Great books are not loved. Their authors even less so. Great writers are not loved. Their books even less so. The former are always tainted by the suspicion that they are too free. The latter are suspected of allowing themselves this freedom. In either case, this freedom will never be enough for books and their authors. Enough to exhaust the possibilities of freedom itself. This is what gives rise to fear (provoking ‘hostility’, according to Bernhard). In this, they would not like their readers to be more self-sufficient than they are, which is more frightening still.