An appositive 'that' clause in a complex sentence.

Question

Reverie is the groundwork of creative imagination; it is the privilege of the artist that with him it is not, as with other men, an escape from reality, but the means by which he accedes to it.

I have had a hard time in interpreting this short sentence for several times.

But I'm not certain whether I correctly interpret, so I'd like to check with you whether my interpretation is correct.

1) I think the underlined 'that' clause is appositive clause.
2) I think the pronoun 'him' in bold represents artist.
3) I think the word other men indicates general people.

Thank you in advance for your help.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

park sang joon1) I think the underlined 'that' clause is appositive clause.

A relative clause. (relating to "privilege")

park sang joon2) I think the pronoun 'him' in bold represents the artist.

Yes.

park sang joon3) I think the phrase "other men" indicates general people.

Yes.

Reverie is the groundwork of creative imagination (main clause)

The sentence is very difficult to make out even for a highly-educated native speaker. Here is a re-write.

; it (reverie) is the privilege that, when it (reverie) is with the artist, it (reverie) is not an escape from reality, but the means by which he (the artist) accedes to it (reality).

Why do you challenge yourself with this sort of sentence? It will only succeed in frustrating you.
Why not choose something that is only slightly above your reading level?

GPY · Answer

AlpheccaStarsA relative clause. (relating to "privilege")

Are you certain that it would be termed a relative clause?

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, AlpheccaStars, for your concrete answer and proofreading.

A relative clause. (relating to "privilege")
that with him it is not an escape from reality but the means by which he accedes to it.

I'd like to know why although 'that' clause is a complete clause, it is a relative clause.

Why do you challenge yourself with this sort of sentence? It will only succeed in frustrating you.
Why not choose something that is only slightly above your reading level?

I was determined to go on reading this reading reference to the end this time; it was easy up to the middle.

Anonymous · Answer

GPY AlpheccaStarsA relative clause. (relating to "privilege")Are you certain that it would be termed a relative clause?

"...it is the privilege of the artist that with him it is not,..."

I agree with AS, i take it as "that (with him) it is not" where that is a relative pronoun substituting the privilege of the artist in the relative clause. I don't think that it works as a conjunction here.

GPY · Answer

AnonymousI agree with AS, i take it as "that (with him) it is not" where that is a relative pronoun substituting the privilege of the artist in the relative clause. I don't think that it works as a conjunction here.

Personally I cannot see any way that "that" can stand for "the privilege of the artist". For me, the sentence, stripped down to the essential relevant parts, is saying:

It is the privilege of the artist that reverie is not an escape from reality.

I wouldn't call this a relative clause.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

GPYIt is the privilege of the artist that reverie is not an escape from reality.

It just goes to show how murky that sentence is!

GPY · Answer

AlpheccaStarsIt just goes to show how murky that sentence is!

OK, I think I see now the essential difference between our interpretations. In "it is the privilege of the artist ...", you read "it" as referring to "reverie", while I read it as dummy or anticipatory "it" (e.g. as in "It is a blessing that we are so healthy"). Personally I feel fairly confident that it was actually meant in the latter sense. In the former interpretation, the sentence feels very awkward to me (in fact hardly works at all).

Park sang joon · Answer

Hello you both, GPY and AlpheccaStars
By any chance, could I dare say my opinion?

I personally agree with GPY.

it is the privilege of the artist that with him it is not an escape from reality but the means by which he accedes to it.

You could see that 'that' clause doesn't have space to involve the phrase 'the privilege of the artist', if so we can't treat 'that' clause as a relative clause.

I should say, if anything, 'it' indicates 'that' clause.

GPY · Answer

park sang joonI should say, if anything, 'it' indicates 'that' clause.

Right. Theoretically (though in practice it would be strained and hard to understand) one could say:

that with him it is not, as with other men, an escape from reality, but the means by which he accedes to it is the privilege of the artist

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, GPY, for your elaborate interpretation.

Reverie is the groundwork of creative imagination; it is the privilege of the artist that with him it is not, as with other men, an escape from reality, but the means by which he accedes to it.

First I thought 'privilege' is apposition with 'that' clause, but now I support your interpretation.

An appositive 'that' clause in a complex sentence.

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