The true artist will let his wife starve, his children go barefoot, his mother drudge for his living at seventy, sooner than work at anything but his art.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Artists may prioritize their work over family well-being to an extreme degree.
- In plain terms
- A real artist would let family suffer rather than stop creating.
- What can you take from it?
- Balance passion with responsibility to others.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What are you willing to sacrifice?
- Where do you draw the line?
Another view
Some great work does require sacrifice.
More from George Bernard Shaw
The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.
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