--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fantasy is not antirational, but…" description: "\"Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality. In Freud's terminology, it employs primary not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/ursula-k-le-guin-138_archetype_fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararati_459629.jpg" --- # Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational; not… ![“Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality. In Freud's terminology, it employs primary not secondary process thinking. It employs archetypes which, as Jung warned us, are dangerous things. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and…” quote by Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/ursula-k-le-guin-138_archetype_fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararati_459629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/ursula-k-le-guin-138_archetype_fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararati_459629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/ursula-k-le-guin-138_archetype_fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararati_459629.jpg) > “Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality. In Freud's terminology, it employs primary not secondary process thinking. It employs archetypes which, as Jung warned us, are dangerous things. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction is. It is a wilderness, and those who go there should not feel too safe.” [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fantasy expands reality by using unconscious, archetypal symbols, blending the irrational and the poetic, challenging safe, realistic narratives. **In simple terms:** Fantasy uses deep symbols to stretch reality. Key Takeaway Embrace the wild, unsettling side of imagination. Themes imagination psychology myth creativity danger surrealism Mood provocative introspective enigmatic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - game design - film storytelling - personal exploration Key Concepts archetype primary process Jungian Freudian poetry Questions to Reflect On - How does archetype shape your perception? - What risks arise when reality is destabilized? A Different Perspective Fantasy can alienate readers unfamiliar with symbolic depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archetype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archetype/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fantasy Antirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-antirational-3994961/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insanity/) [Insanity Naturalistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insanity-naturalistic-2479826/) [Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jung/) [Mysticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysticism/) [Naturalistic Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalistic-fiction-2325699/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-freud-3994962/) [Safe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safe/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Things Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-fantasy-2666779/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) ## Related quotes > [“Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction is. It is a real wilderness, and those who go there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/fantasy-is-nearer-to-poetry-to-mysticism-and-to-insanity-than/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Dragons are more dangerous, and a good deal commoner, than bears. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/dragons-are-more-dangerous-and-a-good-deal-commoner-than-bears/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I think one of things is that all fantasy it seems to me works the way your brain basically works. This is perhaps a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-wynne-jones/i-think-one-of-things-is-that-all-fantasy-it-seems-to-me-works-the/) [Diana Wynne Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-wynne-jones/) > [Most of what I do is science fiction. Some of the things I do are fantasy. I don't like the labels, they're marketing tools,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/most-of-what-i-do-is-science-fiction-some-of-the-things-i-do-are/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [All times are changing times, but ours is one of massive, rapid moral and mental transformation. Archetypes turn into millstones, large simplicities get complicated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/all-times-are-changing-times-but-ours-is-one-of-massive-rapid-moral/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Man, whose organization is regarded as the highest, departs from the vertebrate archetype; and it is because the study of anatomy is usually commenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/man-whose-organization-is-regarded-as-the-highest-departs-from-the/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [Any legend, any creature, any symbol we ever stumble on, already exists in a vast cosmic reservoir where archetypes wait. Shapes looming outside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/any-legend-any-creature-any-symbol-we-ever-stumble-on-already-exists/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Once you become a celebrity, you are no longer a person, but an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennette-mccurdy/once-you-become-a-celebrity-you-are-no-longer-a-person-but-an/) [Jennette McCurdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennette-mccurdy/) > [I am the reality of all coyotes. The archetype. The epitome. You are just a reflection of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-the-reality-of-all-coyotes-the-archetype-the-epitome-you-are/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Unconscious of your story, you are in its grasp; but with consciousness, an alchemical process begins: The solidity of the complex dissolves and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-zweig/unconscious-of-your-story-you-are-in-its-grasp-but-with-consciousness/) [Connie Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-zweig/) > [I think people have this stereotypical idea in their head of what a nerd is. People have said to me before, "You're not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/i-think-people-have-this-stereotypical-idea-in-their-head-of-what-a/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [Certain mystical philosophers have personified Destiny, and from this point of view each man's personal destiny is his archetype or "other self"--his "angel"--with whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-le-gai-eaton/certain-mystical-philosophers-have-personified-destiny-and-from-this/) [Charles le Gai Eaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-le-gai-eaton/) > [All ages before ours believed in gods in some form or other. Only an unparalleled impoverishment in symbolism could enable us to rediscover the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/all-ages-before-ours-believed-in-gods-in-some-form-or-other-only-an/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Once my paintings are complete, the model no longer lives in the painting as themselves. I see something bigger, more symbolic - an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/once-my-paintings-are-complete-the-model-no-longer-lives-in-the/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [My characters are all kind of geek archetypes of people I've encountered at gaming and comic book conventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/my-characters-are-all-kind-of-geek-archetypes-of-people-i-ve/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) ## More by Ursula K. Le Guin > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Translation is entirely mysterious. Increasingly I have felt that the art of writing is itself translating, or more like translating than it is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/translation-is-entirely-mysterious-increasingly-i-have-felt-that-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Aeneas' mother is a star?" "No; a goddess." I said cautiously, "Venus is the power that we invoke in spring, in the garden, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/aeneas-mother-is-a-star-no-a-goddess-i-said-cautiously-venus-is-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Meaning - this is perhaps the common note, the bane I am seeking. What is the Meaning of this book, this event in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/meaning-this-is-perhaps-the-common-note-the-bane-i-am-seeking-what-is/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [For fantasy is true, of course. It isn't factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/for-fantasy-is-true-of-course-it-isn-t-factual-but-it-is-true/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“. . . chronosophy