Without Art The Crudeness Of Reality

This line is spoken by the character Ecrasia in Part V of Shaw's five-part play cycle Back to Methuselah (1921), subtitled "As Far as Thought Can Reach." It is immediately challenged by the He-Ancient, who replies that mature beings no longer need art as a mirror because they have "a direct sense of life." Shaw thus uses Ecrasia to voice a sincere but immature position — she speaks for the youthful idealism that venerates art, while the elder figure represents a higher stage of existence beyond it. The play cycle spans from the Garden of Eden to 31,920 AD, making it Shaw's most ambitious single work.