What’s modesty?
Cindy on August 18th, 2008
Conceit spoils the finest genius. There is not much danger that real talent or goodness will be overlooked for long. Even if it is, the consciousness of possessing and using it well should satisfy one. The great charm of all power is modesty. — Louisa May Alcott
Original painting: “Tangled up in Blue” by Douglas La Ferle
I ran across the Alcott quotation (above) in my daybook last week, and it got me thinking. Does anyone still use the words “conceit” and “modesty”? How quaintly Victorian they sound.
These days, whether we write novels, run restaurants, perform at nightclubs, or design buildings, we’re more inclined to talk about marketing, promoting, and “branding” ourselves. We dream and scheme to get our 15 minutes of fame — and some of us will stop at nothing to get 15 minutes more. Boasting has become an art form.
As a younger writer, I was always uncomfortable just thinking about self-promotion. I’ve learned to get used to it (but rarely enjoy it) and I still consider it a necessary evil. Competition for media attention is fierce, and career survival often depends on plugging your own work. As another writer once told me, “If you don’t toot your horn, who will?” Yet every time I put myself out there, I can’t quite shake the sleazy feeling that I’m being, well, conceited and immodest.
Writing during the American Civil War, Louisa May Alcott was both an abolitionist and a feminist. Her dad used to hang out with the likes of Thoreau and Emerson — the most progressive thinkers of the time. Yet she still talked about old-fangled virtues like dignity, intergrity, and modesty. I miss those words. – Cindy La Ferle
