--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some very eminent critics writing in the…" description: "\"“Some very eminent critics writing in the decades immediately after the novel's publication felt that Eliot failed to maintain sufficient critical dist..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/rebecca-mead-29532_artistic-creativity_some-very-eminent-critics-writing-in-the_490794.png" --- # Some very eminent critics writing in the decades… ![“Some very eminent critics writing in the decades immediately after the novel's publication felt that Eliot failed to maintain sufficient critical distance in her depiction of Ladislaw--that she fell in love with her own creation in a way that shows a lack of artistic control and is even unseemly…” quote by Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/rebecca-mead-29532_artistic-creativity_some-very-eminent-critics-writing-in-the_490794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/rebecca-mead-29532_artistic-creativity_some-very-eminent-critics-writing-in-the_490794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcc/rebecca-mead-29532_artistic-creativity_some-very-eminent-critics-writing-in-the_490794.png) > ““Some very eminent critics writing in the decades immediately after the novel's publication felt that Eliot failed to maintain sufficient critical distance in her depiction of Ladislaw--that she fell in love with her own creation in a way that shows a lack of artistic control and is even unseemly, like a hoary movie director whose lens lingers too long on the young flesh of a favored actress. Lord David Cecil calls Ladislaw 'a schoolgirl's dream, and a vulgar one at that,' while Leslie Stephen complained 'Ladislaw is almost obtrusively a favorite with his creator,' and depreciated him as 'an amiable Bohemian.”” [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critics argued Eliot became too attached to her character Ladislaw, losing objectivity and artistic control. **In simple terms:** Eliot may have loved her own creation too much, reducing critical distance. Key Takeaway Maintain objectivity when creating characters. Themes literature criticism authorial intent character development Mood analytical critical reflective Type literary criticism authorial reflection When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - character studies Key Concepts subjectivity artistic control creator‑character relationship Questions to Reflect On - How does personal attachment affect creative work? - Can distance be preserved without losing empathy? A Different Perspective Critics may overinterpret authorial intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artistic creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-creativity/) [Complained Ladislaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complained-ladislaw-4200495/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Critics Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics-writing-2519174/) [Depiction Ladislaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depiction-ladislaw-4200496/) [Eminent Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eminent-critics-4200494/) [Fictional-characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-characters-2/) [Literary criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-criticism/) [Literary-creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-creation-109224/) [Movie director](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie-director/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ “It was only much later that he was made flesh and blood \[in the Gospels\] on paper. 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Writing is an act of sharing experiences and offering of an individualistic perspective of our private attitudes pertaining to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/all-writers-are-demonic-dreamers-writing-is-an-act-of-sharing/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Some folks believe that hardship breeds artistic creativity. I don't buy it. One can put up with poverty for a while when one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/some-folks-believe-that-hardship-breeds-artistic-creativity-i-don-t/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) ## More by Rebecca Mead > [“Eliot was scornful of idle women readers who imagined themselves the heroines of French novels, and of self-regarding folk who saw themselves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/eliot-was-scornful-of-idle-women-readers-who-imagined-themselves-the/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [My longest love affair: with a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/my-longest-love-affair-with-a-book/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [I would have thought that one of the things one should learn from college is that nothing is guaranteed. 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I want as many people as possible to read The Mill on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/i-could-understand-the-impulse-to-make-the-novel-more-accessible-i/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [Reading is sometimes thought of as a form of escapism, and it’s a common turn of phrase to speak of getting lost in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/reading-is-sometimes-thought-of-as-a-form-of-escapism-and-it-s-a/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [“...there are pleasures to be had from books beyond being lightly entertained. There is the pleasure of being challenged; the pleasure of feeling one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/there-are-pleasures-to-be-had-from-books-beyond-being-lightly/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [But to demand that a work be “relatable” expresses a different expectation: that the work itself be somehow accommodating to, or reflective of, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/but-to-demand-that-a-work-be-relatable-expresses-a-different/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [While the fashion industry may, at least at the top end, be thriving, the notion of fashion itself is becoming more and more meaningless.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/while-the-fashion-industry-may-at-least-at-the-top-end-be-thriving/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [A book may not tell us exactly how to live our own lives, but our own lives can teach us how to read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/a-book-may-not-tell-us-exactly-how-to-live-our-own-lives-but-our-own/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [I'm not a policy expert - I am only arguing that there is more to an education than an economic ticket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/i-m-not-a-policy-expert-i-am-only-arguing-that-there-is-more-to-an/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [Books gave us a way to shape ourselves - to form our thoughts and to signal to each other who we were and who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/books-gave-us-a-way-to-shape-ourselves-to-form-our-thoughts-and-to/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) > [Of course we all know people who aren't cut out for college, but I know it's a mistake to think of education only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mead/of-course-we-all-know-people-who-aren-t-cut-out-for-college-but-i/) [Rebecca Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) [Explore all 18 Rebecca Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mead/) ## More Artistic creativity quotes > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [Some folks believe that hardship breeds artistic creativity. I don't buy it. One can put up with poverty for a while when one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/some-folks-believe-that-hardship-breeds-artistic-creativity-i-don-t/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [“All writers are demonic dreamers. Writing is an act of sharing experiences and offering of an individualistic perspective of our private attitudes pertaining to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/all-writers-are-demonic-dreamers-writing-is-an-act-of-sharing/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Narcissism and Christianity have little in common, yet the Romantic paradigm of artistic creativity, particularly in light of subsequent Freudian ideas, has tended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/narcissism-and-christianity-have-little-in-common-yet-the-romantic/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [“Jett's artistic talent was as weighty and emphatic as the heavy black makeup she applied to her lips and eyelids.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-fertig/jett-s-artistic-talent-was-as-weighty-and-emphatic-as-the-heavy-black/) [Judith Fertig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-fertig/) > [Artistic creativity is a whirlpool of imagination that swirls in the depths of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toth/artistic-creativity-is-a-whirlpool-of-imagination-that-swirls-in-the/) [Robert Toth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toth/) > [Copyright promotes artistic creativity and the free circulation of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-hucknall/copyright-promotes-artistic-creativity-and-the-free-circulation-of/) [Mick Hucknall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-hucknall/) > [We usually forget that apart from making a living on this earth, human beings live in societies and these societies have cultures. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tunku-abdul-rahman/we-usually-forget-that-apart-from-making-a-living-on-this-earth-human/) [Tunku Abdul Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tunku-abdul-rahman/) > [Google the name Prometheus, and see how often it has been given to innovations in many different fields, notably science, medicine and space exploration.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/google-the-name-prometheus-and-see-how-often-it-has-been-given-to/) [Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/) > [“It is only when the mind and imagination are enriched from exposure to the world of beauty, that artistic creativity and inspiration truly becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-woollacott/it-is-only-when-the-mind-and-imagination-are-enriched-from-exposure/) [Mark Woollacott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-woollacott/) > [Art itself cannot be taught, but craftsmanship can. 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In art, man lives outside himself, outside his burdens, the burdens of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/the-essential-in-artistic-creativity-is-victory-over-the-burden-of/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) [Browse all 18 Artistic creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic-creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Some very eminent critics writing in the decades immediately after the novel's publication felt that Eliot failed to maintain sufficient critical distance in her depiction of Ladislaw--that she fell in love with her own creation in a way that shows a lack of artistic control and is even unseemly, like a hoary movie director whose lens lingers too long on the young flesh of a favored actress. 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