Rebecca West, "Mr Chesterton in Hysterics:A Study in Prejudice", The Clarion, 14th November 1913. Reprinted in Jane Marcus,The Young Rebecca: Writings of Rebecca West, 1911-17. Indiana University Press, 1982.
“

I have the greatest possible admiration for “Tremendous Trifles” and the other fairy tales – Heavens! how I can see Mr. Chesterton's beaming face crying happily, “But that’s just it! Life is a fairy tale!” Heavens! – but I believe his view of life to be based on a misconception. To put it in a theological way, he denies that God made the brain as well as the heart. He despises wisdom...Like all sentimentalists he is cruel.

— Rebecca West

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I have the greatest possible admiration for “Tremendous Trifles” and the other fairy tales – Heavens! how I can see Mr. Chesterton's beaming face crying happily, “But that’s just it! Life is a fairy tale!” Heavens! – but I believe his view of life to be based on a misconception. To put it in a theological way, he denies that God made the brain as well as the heart. He despises wisdom...Like all sentimentalists he is cruel." in the context of "Rebecca West, "Mr Chesterton in Hysterics:A Study in Prejudice", The Clarion, 14th November 1913. Reprinted in Jane Marcus,The Young Rebecca: Writings of Rebecca West, 1911-17. Indiana University Press, 1982." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "G. K. Chesterton" (Quotes about Chesterton) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
G. K. Chesterton

About G. K. Chesterton

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was a British writer whose prolific and diverse output included works of philosophy, ontology, poetry, play writing, journalism, public lecturing and debating, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics (particularly for Catholicism), and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction. He has been called the "prince of paradox".