--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I later spent a year studying Finnegans…" description: "\"“I later spent a year studying Finnegans Wake with Norman O. Brown, an exercise in masturbatory obscurantism that Bryan would never have undertaken—and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/william-finnegan-21232_finnegans-wake_i-later-spent-a-year-studying-finnegans_472966.jpg" --- # I later spent a year studying Finnegans Wake with Norman… ![“I later spent a year studying Finnegans Wake with Norman O. Brown, an exercise in masturbatory obscurantism that Bryan would never have undertaken—and he had an eye for genre fiction, including westerns, that I lacked.” quote by William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/william-finnegan-21232_finnegans-wake_i-later-spent-a-year-studying-finnegans_472966.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/william-finnegan-21232_finnegans-wake_i-later-spent-a-year-studying-finnegans_472966.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1dd/william-finnegan-21232_finnegans-wake_i-later-spent-a-year-studying-finnegans_472966.jpg) > ““I later spent a year studying Finnegans Wake with Norman O. Brown, an exercise in masturbatory obscurantism that Bryan would never have undertaken—and he had an eye for genre fiction, including westerns, that I lacked.”” [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author critiques an overly academic, self-indulgent study of a complex novel, implying it serves personal gratification more than insight. **In simple terms:** Obsession with obscure analysis can become self‑serving. Key Takeaway Avoid needless intellectual vanity. Themes literary criticism self‑reflection academic excess Mood critical introspective Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - academic research - book clubs - creative writing workshops Key Concepts postmodern literature obscurantism genre bias Questions to Reflect On - Is scholarly depth always beneficial? - When does analysis become self‑indulgent? A Different Perspective Such deep dives may alienate broader audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Finnegans wake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finnegans-wake/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Obscurantism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurantism/) ## Related quotes > [“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“The great fact emerges that after that historic date all holographs so far exhumed initialled by Haromphrey bear the sigla H.C.E. and while he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-great-fact-emerges-that-after-that-historic-date-all-holographs/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [If an artwork never gets any attention from anybody, then obviously it's got problems. If it gains attention from a very small elite, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/if-an-artwork-never-gets-any-attention-from-anybody-then-obviously-it/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [You have to distinguish between things that seemed odd when they were new but are now quite familiar, such as Ibsen and Wagner, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/you-have-to-distinguish-between-things-that-seemed-odd-when-they-were/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [I once read somewhere that Sean Connery left school at the age of 13 and later went on to read Proust and Finnegans Wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dewitt/i-once-read-somewhere-that-sean-connery-left-school-at-the-age-of-13/) [Helen DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dewitt/) > [“In 1963, when I assigned the name "quark" to the fundamental constituents of the nucleon, I had the sound first, without the spelling, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/in-1963-when-i-assigned-the-name-quark-to-the-fundamental/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [The first thing to say about Finnegans Wake is that it is, in an important sense, unreadable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-deane/the-first-thing-to-say-about-finnegans-wake-is-that-it-is-in-an/) Seamus Deane > [“I hope I have now made it clear why I thought it best, in speaking of the dissonances between fiction and reality in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/i-hope-i-have-now-made-it-clear-why-i-thought-it-best-in-speaking-of/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [Sometimes Joyce is hilarious. I read Finnegans Wake after graduate school and I had the great good fortune of reading it without any help.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/sometimes-joyce-is-hilarious-i-read-finnegans-wake-after-graduate/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I think the pattern of my essays is, A funny thing happened to me on my way through Finnegans Wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-think-the-pattern-of-my-essays-is-a-funny-thing-happened-to-me-on/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [ I think \[James\] Joyce sometimes enjoyed misleading his readers. He said to me that history was like that parlor game where someone whispers something… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-beach/i-think-james-joyce-sometimes-enjoyed-misleading-his-readers-he-said/) Sylvia Beach > [For anyone who conceives literature in terms of plurality of perspectives, Finnegans Wake has to be the apogee. For, as we are told, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/for-anyone-who-conceives-literature-in-terms-of-plurality-of/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [The current tax code is harder to understand than Bob Dylan reading Finnegans Wake in a wind tunnel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/the-current-tax-code-is-harder-to-understand-than-bob-dylan-reading/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [“My books are a subject of much discussion. They pour from shelves onto tables, chairs and the floor, and Chaz observes that I haven’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/my-books-are-a-subject-of-much-discussion-they-pour-from-shelves-onto/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [So you need hardly spell me how every word will be bound over to carry three score and ten toptypsical readings throughout the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/so-you-need-hardly-spell-me-how-every-word-will-be-bound-over-to/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## More by William Finnegan > [The differences between the received wisdom, the standard version of events, and the facts on the ground may be subtle or they may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/the-differences-between-the-received-wisdom-the-standard-version-of/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [Writing is pretty flexible work, don't you think? If you want to surf, you just have to get a lot done when the waves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/writing-is-pretty-flexible-work-don-t-you-think-if-you-want-to-surf/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [You're after something - not a story, but a certain, exquisitely intense encounter with beauty - and the only way to find it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/you-re-after-something-not-a-story-but-a-certain-exquisitely-intense/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [“When I finally came in and complained, she tried to explain, not for the first time, how exquisitely boring it was to watch surfing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/when-i-finally-came-in-and-complained-she-tried-to-explain-not-for/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [It's completely different, for instance, to report on poor farmers in Africa than it is to report on, say, poor African-Americans. The familiarity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/it-s-completely-different-for-instance-to-report-on-poor-farmers-in/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [“Surfing, to begin with, was not a “sport.” It was a “path.” And the more you poured into it, the more you got back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/surfing-to-begin-with-was-not-a-sport-it-was-a-path-and-the-more-you/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [Poor-country surf communities can be complex and, to some extent, leveling. The fisherman's kid is competing head to head with the plutocrat's gilded son.