[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$frMWeru76ZxFJJk3kyyMG3y3hwV8g0C8fIOSABn7QR1o":3,"$fxE1JDJgkJzB5nHInFOMn93HZMDbBiWKKDNzsdO6VaM8":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},360,"Theodore Dreiser","T",87,null,"theodore-dreiser",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":77},[14,22,28,34,40,47,53,59,65,71],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3470736,"She merely beamed a fatty beam. She was almost ponderous, and pink, with a tendency to a double chin.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":25,"source":26,"quote_tag":27,"commentary":9},3470730,"And they were always testifying as to how God or Christ or Divine Grace had rescued them from this or that predicament – never how they had rescued any one else. And.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":29,"quote_text":30,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":9},3470723,"Conservatism – hard work – saving one’s money – looking neat and gentlemanly. It was such an Eveless paradise, that.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":35,"quote_text":36,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},3470717,"As they sang, this nondescript and indifferent street audience gazed, held by the peculiarity of such an unimportant-looking family publicly raising its collective voice against the vast skepticism and apathy of life.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":46},3470713,"If I were personally to define religion, I would say that it is a bandage that man has invented to protect a soul made bloody by circustance.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is attributed to Theodore Dreiser, an American novelist known for his naturalist writings, particularly \"Sister Carrie\" and \"An American Tragedy.\" The quote is likely from his essay or a letter written in the early 20th century, a time when Dreiser was grappling with the implications of industrialization and the dehumanizing effects of modern society. His work often explored the tension between individual desire and the crushing forces of circumstance.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nDreiser's statement reveals a counter-intuitive truth about the nature of religion: it can be seen as a coping mechanism that acknowledges the inherent suffering and violence of the world, rather than a means to transcend or escape it. By describing religion as a \"bandage,\" Dreiser highlights the provisional and often inadequate nature of spiritual comfort in the face of existential pain.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this insight in a modern context, consider the ways in which you might be using personal or professional strategies as a form of emotional bandaging, rather than confronting the underlying causes of your distress. By acknowledging the provisional nature of these coping mechanisms, you can begin to develop more effective and sustainable strategies for managing adversity, such as seeking out systemic changes or building more resilient support networks.",{"id":48,"quote_text":49,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":50,"source":51,"quote_tag":52,"commentary":9},3470708,"I was in Chicago before I came here, but I didn’t do so very much dancing. I had to work.” He was thinking how such girls as she had everything, as contrasted with girls like Roberta, who had nothing. And yet, as he now felt in this instance, he liked Roberta better. She was sweeter and warmer and kinder – not so cold.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":54,"quote_text":55,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":56,"source":57,"quote_tag":58,"commentary":9},3470704,"She looked into her glass and saw a prettier Carrie than she had seen before; she looked into her mind, a mirror prepared of her own and the world’s opinions, and saw a worse. Between these two images she wavered, hesitating which to believe.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":60,"quote_text":61,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":62,"source":63,"quote_tag":64,"commentary":9},3470697,"And then he sank back and tried, as usual, not to think. He must succeed. That’s what the world was made for. That’s what he was made for. That was what he would have to do.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":66,"quote_text":67,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":68,"source":69,"quote_tag":70,"commentary":9},3470692,"In short, he was one of those early, daring manipulators who later were to seize upon other and even larger phases of American natural development for their own aggrandizement.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":72,"quote_text":73,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":74,"source":75,"quote_tag":76,"commentary":9},3470681,"When the distraction of the tongue is removed, the heart listens.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":78,"totalPages":79,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":80},1,9,10]