Anais Nin: Literature Persecution

Posted by admin on Thursday, February 21, 2019

Anais Nin Money Quote saying that literature is always under attack by financial models, the wealthy and by religion. Anais Nin said:
 

 

“Literature, the ultimate gift for expressing the most subtle aspects of man’s thought and feeling, may not survive persecution: first by religion, then by the bourgeoisie, then by Marxism, and now by commercialism. The” — Anaïs Nin

 
Birthday February 21, 1903 – Died January 14, 1977
 

 

In this quote, author Anaïs Nin is expressing concern over various threats faced by literature throughout history that have attempted to censor or control creative expression. Some key points:

• She refers to literature as humanity’s greatest means of conveying complex thoughts and emotions.
• Nin notes it has faced “persecution” from religious institutions seeking to enforce orthodoxy in the past.
• The bourgeoisie classes also posed a threat by trying to restrict literature that challenged their social norms and values.
• Even political ideologies like Marxism attempted to shape literature for ideological conformity rather than free expression.
• Most recently in Nin’s time, she saw the rise of commercialism and mass market forces as endangering literature by prioritizing profit over artistic merit.

Overall, Nin is lamenting that this most profound art form for exploring the human condition has repeatedly been threatened by powers seeking to manipulate or suppress it for their own agendas, rather than allowing its natural evolution. She expresses concern about literature’s ability to survive such ongoing “persecution.”