--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was the pedestrian who wedged…" description: "\"There was the pedestrian who wedged himself into the crowd, but there was also the flneur who demanded elbow room and was unwilling to forego the life ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/walter-benjamin-1723_appearance_there-was-the-pedestrian-who-wedged-hims_170527.jpg" --- # There was the pedestrian who wedged himself into the… ![“There was the pedestrian who wedged himself into the crowd, but there was also the flneur who demanded elbow room and was unwilling to forego the life of the gentleman of leisure. His leisurely appearance as a personality is his protest against the division of labour which makes people into…” quote by Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/walter-benjamin-1723_appearance_there-was-the-pedestrian-who-wedged-hims_170527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/walter-benjamin-1723_appearance_there-was-the-pedestrian-who-wedged-hims_170527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d5/walter-benjamin-1723_appearance_there-was-the-pedestrian-who-wedged-hims_170527.jpg) > “There was the pedestrian who wedged himself into the crowd, but there was also the flneur who demanded elbow room and was unwilling to forego the life of the gentleman of leisure. His leisurely appearance as a personality is his protest against the division of labour which makes people into specialists. it was also his protest against their industriousness. Around 1840 it was briefly fashionable to take turtles for a walk in the arcades. the flneurs liked to have the turtles set the pace for them.” [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The flâneur embodies deliberate deliberate resistance to industrial specialization, choosing leisure and personal space as a critique of labor division. **In simple terms:** Choosing leisure as protest against forced specialization. Key Takeaway Embrace intentional leisure to question work norms. Themes leisure resistance industrialization individualism social critique Mood reflective critical introspective Type philosophical cultural observational When to use this quote - urban walking - artistic performance - public spaces - personal branding - cultural commentary Key Concepts flâneur protest identity social observation Questions to Reflect On - How does personal leisure challenge societal labor expectations? - Can leisure be a form of activism? A Different Perspective Leisure can become a privilege, limiting broader impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appearance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) [Arcades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arcades/) [Crowd Flneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowd-flneur-1846771/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Division](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/division/) [Elbows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elbows/) [Fashionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashionable/) [Flneur Demanded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flneur-demanded-1846772/) [Flneurs Liked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flneurs-liked-1846774/) [Gentleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleman/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Leisure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leisure/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pace/) [Pedestrians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pedestrians/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Personality Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality-protest-1846770/) [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) [Protest Industriousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest-industriousness-1846773/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Specialists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/specialists/) [Turtles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turtles/) [Unwilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unwilling/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) ## Related quotes > [“These arcades, a recent invention of industrial luxury, are glass-roofed, marble-panelled corridors extending through whole blocks of buildings, whose owners have joined together for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/these-arcades-a-recent-invention-of-industrial-luxury-are-glass/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I've been a fan of video games since the old school, I even have a lot of the old school arcade games at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-lewis/i-ve-been-a-fan-of-video-games-since-the-old-school-i-even-have-a-lot/) [Ray Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-lewis/) > [I hate amusement arcades. 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I was in the chess club, I brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/when-i-was-growing-up-i-was-as-socially-outcast-as-any-nerd-could/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [I felt like a kid standing in the world's greatest video arcade without any quarters, unable to do anything but walk around and watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/i-felt-like-a-kid-standing-in-the-world-s-greatest-video-arcade/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [I think my iTunes is a kind of strange and embarrassing mix of show tunes and artists that I have no perception of whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kendrick/i-think-my-itunes-is-a-kind-of-strange-and-embarrassing-mix-of-show/) [Anna Kendrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kendrick/) > [To me the arcade experience is the ultimate gaming experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-jarvis/to-me-the-arcade-experience-is-the-ultimate-gaming-experience/) [Eugene Jarvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-jarvis/) > [A writer from ESPN magazine once described me as the world's largest eleven-year-old. That's true. I ride my Sea-Doo jet ski, play putt-putt golf,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/a-writer-from-espn-magazine-once-described-me-as-the-world-s-largest/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [I actually have the Arcade PC at home, and it has 5,500 games on it. Everything from the old school, Galaga, Tron, Missile Command,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-corrales/i-actually-have-the-arcade-pc-at-home-and-it-has-5-500-games-on-it/) [Diego Corrales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-corrales/) > [I had played 'Mortal Kombat' back I arcades in London, and I loved it. I came to the movies as a genuine fan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-w-s-anderson/i-had-played-mortal-kombat-back-i-arcades-in-london-and-i-loved-it-i/) [Paul W. S. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-w-s-anderson/) > [Moreover, a book is not made of sentences laid end to end, but of sentences built, if an image helps, into arcades or domes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/moreover-a-book-is-not-made-of-sentences-laid-end-to-end-but-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [It's a token for the arcade games at Laser Sport Time!" Dan hissed. "Uncle Alistair doesn't think so," Amy murmured. "He's a numismatist." "He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lerangis/it-s-a-token-for-the-arcade-games-at-laser-sport-time-dan-hissed/) [Peter Lerangis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lerangis/) > [I still have my old Nintendo 64 that works. And I hook it up, and I still play the original 'Goldeneye.' I'm that geek.