless-one-assimilates-it-unless-one/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [The book has very specific qualities. Let's say in 2300 they discover the physical book, after having lived with the digital book for several…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-spiegelman/the-book-has-very-specific-qualities-let-s-say-in-2300-they-discover/) [Art Spiegelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-spiegelman/) ## More by Pankaj Mishra > [“Nationalism has again become a seductive but treacherous antidote to an experience of disorder and meaninglessness: the unexpectedly rowdy anticlimax, in a densely populated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/nationalism-has-again-become-a-seductive-but-treacherous-antidote-to/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I feel very privileged to get to read and write and not to have to do things that I don't like, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-feel-very-privileged-to-get-to-read-and-write-and-not-to-have-to-do/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [There was great political uncertainty in South Asia at the time of the Buddha. The older small tribal societies were cracking up and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/there-was-great-political-uncertainty-in-south-asia-at-the-time-of/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Buddhism resonated very powerfully with a lot of my preoccupations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/buddhism-resonated-very-powerfully-with-a-lot-of-my-preoccupations/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Our tolerance of the intolerable found a low threshold as early as the late 1950s with the grotesque excesses of McCarthyism, which destroyed so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/our-tolerance-of-the-intolerable-found-a-low-threshold-as-early-as/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Freedom of speech doesn't guarantee great literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-guarantee-great-literature/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“As Keynes wrote, with devastating understatement, ‘The age of economic internationalism was not particularly successful in avoiding war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/as-keynes-wrote-with-devastating-understatement-the-age-of-economic/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Voltaire was soon turned, with Catherine’s encouragement, into a patron saint for the secular Russian aristocracy. Voltairianism, vaguely signifying rationalism, scepticism and reformism, became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/voltaire-was-soon-turned-with-catherine-s-encouragement-into-a-patron/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Today, the belief in progress, necessary for life in a Godless universe, can no longer be sustained, except, perhaps, in the Silicon Valley mansions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/today-the-belief-in-progress-necessary-for-life-in-a-godless-universe/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [We are always boosting or trying to prop up the ego by fulfilling some desire or other, and always craving affirmation from the outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/we-are-always-boosting-or-trying-to-prop-up-the-ego-by-fulfilling/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I don't think of myself as particularly earnest. I have long bouts of cynicism and skepticism. So much of my early life was full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-particularly-earnest-i-have-long-bouts-of/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Marx reproduced medieval and Reformation millenarian expectations in his utopia of a classless, stateless society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/marx-reproduced-medieval-and-reformation-millenarian-expectations-in/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“History, largely experienced previously as a series of natural disasters, could now be seen as a movement in which everyone could potentially enlist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/history-largely-experienced-previously-as-a-series-of-natural/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Writers in the nineteenth century - people like George Eliot and Flaubert - were accustomed to addressing particular communities with which they shared not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/writers-in-the-nineteenth-century-people-like-george-eliot-and/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Most suffering is human-made and avoidable. It's mostly in your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/most-suffering-is-human-made-and-avoidable-it-s-mostly-in-your-head/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) [Explore all 147 Pankaj Mishra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) ## More Access quotes > [Conservatism is not about leaving people behind. Conservatism is about empowering people to catch up, to give them the tools at their disposable that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/conservatism-is-not-about-leaving-people-behind-conservatism-is-about/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [You can disseminate your art, and it's all such easy access now. The upside to it is that more people are creating than ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-clarke/you-can-disseminate-your-art-and-it-s-all-such-easy-access-now-the/) [Stanley Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-clarke/) > [It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/it-s-the-same-with-this-idea-of-a-literate-public-and-also-of-a/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [My hope is that if people have the knowledge, and if they actually see where their food comes from and have access to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/my-hope-is-that-if-people-have-the-knowledge-and-if-they-actually-see/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Leslie Stein's comics give readers privileged access to a complete and wholly original world of gently skewed wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-woodring/leslie-stein-s-comics-give-readers-privileged-access-to-a-complete/) [Jim Woodring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-woodring/) > [The best way to fight poverty is to empower people through access to quality education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/the-best-way-to-fight-poverty-is-to-empower-people-through-access-to/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [Because the Internet's there, I have access to a lot of the legends, like Fela Kuti. I used to watch a lot of Fela…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-krule/because-the-internet-s-there-i-have-access-to-a-lot-of-the-legends/) [King Krule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-krule/) > [There needs to be some regime that is overseeing access to broadband to make sure we have openess; otherwise, there is a risk it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vint-cerf/there-needs-to-be-some-regime-that-is-overseeing-access-to-broadband/) [Vint Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vint-cerf/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [It is truly vital for the United States to assure that it is not attacked with weapons of mass destruction; to prevent wars in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/it-is-truly-vital-for-the-united-states-to-assure-that-it-is-not/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Now that I'm more middle class, I have access to consumer goods. I do enjoy feminine frippery, feminine doo-da, stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/now-that-i-m-more-middle-class-i-have-access-to-consumer-goods-i-do/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Schools have never been about getting access to information. That's the job of libraries. Schools and universities have nobler missions as gentle gatekeepers. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/schools-have-never-been-about-getting-access-to-information-that-s/) [Andrew Nikiforuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-nikiforuk/) > [To pray is to open the door unto Jesus and admit Him into your distress. Your helplessness is the very thing which opens wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ole-hallesby/to-pray-is-to-open-the-door-unto-jesus-and-admit-him-into-your/) [Ole Hallesby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ole-hallesby/) > [Broadband Internet access shouldn't depend on who you are or where you're from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajit-pai/broadband-internet-access-shouldn-t-depend-on-who-you-are-or-where/) [Ajit Pai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajit-pai/) [Browse all 2,178 Access quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/access/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Dickens didn't have access to any other epistemologies other than those prevailing in Britain. But a novelist today cannot plausibly claim ignorance of his society's manifold connections with the wider world, the fact that prosperity and security at home, for instance, often depend on extensive violence and exploitation abroad.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pankaj Mishra" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other-epistemologies-other-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Access" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other-epistemologies-other-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/pankaj-mishra-2875_access_dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other_662434.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/pankaj-mishra-2875_access_dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other_662434.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b56/pankaj-mishra-2875_access_dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other_662434.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Dickens didn't have access to any other epistemologies other than those prevailing in Britain. But a…” — Pankaj Mishra", "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": "Pankaj Mishra", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Dickens didn't have access to any...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other-epistemologies-other-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/dickens-didn-t-have-access-to-any-other-epistemologies-other-than/#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 } } ] } ```