quote · Legacy record
I wonder now whether inner coldness and desolation may not be the pre-condition for making the world believe, by a kind of fraudulent showmanship, that one's own wretched heart is still aglow.
I wonder now whether inner coldness and desolation may not be the pre-condition for making the world believe, by a kind of fraudulent showmanship, that one's own wretched heart is still aglow.
Approximate author period: c. 1972 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- W.G. Sebald
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1972 AD · modern
Approximate historical context for attribution to W.G. Sebald, based on documented life years 1944 to 2001; lifetime midpoint used only for grouping. The archive's creator biography identifies Winfried Georg Sebald, known as W.G. Sebald, and records his life years as 1944-2001. The midpoint is only a timeline grouping point. Source: University of East Anglia Archives: W.G. Sebald Collection, https://archivecollections.uea.ac.uk/wgs (checked 2026-10-09). This does not establish the composition date or authenticate the attribution of these words. Source: https://archivecollections.uea.ac.uk/wgs (accessed 2026-10-09).
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided quotation collection
Supplied reference C; CSV row 169269; supplied attribution, independently unverified
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.