does involve ethics. Because our sense of time involves our ability to separate cause and effect, means and end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/chronosophy-does-involve-ethics-because-our-sense-of-time-involves/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“If both you and your plane are on time, the airport is merely a diffuse, short, miserable prelude to the intense, long, miserable plane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-both-you-and-your-plane-are-on-time-the-airport-is-merely-a/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“The author is not impartial. Dystopia is not tragedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-author-is-not-impartial-dystopia-is-not-tragedy/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Between thought and spoken word is a gap where intention can enter, the symbol be twisted aside, and the lie come to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/between-thought-and-spoken-word-is-a-gap-where-intention-can-enter/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I did a lot today. That is, I did something. The only thing I have ever done. I pressed a button. It took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-did-a-lot-today-that-is-i-did-something-the-only-thing-i-have-ever/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [To me the female principle is, or at least historically has been, basically anarchic. It values order without constraint, rule by custom not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/to-me-the-female-principle-is-or-at-least-historically-has-been/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Hector had no virtue?” “Of course he did. He won all his battles, till the last one.” “We all do,” Aeneas remarked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/hector-had-no-virtue-of-course-he-did-he-won-all-his-battles-till-the/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“I was willing to believe him that most modern writing was trash, on the evidence that so much old writing was trash; but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-was-willing-to-believe-him-that-most-modern-writing-was-trash-on/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“Can women operate as women in a male institution without becoming imitation men?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/can-women-operate-as-women-in-a-male-institution-without-becoming/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Explore all 1,114 Ursula K. Le Guin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## More Archetype quotes > [My characters are all kind of geek archetypes of people I've encountered at gaming and comic book conventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/my-characters-are-all-kind-of-geek-archetypes-of-people-i-ve/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [Once my paintings are complete, the model no longer lives in the painting as themselves. I see something bigger, more symbolic - an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/once-my-paintings-are-complete-the-model-no-longer-lives-in-the/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [All ages before ours believed in gods in some form or other. Only an unparalleled impoverishment in symbolism could enable us to rediscover the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/all-ages-before-ours-believed-in-gods-in-some-form-or-other-only-an/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Certain mystical philosophers have personified Destiny, and from this point of view each man's personal destiny is his archetype or "other self"--his "angel"--with whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-le-gai-eaton/certain-mystical-philosophers-have-personified-destiny-and-from-this/) [Charles le Gai Eaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-le-gai-eaton/) > [I think people have this stereotypical idea in their head of what a nerd is. People have said to me before, "You're not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/i-think-people-have-this-stereotypical-idea-in-their-head-of-what-a/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [Unconscious of your story, you are in its grasp; but with consciousness, an alchemical process begins: The solidity of the complex dissolves and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-zweig/unconscious-of-your-story-you-are-in-its-grasp-but-with-consciousness/) [Connie Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-zweig/) > [I am the reality of all coyotes. The archetype. The epitome. You are just a reflection of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-the-reality-of-all-coyotes-the-archetype-the-epitome-you-are/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Once you become a celebrity, you are no longer a person, but an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennette-mccurdy/once-you-become-a-celebrity-you-are-no-longer-a-person-but-an/) [Jennette McCurdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennette-mccurdy/) > [Any legend, any creature, any symbol we ever stumble on, already exists in a vast cosmic reservoir where archetypes wait. Shapes looming outside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/any-legend-any-creature-any-symbol-we-ever-stumble-on-already-exists/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Man, whose organization is regarded as the highest, departs from the vertebrate archetype; and it is because the study of anatomy is usually commenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lyell/man-whose-organization-is-regarded-as-the-highest-departs-from-the/) [Charles Lyell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lyell/) > [There are many people making a difference. I mean, Dr. King never held an office. Gandhi never held an office. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-kucinich/there-are-many-people-making-a-difference-i-mean-dr-king-never-held/) [Dennis Kucinich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-kucinich/) > [Women are not in control of their bodies; nature is. Ancient mythology, with its sinister archetypes of vampire and Gorgon, is more accurate than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/women-are-not-in-control-of-their-bodies-nature-is-ancient-mythology/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [What happens in the life of Christ happens always and everywhere. In the Christian archetype all lives of this kind are prefigured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/what-happens-in-the-life-of-christ-happens-always-and-everywhere-in/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Finally, if you still are growing, you reach the highest archetype, the archetype of the spirit. This is the time when you finally realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/finally-if-you-still-are-growing-you-reach-the-highest-archetype-the/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [You are far more than your personality, more than your habits, more than your achievements. You are an infinitely complex human being with stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/you-are-far-more-than-your-personality-more-than-your-habits-more/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) [Browse all 167 Archetype quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archetype/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality. In Freud's terminology, it employs primary not secondary process thinking. It employs archetypes which, as Jung warned us, are dangerous things. Fantasy is nearer to poetry, to mysticism, and to insanity than naturalistic fiction is. It is a wilderness, and those who go there should not feel too safe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K. Le Guin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararational-not-realistic-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Archetype" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararational-not-realistic-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/ursula-k-le-guin-138_archetype_fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararati_459629.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/ursula-k-le-guin-138_archetype_fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararati_459629.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/ursula-k-le-guin-138_archetype_fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararati_459629.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational; not realistic but surrealistic, a heightening of reality. In…” — Ursula K. Le Guin", "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": "Ursula K. Le Guin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fantasy is not antirational, but pararational;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararational-not-realistic-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/fantasy-is-not-antirational-but-pararational-not-realistic-but/#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 } } ] } ```