--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And romance is just the place for…" description: "\"“And romance is just the place for creating mythic figures doing mythic things. Like carving 'civilzation' out of the wilderness. Like showing us what ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/thomas-c-foster-20469_american-literature_and-romance-is-just-the-place-for-creati_2711268.jpg" --- # And romance is just the place for creating mythic figures… ![“And romance is just the place for creating mythic figures doing mythic things. Like carving 'civilzation' out of the wilderness. Like showing us what a hero looks life, a real, American, sprung-from-the soil, lethal-weapon-with-leggings, bona fide hero. And for a guy who never marries, he has a…” quote by Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/thomas-c-foster-20469_american-literature_and-romance-is-just-the-place-for-creati_2711268.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/thomas-c-foster-20469_american-literature_and-romance-is-just-the-place-for-creati_2711268.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe1/thomas-c-foster-20469_american-literature_and-romance-is-just-the-place-for-creati_2711268.jpg) > ““And romance is just the place for creating mythic figures doing mythic things. Like carving 'civilzation' out of the wilderness. Like showing us what a hero looks life, a real, American, sprung-from-the soil, lethal-weapon-with-leggings, bona fide hero. And for a guy who never marries, he has a lot of offspring. Shane. The Virginian. The Ringo Kid. The Man with No Name. Just think how many actors would have had no careers without Natty Bumppo. Gary Cooper. John Wayne. Alan Ladd. Tom Mix. Clint Eastwood. Silent. Laconic. More committed to their horse or buddy than to a lady. Professional. Deadly. In his Studies in Classic American Literature, D.H. Lawrence waxes prolix on Natty's most salient feature: he's a killer. And so are his offspring. This heros can talk, stiltedly to be sure, but he prefers silence. He appreciates female beauty but is way more committed to his canoe or his business partner (his business being death and war) or, most disturbingly, his long rifle, Killdeer. Dr. Freud, your three-o'clock is here. Like those later avatars, he is a wilderness god, part backwoods sage, part cold-blooded killer, part unwilling Prince Charming, part jack-of-all-trades, but all man. Here's how his creator describes him: 'a philosopher of the wilderness, simple-minded, faithful, utterly without fear, yet prudent.' A great character, no doubt, but hardly a person. A paragon. An archetype. A miracle. But a potentially real person--not so much.”” [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The rugged hero embodies mythic virtues—silence, skill, and stoic bravery—yet remains a construct, not a whole person. **In simple terms:** Heroic archetype is myth, not a real person. Key Takeaway Recognize mythic patterns in cultural heroes. Themes myth heroism masculinity culture identity Mood analytical nostalgic Type literary cultural When to use this quote - film criticism - literature teaching - character development - personal reflection Key Concepts archetype theory literary analysis masculine studies Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile mythic ideals with human flaws? - What impact do these heroes have on gender expectations? A Different Perspective Real people are more complex than archetypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) [Bona Fide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bona-fide/) [Business partner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-partner/) [Female beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female-beauty/) [Mythic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythic/) [Mythic Figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythic-figures-2810622/) [Natty Bumppo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natty-bumppo-2810621/) [Philosopher Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosopher-wilderness-2810623/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Wilderness God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness-god-1147506/) ## Related quotes > [“Helpless and fearful people are drawn to magical figures, mythic figures, epic men who intimidate and darkly loom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/white-noise-don-delillo/helpless-and-fearful-people-are-drawn-to-magical-figures-mythic/) [White Noise Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/white-noise-don-delillo/) > [Moses was a forgotten man in the wilderness, But God had Moses right where he wanted him and met him at a burning bush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-catt/moses-was-a-forgotten-man-in-the-wilderness-but-god-had-moses-right/) [Michael Catt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-catt/) > [“So I walk, not to be found, but to follow the voice that calls me from within the silence. For even in the wilderness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dark-night-beacon/so-i-walk-not-to-be-found-but-to-follow-the-voice-that-calls-me-from/) [Dark Night Beacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dark-night-beacon/) > [God of wilderness, God of wildness, lead me to the quiet places of my soul. In stillness, in openness, may I find my strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-l-richardson/god-of-wilderness-god-of-wildness-lead-me-to-the-quiet-places-of-my/) [Jan L. Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-l-richardson/) > [“I always thought that 'wilderness' was somewhere where God wasn't. It took me a long time to learn that 'wilderness' is a mighty sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-dickey-smith/i-always-thought-that-wilderness-was-somewhere-where-god-wasn-t-it/) [Sylvia Dickey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-dickey-smith/) > [I love mythic stuff. I love playing with gods, I love playing with myths. 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You can count on Scandinavian literature for a certain kind of darkness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/i-read-mostly-irish-african-japanese-south-american-and-african/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [I'd say that most of life seems to me to be that way, a mixture of the mundane and the mythic, when you're living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-foos/i-d-say-that-most-of-life-seems-to-me-to-be-that-way-a-mixture-of-the/) [Laurie Foos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-foos/) > [“To her he was still mythic, still larger than life, still the man who could deactivate monsters. He was also the man who made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-cawthon/to-her-he-was-still-mythic-still-larger-than-life-still-the-man-who/) [Scott Cawthon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-cawthon/) > [“I don't like the word 'allegorical', I don't like the word 'symbolic' - the word I really like is 'mythic', and people always think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/i-don-t-like-the-word-allegorical-i-don-t-like-the-word-symbolic-the/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [I would love to approach, like, what are the lives of the people that actually play 'Mythic Quest,' because you have these devs that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-ganz/i-would-love-to-approach-like-what-are-the-lives-of-the-people-that/) [Megan Ganz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-ganz/) > [Beyond its romance, 'Titanic' offers an indelibly wrenching story of blind arrogance and its terrible consequences. It's the rare Hollywood adventure film that brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-maslin/beyond-its-romance-titanic-offers-an-indelibly-wrenching-story-of/) [Janet Maslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-maslin/) > [Astronauts are like these mythic legends, but really, they are just regular people, people who wear chinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/astronauts-are-like-these-mythic-legends-but-really-they-are-just/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) ## More by Thomas C. Foster > [“I can’t go as far as Barthes in killing off the author, but I’m with him on the importance of the reader. