At my old job, we were very concerned with different countries’ imperatives and constraints. It was drilled into our heads as – imperatives are the things a country “must do” and constraints are the things keeping a country from fulfilling its imperatives. (My fellow editors would roll their eyes at that, and not just because it’s a totally boring lede but idgaf.) So basically for the past ~decade, in my head constraints = bad things.
But as time goes on, I find myself increasingly gravitating to things that exist and flourish because of their constraints, not despite them or for lack thereof. The easiest way to explain that is with constraints on creativity (though that’s not the full extent of what I mean).
Often the constraints on a work of art are nothing more than personal restraint on the part of the creator, but sometimes they’re imposed from outside forces. Jorge Luis Borges’ short stories are some of my favorite examples, and I wrote a book review about them that I don’t feel like paraphrasing so I’ll just repost here (also from previously mentioned old job, which owns the content so please see link above for sourcing):
…I read him mostly for his fiction, and if that’s all you’re interested in, I would suggest Ficciones, but Labyrinths includes essays and parables that give a broader insight into his brilliance. I’m a big fan of short stories. I think the constraint on space necessitates ingenious creativity and an incisiveness that punctuates your consciousness. I would be hard-pressed to name a writer who better embodies these envious qualities than Borges.
To praise a couple of my favorite stories: In “The Library of Babel,” he plunges you into a universe where all of existence occurs within hexagonal stacks of bookshelves going on seemingly for eternity, and the protagonist wrestles with the philosophical questions of his universe, which may or may not correspond with our own questions – in seven pages. In “The Garden of Forking Paths,” written in 1941, he basically posits the theory of the multiverse, in a story involving a Chinese spy for the Third Reich. Multiverse theory was reportedly first mentioned in the realm of physics by Erwin Schrödinger in a 1952 lecture. I love that fiction can imagine the surreal that might, somehow, turn out to be real-real.
My example of too much freedom hurting a creative work is obvious, but relatable: Game of Thrones. I read all the books and I like the show better. (I know their timeline was completely absurd last season, still better than the books.) I swear the books could’ve been half as long if George “I added R.R. to my pen name just to claim #1 Tolkien fanboy status” Martin just forced himself not to describe every single dish anyone ate or the intricate details of every piece of clothing anyone wore. (Actually I blame his editor. The books get longer as each previous one sells and GRRM gets more sway.)
My appreciation of constraints extends to my home and what I choose to surround myself with. I’m not a minimalist, I need a cozy comfort in my home that an aesthetically pleasing starkness can’t give, but I limit myself to four colors – blue, white, gray and dark wood.
That wasn’t always the case, but I found myself not using things I bought that were outside that color scheme. I used to feel like I should try something new and not be boring, but I guess I’m getting old and set in my ways. I just know what I like, and constraining myself in that way makes decisions easier and frees up more time to spend on other things. Like a self-imposed work uniform.
I also love plants in the house and through much (ongoing) trial and error I’ve gotten a lot better at keeping plants alive. But my longest-living houseplant is a jade, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that jades are happy to be root bound.
If you’re interested in other short story collections I recommend:
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Misreadings by Umberto Eco
Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov
Skin by Roald Dahl
The Abecedarium 