Mary Hunter Austin Quotes

Powerful Mary Hunter Austin for Daily Growth

About Mary Hunter Austin

Mary Hunter Austin (November 15, 1868 – March 6, 1934) was an American writer and ethnologist, best known for her work on the folklore and literature of the American West, particularly in California's Great Basin region. Born in Nevada City, California, Austin grew up in a family that valued education. Her father was a Methodist Episcopal minister, and her mother was a schoolteacher. She spent her childhood in various mining towns across the western United States, which would later influence her writing. Austin attended Stanford University, where she studied German and philosophy. However, she did not graduate, instead choosing to pursue her passion for literature and folklore in the West. In 1893, she moved to Los Angeles and began working as a correspondent for the San Francisco Wasp, covering local events and writing short stories. In 1902, Austin published her first book, "Carleton of Missouri," a collection of short stories set in the West. However, it was her second book, "The Land of Little Rain" (1903), that brought her widespread acclaim. This work, which combined ethnography, natural history, and fiction, depicted life in the Great Basin region and its Paiute inhabitants. Austin's other notable works include "The Fool's Parade" (1911), a novel set in the mining town of Goldfield, Nevada, and "Lost Borders: A Journey to America's Forgotten Lands" (1932), a travelogue about her trips through the West. Austin's work had a significant impact on the literary landscape of the American West, and she is often considered one of its earliest champions. Her writing continues to inspire today, offering insights into the region's history, culture, and natural beauty.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"To be born in America was then to be the rich inheritor of the tradition of brave and adventurous spirits."

This quote by Mary Hunter Austin suggests that being an American in her time was synonymous with inheriting a legacy of courageous and pioneering spirits. The "adventurous" spirits refer to those who dared to embark on new frontiers, explore uncharted territories, and take risks in the pursuit of opportunities - traits which have historically defined the American identity as one that values independence, innovation, and boldness.

"The land has a life of its own that is far greater than the sum of the lives of all who have ever lived upon it."

This quote emphasizes the idea that nature or the land possesses an intrinsic, self-sustaining power greater than any individual human life. It suggests that the Earth has a unique, independent existence that transcends the collective impact of all those who have inhabited it. This perspective underscores the importance of preserving and respecting natural environments as integral entities with their own life force and value.

"It is not the desert that oppresses, but the lack of opportunity to live decently in it."

This quote by Mary Hunter Austin suggests that the harshness of a desert environment does not inherently cause suffering, but rather the absence of viable opportunities for people to live with dignity and prosperity within that environment is the root of distress. In other words, it's not the natural conditions themselves that are oppressive; instead, it is the lack of access to resources, infrastructure, and opportunities necessary for humans to thrive in those conditions.

"There is in this dry land something which speaks with a deep voice to the soul."

This quote suggests that the arid landscape, or "dry land," holds a profound, spiritual significance beyond its physical appearance. It asserts that there's an emotional depth and resonance in these environments that deeply connects with our souls. It might inspire introspection, reflection, or appreciation for the beauty that can be found even in seemingly barren landscapes.

"The desert is so much a part of man that he forgets the artificiality of his cities and looks on them as natural growths like the mesquite bush or the saguaro cactus."

This quote by Mary Hunter Austin suggests that urban environments, despite their obvious artificiality, have become so integral to human existence that they are perceived as naturally occurring landmarks akin to desert flora such as the mesquite bush or the saguaro cactus. Essentially, it implies the evolution of cities into an organic extension of mankind's identity within the desert landscape.

Over the tops of it, beginning to dusk under a young white moon, trailed a wavering ghost of smoke, and at the end of it I came upon the Pocket Hunter making a dry camp in the friendly scrub.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Over, Making, Wavering, Tops

Nevertheless there are certain peaks, canons, and clear meadow spaces which are above all compassing of words, and have a certain fame as of the nobly great to whom we give no familiar names.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Give, Which, Nevertheless, Canon

Probably we never fully credit the interdependence of wild creatures, and their cognizance of the affairs of their own kind.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Never, Kind, Creatures, Interdependence

This is the sense of the desert hills, that there is room enough and time enough.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Time, Enough, Sense, Hills

To underestimate one's thirst, to pass a given landmark to the right or left, to find a dry spring where one looked for running water - there is no help for any of these things.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Thirst, Pass, Given, Landmark

What women have to stand on squarely is not their ability to see the world in the way men see it, but the importance and validity of their seeing it in some other way.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Some, Other, Importance, Squarely

People would be surprised to know how much I learned about prayer from playing poker.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Poker, About, Learned, Surprised

Nothing the desert produces expresses it better than the unhappy growth of the tree yuccas.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Unhappy, Better, Nothing, Produces

Death by starvation is slow.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Death, Slow, Starvation

I suppose no man becomes a pocket hunter by first intention.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Man, Suppose, Hunter, Pocket

Man is a great blunderer going about in the woods, and there is no other except the bear makes so much noise.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Woods, Other, Going, Noise

For one thing there is the divinest, cleanest air to be breathed anywhere in God's world.

- Mary Hunter Austin

World, Air, One Thing, Cleanest

The manner of the country makes the usage of life there, and the land will not be lived in except in its own fashion.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Country, Will, Usage, Manner

No man can be stronger than his destiny.

- Mary Hunter Austin

Destiny, Than, His, Stronger

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