Works of art exist simultaneously in two economies, a market economy and a gift economy…a work of art can survive without the market, but where there is no gift there is no art."
-- Lewis Hyde (Introduction paragraph 3)

Importance: This quote outlines the main terms of Hyde’s overarching thesis for the book and forecasts the direction his analyses will take in explore the paradox of understanding art and creativity through the language of the gift.

The opposite of ‘Indian giver’ would be something like ‘white man keeper’ (or maybe capitalist), that is, a person whose instinct is to remove property from circulation, to put it in a warehouse or museum (or, more to the point for capitalism, to lay it aside to be used for production).
-- Lewis Hyde (chapter 1 paragraph 2)

Importance: This quote is situated within the context of Hyde’s earlier examinations of tribal societies that function on a gift economy. Hyde takes a now derogatory epithet and...