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taran-killam/i-still-have-my-old-nintendo-64-that-works-and-i-hook-it-up-and-i/) [Taran Killam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taran-killam/) > [I like bands for a long time, even when they're not trendy anymore. I still like Arcade Fire. I've always liked Stevie Wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sia-furler/i-like-bands-for-a-long-time-even-when-they-re-not-trendy-anymore-i/) [Sia Furler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sia-furler/) > [If I could be anyone, I'd choose the lead singer of Arcade Fire, Win Butler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kardashian/if-i-could-be-anyone-i-d-choose-the-lead-singer-of-arcade-fire-win/) [Rob Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kardashian/) ## More by Walter Benjamin > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“The construction of life is at present in the power of facts far more than of convictions, and of such facts as have scarcely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/the-construction-of-life-is-at-present-in-the-power-of-facts-far-more/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“It should be pointed out that certain correlative concepts retain their meaning, and possibly their foremost significance, if they are referred exclusively to man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/it-should-be-pointed-out-that-certain-correlative-concepts-retain/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Allegories are, in the realm of thought, what ruins are in the realm of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/allegories-are-in-the-realm-of-thought-what-ruins-are-in-the-realm-of/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Things are only mannequins and even the great world-historical events are only costumes beneath which they exchange glances with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/things-are-only-mannequins-and-even-the-great-world-historical-events/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [“to great writers, finished works weigh lighter than those fragments on which they labor their entire lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/to-great-writers-finished-works-weigh-lighter-than-those-fragments-on/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [All religions have honored the beggar. For he proves that in a matter at the same time as prosaic and holy, banal and regenerative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-religions-have-honored-the-beggar-for-he-proves-that-in-a-matter/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/the-camera-introduces-us-to-unconscious-optics-as-does-psychoanalysis/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [During long periods of history, the mode of human sense perception changes with humanity’s entire mode of existence. The manner in which human sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/during-long-periods-of-history-the-mode-of-human-sense-perception/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Melancholy betrays the world for the sake of knowledge. But in its tenacious self-absorption it embraces dead objects in its contemplation, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/melancholy-betrays-the-world-for-the-sake-of-knowledge-but-in-its/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [For what is the program of the bourgeois parties? A bad poem on springtime, filled to bursting with metaphors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/for-what-is-the-program-of-the-bourgeois-parties-a-bad-poem-on/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [The power of a text is different when it is read from when it is copied out. Only the copied text thus commands the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/the-power-of-a-text-is-different-when-it-is-read-from-when-it-is/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Quotations in my work are like wayside robbers who leap out armed and relieve the stroller of his conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/quotations-in-my-work-are-like-wayside-robbers-who-leap-out-armed-and/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Each morning the day lies like a fresh shirt on our bed; this incomparably fine, incomparably tightly woven tissue of pure prediction fits us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/each-morning-the-day-lies-like-a-fresh-shirt-on-our-bed-this/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Taking food alone tends to make one hard and coarse. Those accustomed to it must lead a Spartan life if they are not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/taking-food-alone-tends-to-make-one-hard-and-coarse-those-accustomed/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) [Explore all 207 Walter Benjamin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) ## More Appearance quotes > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [The essence of worldliness is exclusion of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-jacobsen/the-essence-of-worldliness-is-exclusion-of-god/) [Henry Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-jacobsen/) > [We must, however, note that what are usually called the high religions made their appearance within about twenty-five hundred years - most of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-scott-latourette/we-must-however-note-that-what-are-usually-called-the-high-religions/) [Kenneth Scott Latourette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-scott-latourette/) > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The turning points of lives are not the great moments. The real crises are often concealed in occurrences so trivial in appearance that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-turning-points-of-lives-are-not-the-great-moments-the-real-crises/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [You can have a nice body, dress with the latest fashion. But if you don't have self-confidence sweetheart, forget about looking sexy, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/you-can-have-a-nice-body-dress-with-the-latest-fashion-but-if-you-don/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [I cannot be convinced that great artists are moralists. Art is first appearances, then meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-cannot-be-convinced-that-great-artists-are-moralists-art-is-first/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [So may the outward shows be least themselves; The world is still deceived with ornament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-may-the-outward-shows-be-least-themselves-the-world-is-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I'm OK with my appearance. I have made my peace with it after a long and frankly exhausting battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/i-m-ok-with-my-appearance-i-have-made-my-peace-with-it-after-a-long/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Appearance records are pretty special. Mine means a lot to me, not only because I love stats, but because it shows that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james/appearance-records-are-pretty-special-mine-means-a-lot-to-me-not-only/) [David James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james/) > [Every man would fall in love with their voice, their lovely appearance, but no man would ever get past that. They'd never really know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/every-man-would-fall-in-love-with-their-voice-their-lovely-appearance/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [I already know what things look like - I don't want description. People believe in appearances, and I don't believe in appearances at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-michals/i-already-know-what-things-look-like-i-don-t-want-description-people/) [Duane Michals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-michals/) [Browse all 2,446 Appearance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There was the pedestrian who wedged himself into the crowd, but there was also the flneur who demanded elbow room and was unwilling to forego the life of the gentleman of leisure. 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