Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible

Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible

Eugene Ionesco, a Romanian-French playwright known for his absurdist and avant-garde works, often explored the themes of the absurdity of human existence and the limitations of language in his plays. The quote "Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible" can be seen as a reflection of Ionesco's belief in the power of the irrational and the mysterious in art and life.

In many of his plays, Ionesco used language in a way that highlighted its limitations and the absurdity of trying to communicate complex ideas through words. He often employed nonsensical dialogue, wordplay, and repetition to create a sense of disorientation and confusion in the audience. By doing so, he sought to challenge conventional notions of meaning and understanding, and to provoke a sense of astonishment and wonder in his viewers.

Ionesco believed that language, with its tendency to categorize and explain, could limit our ability to experience the world in all its complexity and mystery. In his view, the act of explaining something often served to reduce it to a set of familiar and easily digestible concepts, thereby robbing it of its power to astonish and amaze. By embracing the incomprehensible and the irrational, Ionesco believed that we could open ourselves up to new possibilities and experiences that lie beyond the boundaries of language and reason.