--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New York is a field of tireless and…" description: "\"New York is a field of tireless and antagonistic interests undoubtedly fascinating but horribly unreal. Everybody is looking at everybody else a foolis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/wallace-stevens-846_fascinating_new-york-is-a-field-of-tireless-and-anta_2666058.jpg" --- # New York is a field of tireless and antagonistic interests… ![“New York is a field of tireless and antagonistic interests undoubtedly fascinating but horribly unreal. Everybody is looking at everybody else a foolish crowd walking on mirrors.” quote by Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/wallace-stevens-846_fascinating_new-york-is-a-field-of-tireless-and-anta_2666058.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/wallace-stevens-846_fascinating_new-york-is-a-field-of-tireless-and-anta_2666058.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/wallace-stevens-846_fascinating_new-york-is-a-field-of-tireless-and-anta_2666058.jpg) > “New York is a field of tireless and antagonistic interests undoubtedly fascinating but horribly unreal. Everybody is looking at everybody else a foolish crowd walking on mirrors.” [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A critique of society's self‑absorbed competition and illusionary interactions, suggesting humanity is trapped in a deceptive, hostile mirror. **In simple terms:** Society is a hostile, illusionary mirror. Key Takeaway Recognize and question the false narratives around you. Themes society illusion competition human nature perception Mood cynical reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - personal relationships - urban life - art criticism Key Concepts existentialism social critique mirrors self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - How do you see genuine connection amid competition? - What mirrors reflect your true self? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize and ignore cooperative aspects of human interaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) ## Related quotes > [Everybody is looking at everybody else a foolish crowd walking on mirrors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/everybody-is-looking-at-everybody-else-a-foolish-crowd-walking-on/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Before the beginning of brilliance, there must be great chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish in the crowd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fuxi/before-the-beginning-of-brilliance-there-must-be-great-chaos-before-a/) Fuxi > [No reason makes it right To shun accepted ways from stubborn spite; And we may better join the foolish crowd Than cling to wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/no-reason-makes-it-right-to-shun-accepted-ways-from-stubborn-spite/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Before the beginning of great brilliance, there must be chaos. Before a brilliant person begins something great, they must look foolish to the crowd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-the-beginning-of-great-brilliance-there-must-be-chaos-before-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is like walking in a crowd. A foolish crowd of oddities in a corridor under an enemy city, without an idea of where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-rodda/it-is-like-walking-in-a-crowd-a-foolish-crowd-of-oddities-in-a/) [Emily Rodda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-rodda/) > [“Before a man can become great, he must look foolish to the crowd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i-ching-2/before-a-man-can-become-great-he-must-look-foolish-to-the-crowd/) [I-Ching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/i-ching-2/) > [Metaphor creates a new reality from which the original appears to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/metaphor-creates-a-new-reality-from-which-the-original-appears-to-be/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The imagination loses vitality as it ceases to adhere to what is real. When it adheres to the unreal and intensifies what is unreal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-imagination-loses-vitality-as-it-ceases-to-adhere-to-what-is-real/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“... unreal things have a reality of their own, in poetry as elsewhere.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unreal-things-have-a-reality-of-their-own-in-poetry-as-elsewhere/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Any great and inspiring leader or organization that ever existed set out to do something completely unrealistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/any-great-and-inspiring-leader-or-organization-that-ever-existed-set/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [the wide discrepancy between reason and feeling may be unreal; it is not improbable that intellect is a high form of feeling - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/the-wide-discrepancy-between-reason-and-feeling-may-be-unreal-it-is/) [Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/) > [Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all your thoughts are about nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future-is-unreal-all-your-thoughts/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [We take that which is unreal to be real and that which is real to be unreal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-spira/we-take-that-which-is-unreal-to-be-real-and-that-which-is-real-to-be/) [Rupert Spira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-spira/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## More by Wallace Stevens > [Poet, patting more nonsense foamed From the sea, conceive for thecourts Of these academies, the diviner health Disclosed in common forms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poet-patting-more-nonsense-foamed-from-the-sea-conceive-for-thecourts/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The way through the world is more difficult to find than the way beyond it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-way-through-the-world-is-more-difficult-to-find-than-the-way/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The