"I hate that which we have decided to call realism, even though I have been made one of its high priests"

Gustave Flaubert's quote expresses his contempt for the idea of realism. He is crucial of the concept that reality can be accurately represented through art, and he is also crucial of the reality that he has been designated as one of its "high priests". This recommends that he is uneasy with the concept of being a leader in a motion he does not believe in. He is likely revealing his aggravation with the idea that art should be a reflection of reality, instead of an imaginative expression of the artist's creativity. He believes that art should be devoid of the constraints of truth, and that it needs to be allowed to check out the depths of the artist's imagination. He is likely expressing his belief that art must be a kind of self-expression, rather than a reflection of the world around us.