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/poor-country-surf-communities-can-be-complex-and-to-some-extent/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I need to conduct myself differently in different communities. In my experience, the journalistic conventions - you know, I'm the reporter, you're the subject,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-need-to-conduct-myself-differently-in-different-communities-in-my/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [There are good waves not that far from Manhattan - on Long Island, in north Jersey. It's true that the best surf around here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/there-are-good-waves-not-that-far-from-manhattan-on-long-island-in/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I'm trying to find out what's actually true, which is nearly always something, if not a world of things, that you can't read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-m-trying-to-find-out-what-s-actually-true-which-is-nearly-always/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I remember surfing in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, even Madeira, when local fishermen had never seen a surfboard before, and refused to believe that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-remember-surfing-in-fiji-samoa-tonga-even-madeira-when-local/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [Even wars, big conflicts that have drawn a lot of news coverage, sometimes seem to me to have a center that hasn't been described,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/even-wars-big-conflicts-that-have-drawn-a-lot-of-news-coverage/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [As I travelled around Australia, strangers in pubs, on airplanes, in beach parking lots would bring up Gina Rinehart, not knowing I was writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/as-i-travelled-around-australia-strangers-in-pubs-on-airplanes-in/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [“Being friends as in writing letters was so much easier than being friends as in living together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/being-friends-as-in-writing-letters-was-so-much-easier-than-being/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [I always wanted to write. While I was on a long surf trip, supporting myself with various day jobs, I was working hard on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/i-always-wanted-to-write-while-i-was-on-a-long-surf-trip-supporting/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) [Explore all 29 William Finnegan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) ## More Finnegans wake quotes > [“On turning to the Work in Progress we find that the mirror is not so convex. Here is direct expression--pages and pages of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/on-turning-to-the-work-in-progress-we-find-that-the-mirror-is-not-so/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“My books are a subject of much discussion. They pour from shelves onto tables, chairs and the floor, and Chaz observes that I haven’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/my-books-are-a-subject-of-much-discussion-they-pour-from-shelves-onto/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [The current tax code is harder to understand than Bob Dylan reading Finnegans Wake in a wind tunnel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-miller/the-current-tax-code-is-harder-to-understand-than-bob-dylan-reading/) [Dennis Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-miller/) > [For anyone who conceives literature in terms of plurality of perspectives, Finnegans Wake has to be the apogee. For, as we are told, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/for-anyone-who-conceives-literature-in-terms-of-plurality-of/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [ I think \[James\] Joyce sometimes enjoyed misleading his readers. He said to me that history was like that parlor game where someone whispers something… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-beach/i-think-james-joyce-sometimes-enjoyed-misleading-his-readers-he-said/) Sylvia Beach > [I think the pattern of my essays is, A funny thing happened to me on my way through Finnegans Wake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/i-think-the-pattern-of-my-essays-is-a-funny-thing-happened-to-me-on/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Sometimes Joyce is hilarious. I read Finnegans Wake after graduate school and I had the great good fortune of reading it without any help.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/sometimes-joyce-is-hilarious-i-read-finnegans-wake-after-graduate/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“I hope I have now made it clear why I thought it best, in speaking of the dissonances between fiction and reality in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/i-hope-i-have-now-made-it-clear-why-i-thought-it-best-in-speaking-of/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [The first thing to say about Finnegans Wake is that it is, in an important sense, unreadable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-deane/the-first-thing-to-say-about-finnegans-wake-is-that-it-is-in-an/) Seamus Deane > [“In 1963, when I assigned the name "quark" to the fundamental constituents of the nucleon, I had the sound first, without the spelling, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/in-1963-when-i-assigned-the-name-quark-to-the-fundamental/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) > [I once read somewhere that Sean Connery left school at the age of 13 and later went on to read Proust and Finnegans Wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dewitt/i-once-read-somewhere-that-sean-connery-left-school-at-the-age-of-13/) [Helen DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dewitt/) > [You have to distinguish between things that seemed odd when they were new but are now quite familiar, such as Ibsen and Wagner, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-larkin/you-have-to-distinguish-between-things-that-seemed-odd-when-they-were/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-larkin/) > [If an artwork never gets any attention from anybody, then obviously it's got problems. If it gains attention from a very small elite, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-boyd/if-an-artwork-never-gets-any-attention-from-anybody-then-obviously-it/) [Brian Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-boyd/) > [“The great fact emerges that after that historic date all holographs so far exhumed initialled by Haromphrey bear the sigla H.C.E. and while he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-great-fact-emerges-that-after-that-historic-date-all-holographs/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [So you need hardly spell me how every word will be bound over to carry three score and ten toptypsical readings throughout the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/so-you-need-hardly-spell-me-how-every-word-will-be-bound-over-to/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 22 Finnegans wake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finnegans-wake/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I later spent a year studying Finnegans Wake with Norman O. 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