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/i-can-t-go-as-far-as-barthes-in-killing-off-the-author-but-i-m-with/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“of his need to assert responsibility for his own life. 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Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“Education is mostly about institutions and getting tickets stamped; learning is what we do for ourselves. When we're lucky, they go together. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/education-is-mostly-about-institutions-and-getting-tickets-stamped/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, visions of ourselves that we would never see, never permit ourselves to become, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/the-novels-we-read-allow-us-to-encounter-possible-persons-visions-of/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“we accept fictions as fictions, as things that might be true in their world, if not quite in ours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/we-accept-fictions-as-fictions-as-things-that-might-be-true-in-their/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“We sometimes hear of the death of literature or of this or that genre, but literature doesn't die, just as it doesn't 'progress' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/we-sometimes-hear-of-the-death-of-literature-or-of-this-or-that-genre/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“corollaries—where have I seen his face, don’t I know that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/corollaries-where-have-i-seen-his-face-don-t-i-know-that/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“Always" and "never" are not words that have much meaning in literary study. For one thing, as soon as something seems to always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/always-and-never-are-not-words-that-have-much-meaning-in-literary/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“What happens if the writer is good is usually not that the work seems derivative or trivial but just the opposite: the work actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/what-happens-if-the-writer-is-good-is-usually-not-that-the-work-seems/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“characters as rich and complex as those we believe ourselves to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/characters-as-rich-and-complex-as-those-we-believe-ourselves-to-be/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“So how do we get from there to a pattern of experience that can stand for the whole of postcolonial Latin America? Ah, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/so-how-do-we-get-from-there-to-a-pattern-of-experience-that-can-stand/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“Every novel is brand-new. It’s never been written before in the history of the world. At the same time, it’s merely the latest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/every-novel-is-brand-new-it-s-never-been-written-before-in-the/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“The process of dehuminazing the locals was under way, and it had very little to do with veracity. The Puritan narratives would continue that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/the-process-of-dehuminazing-the-locals-was-under-way-and-it-had-very/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) [Explore all 29 Thomas C. Foster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) ## More American literature quotes > [American literature was enriched with Men Who Loved Allison … Of the actual and eventual worth of this romance I cannot pretend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/american-literature-was-enriched-with-men-who-loved-allison-of-the/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [“I have seen them stagger out of their movie palaces and blink their empty eyes in the face of reality once more, and stagger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/i-have-seen-them-stagger-out-of-their-movie-palaces-and-blink-their/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [Janet Mock's honest and sometimes searing journey is a rare and important look into la vida liminal, one that she manages to negotiate remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/janet-mock-s-honest-and-sometimes-searing-journey-is-a-rare-and/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [Héctor Tobar's accomplished first novel affords a perspective that is overdue and urgently needed in North American literature- -an insider's vision of L.A. as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-dybek/h-ctor-tobar-s-accomplished-first-novel-affords-a-perspective-that-is/) [Stuart Dybek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-dybek/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [I think most Native American literature is unreadable by the vast majority of Native Americans. Generally speaking Indians don't read books. It's not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-most-native-american-literature-is-unreadable-by-the-vast/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Throughout African-American literature, the writer has, in a sense, been burdened by the necessity of pleading the case for the whole race. 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Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-l-brooks/) > [All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/all-modern-american-literature-comes-from-one-book-by-mark-twain/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Still, it strikes me that, taken together, they do make an argument, and it is this: the rise of American democracy is bound up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/still-it-strikes-me-that-taken-together-they-do-make-an-argument-and/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) [Browse all 144 American literature quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-literature/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And romance is just the place for creating mythic figures doing mythic things. Like carving 'civilzation' out of the wilderness. Like showing us what a hero looks life, a real, American, sprung-from-the soil, lethal-weapon-with-leggings, bona fide hero. And for a guy who never marries, he has a lot of offspring. Shane. The Virginian. The Ringo Kid. The Man with No Name. Just think how many actors would have had no careers without Natty Bumppo. Gary Cooper. John Wayne. Alan Ladd. Tom Mix. Clint Eastwood. Silent. Laconic. More committed to their horse or buddy than to a lady. Professional. Deadly. In his Studies in Classic American Literature, D.H. Lawrence waxes prolix on Natty's most salient feature: he's a killer. And so are his offspring. This heros can talk, stiltedly to be sure, but he prefers silence. He appreciates female beauty but is way more committed to his canoe or his business partner (his business being death and war) or, most disturbingly, his long rifle, Killdeer. Dr. Freud, your three-o'clock is here. Like those later avatars, he is a wilderness god, part backwoods sage, part cold-blooded killer, part unwilling Prince Charming, part jack-of-all-trades, but all man. Here's how his creator describes him: 'a philosopher of the wilderness, simple-minded, faithful, utterly without fear, yet prudent.' A great character, no doubt, but hardly a person. A paragon. An archetype. A miracle. But a potentially real person--not so much.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas C. 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