"All that passes is raised to the dignity of expression; all that happens is raised to the dignity of meaning. Everything is either symbol or parable"
About this Quote
As a dramatist steeped in Catholic modernity, Claudel is staking out a metaphysics of theater. Drama, at its best, doesn’t imitate life so much as reveal its hidden grammar. The stage becomes an argument that events aren’t random; they’re legible. By declaring “Everything is either symbol or parable,” he collapses the usual boundary between art’s crafted significance and life’s mess. Subtextually, that’s both a promise and a provocation: if everything signifies, then indifference is impossible. Even the throwaway moment becomes evidence.
This worldview carries a double edge. It dignifies suffering (it can be read, placed, redeemed), but it also risks coercing experience into a predetermined moral architecture. “Parable” especially implies a lesson already waiting at the end, whether you asked for one or not. In early 20th-century Europe, with faith pressed between secular modernism and political catastrophe, Claudel’s insistence on meaning reads like defiance: a refusal to let history be just noise. It’s a creed in aesthetic form: the world is staged, and we are never off-book.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Claudel, Paul. (2026, January 17). All that passes is raised to the dignity of expression; all that happens is raised to the dignity of meaning. Everything is either symbol or parable. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/all-that-passes-is-raised-to-the-dignity-of-73120/
Chicago Style
Claudel, Paul. "All that passes is raised to the dignity of expression; all that happens is raised to the dignity of meaning. Everything is either symbol or parable." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/all-that-passes-is-raised-to-the-dignity-of-73120/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"All that passes is raised to the dignity of expression; all that happens is raised to the dignity of meaning. Everything is either symbol or parable." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/all-that-passes-is-raised-to-the-dignity-of-73120/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
