Honeysuckle Walks
a literature & philosophy blog
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Jane Austen and the era of virtue—and vice
At the heart of every Jane Austen novel lies a sharp critique of social values. This isn’t surprising…
Timeless quotes from Steppenwolf
In an author’s note for the 1961 edition of Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse described the novel as his most “violently misunderstood” work…
The philosophy of beauty
Nowadays, most people don’t attach a larger significance to beauty. At most, beauty is a quality that evokes pleasure…
Fear, mortality, and authenticity
“To be alive is the biggest fear humans have. Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive…”
Mimetic desire and immortality
Desire is like an eternal flame. We go through life stoking it—we want a better job, to live in a nicer house, to be fitter or prettier…
The art of imitation
Imitation is a natural part of human learning and development. While it’s often avoided out of fear of unoriginality or plagiarism…
Seneca on anger
Anger is like stepping into quicksand. The angrier you get, the more damage you inflict upon yourself; just as the more…
Milan Kundera, original sin, and the ideal form of love
A core focus of Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being is love, and it raises questions about what…
Nietzsche’s eternal return
Friedrich Nietzsche claimed his doctrine of eternal return was his most important idea, the “greatest elevation of the consciousness…
The tortured poet
The trope of the “tortured poet” is intriguing—it conveys the idea that meaningful art requires or is enhanced by anguish, torment…
Mary Oliver’s White Flowers and the undiscovered country
I read a poem by Mary Oliver that stuck with me. It’s called “White Flowers” and it’s about the boundaries between wakefulness…
Sin, Sirens, and the irresistible allure of sound
“Square in your ship’s path are Sirens, crying beauty to bewitch men coasting by; woe to the innocent who hears that sound!”
Eden, omniscience, & John Keats’ mansion of life
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who thought a lot about knowledge and uncertainty. In May 1818, Keats wrote a letter…
Imagination, empathy, and John Keats’ negative capability
John Keats was an English Romantic poet who’s best known for his odes, like “Ode to a Nightingale.” Despite a short life…
Marcus Aurelius and the art of gratitude
Marcus Aurelius was the last emperor of the Pax Romana, a period of peace and stability for the Roman Empire. He was also a Stoic…
Einstein on a higher power
“The individual feels the futility of human desires and aims and the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves both…”
Aristotle & Seneca on friendship and isolation
Friendship was an important topic to Greek philosophers. Aristotle devoted 1/5th of his main work on ethics, Nicomachean Ethics…
Finding your life’s calling (part 2)
The process of uncovering your life’s meaning begins with asking the right questions and then turning inwards…
Finding your life’s calling (part 1)
At one point or another, most people wonder what their life’s purpose is (or if there’s a larger purpose at all). Thankfully, we…
Recovering your creativity: The Artist’s Way
Creativity is an energy. It’s intangible, and like any form of energy, it can’t be created or destroyed but displaced or converted…