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This responsiveness had nothing to do with that flabby impressionability which is dignified under the name of the “creative temperament.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald • The Great Gatsby

An upright silver tuning fork stands beside a drooping pink silky bundle on a pale-blue plinth.
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An editorial interpretation.

The passage distinguishes responsiveness from impressionability and objects to dressing the latter up as a creative temperament. The word 'flabby' makes the criticism deliberately unflattering. The contrast suggests that sensitivity should not be confused with being easily swayed, even when a flattering artistic label is available.

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