People · 1951
So vast, so limitless in capacity is man’s imagination to disperse and burn away the rubble-dross of fact and probability, leaving only truth and dream.
— William Faulkner · Requiem for a Nun
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
This praises imagination as so powerful it can burn away the messy leftovers of facts and likelihood, leaving only what feels true and what we dream. The image is of fire refining something, suggesting imagination distills experience down to its essential, emotional core.
Context reviewed