The creative consequences of man's imaginative strivings may never make him whole; but they constitute his deepest consolations and his greatest glories.

It is true that many creative people fail to make mature personal relationships, and some are extremely isolated. It is also true that, in some instances, trauma, in the shape of early separation or bereavement, has steered the potentially creative person toward developing aspects of his personality which can find fulfillment in comparative isolation. But this does not mean that solitary, creative pursuits are themselves pathological.

I want to show that the dividing lines between sanity and mental illness have been drawn in the wrong place.

In a culture in which interpersonal relationships are generally considered to provide the answer to every form of distress, it is sometimes difficult to persuade well-meaning helpers that solitude can be as therapeutic as emotional support.

Avoidance behavior is a response designed to protect the infant from behavioral disorganization. If we transfer this concept to adult life, we can see that an avoidant infant might very well develop into a person whose principal need was to find some kind of meaning and order in life which was not entirely, or even chiefly, dependent upon interpersonal relationships

Originality implies being bold enough to go beyond accepted norms.

So-called "inspiration" is no more than an extreme example of a process which constantly goes on in the minds of all of us.