magnificent cause of being, The imagination, the one reality In this imagined world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-magnificent-cause-of-being-the-imagination-the-one-reality-in/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Music falls on the silence like a sense / A passion that we feel, not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/music-falls-on-the-silence-like-a-sense-a-passion-that-we-feel-not/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The life of the city never lets you go, nor do you ever want it to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-life-of-the-city-never-lets-you-go-nor-do-you-ever-want-it-to/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [After a lustre of the moon, we say We have not the need of any paradise, We have not the need of any seducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/after-a-lustre-of-the-moon-we-say-we-have-not-the-need-of-any/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [I am what is around me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/i-am-what-is-around-me/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“We live in an old chaos of the sun, Or old dependency of day and night, Or island solitude, unsponsored, free, Of that wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/we-live-in-an-old-chaos-of-the-sun-or-old-dependency-of-day-and-night/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Lunar Paraphrase" The moon is the mother of pathos and pity. When, at the wearier end of November, Her old light moves along the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/lunar-paraphrase-the-moon-is-the-mother-of-pathos-and-pity-when-at/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Poetry is the scholar's art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/poetry-is-the-scholar-s-art/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“The stars are putting on their glittering belts, They throw around their shoulders cloaks that flash Like a great shadow's last embellishment”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-stars-are-putting-on-their-glittering-belts-they-throw-around/) [wallace stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/unfortunately-there-is-nothing-more-inane-than-an-easter-carol-it-is/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [The word is the making of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-word-is-the-making-of-the-world/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [A diary is more or less the work of a man of clay whose hands are clumsy and in whose eyes there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/a-diary-is-more-or-less-the-work-of-a-man-of-clay-whose-hands-are/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [It is never the thing but the version of the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/it-is-never-the-thing-but-the-version-of-the-thing/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) [Explore all 352 Wallace Stevens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) ## More Fascinating quotes > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I really like all of the characters in 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt, especially Camilla, the one girl. I find her fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/i-really-like-all-of-the-characters-in-the-secret-history-by-donna/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [Teasing out the way the world might look through another's eyes is what makes the creative process so fascinating and enjoyable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-l-carter/teasing-out-the-way-the-world-might-look-through-another-s-eyes-is/) [Stephen L. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-l-carter/) > [“And when I’d settled down, I considered the possibility that I wasn’t yet ready to ask for the love of anyone because I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-decker/and-when-i-d-settled-down-i-considered-the-possibility-that-i-wasn-t/) [Steven Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-decker/) > [“Amateur psychiatric prognosis can be fascinating when there is absolutely nothing else to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-condon/amateur-psychiatric-prognosis-can-be-fascinating-when-there-is/) [Richard Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-condon/) > [Living in England is fascinating: I discover a new world every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-mancini/living-in-england-is-fascinating-i-discover-a-new-world-every-day/) [Roberto Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-mancini/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > ['Sopranos' was a fascinating moment, just catching our whole culture by surprise, a fun ride to be on while I'm learning the craft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-van-zandt/sopranos-was-a-fascinating-moment-just-catching-our-whole-culture-by/) [Steven Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-van-zandt/) > [The most fascinating powers don't mean a thing if the guy's poorly motivated or dull, and the most generic powers won't hurt a well-motivated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/the-most-fascinating-powers-don-t-mean-a-thing-if-the-guy-s-poorly/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [Beastly of him to die before you realized he might be fascinating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-alexander/beastly-of-him-to-die-before-you-realized-he-might-be-fascinating/) [Tasha Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-alexander/) > [The first information I consume in the morning is probably 'The New York Times' and then my Twitter feed. I think Twitter is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzo-aduba/the-first-information-i-consume-in-the-morning-is-probably-the-new/) [Uzo Aduba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzo-aduba/) > [I think genetic research is a fascinating and fertile area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/i-think-genetic-research-is-a-fascinating-and-fertile-area/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [More and more I like to take a train. 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