Schopenhauer's "Veil of Mâyâ"
The ancient wisdom of the Indian philosophers declares, 'It is Maya, the veil of deception, which blinds the eyes of mortals, and makes them behold a world of which they cannot say either that it is or that it is not:  for it is like a dream; it is like the sunshine on the sand which the traveller takes from afar for water. . .' (These similes are repeated in innumerable passages of the Vedas and the Puranas.)  But what all these mean, and that of which they all speak, is nothing more than what we have just considered- the world as idea subject to the principle of sufficient reason (Schopenhauer The World. . . ,9).
In other words, Schopenhauer concludes humans mutilate objects or ideas into their own interpretations, whether it be works of art or writing.  The concept of the Veil of Mâyâ pertains to the liberal arts, for they seem to be the easiest to twist, since their purposes and meanings are not always as straightforward nor as acceptable as the rest of this "easy" world.  For instance, American society in the early 1900's did not accept Gertrude Stein's short story, "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene," which is included in The Short Story and Its Writer.  Back then the people considered the story and it's topic, which was the issue of being gay, as quite unconventional; in turn, the short story's publication did not take place until 1922 which was fourteen years after Stein actually wrote it in 1908 (Pittas-Giroux). Humans prevail to entertain ceaseless efforts of explanations that are rarely answering the proper questions. The ideal questions to raise are, in fact, those which Stein stresses in "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene", the how and the why, rather than the what.  Unfortunately, Schopenhauer discusses those trapped in the Veil of Mâyâ are unable to identify the how and the why as Stein exemplified in the short story; she had "only given" the readers "the how and the why" of the story (Pittas-Giroux).  Schopenhauer states "the web of Mâyâ" is "a method which does not concern itself with the whence, the whither, and the why of the world, but always and everywhere demands only the what" (Schopenhauer TheWorld . . .,353).  Because people distort any subject or matter into their own explanation, they hardly realize or appreciate the subject in and of itself.
    Schopenhauer's Veil of Mâyâ is "the knowledge which belongs to the principle of sufficient reason, with which no one can penetrate to the inner nature of things, but endlessly pursue phenomena, moving without end or aim." (Schopenhauer The World . . ., 353).  Gertrude Stein's piece of literature provides excellent examples of Schopenhauer's principle.  This principle of sufficient reason contains two forms, time and space (Schopenhauer The World . . ., 9).  "Miss Furr and Miss Skeene" satisfies this principle by referring directly to the time and space of the story.  Stein continuously mentions throughout the writing the "then" and the "there" without, ironically, giving a specific time or place (Pittas-Giroux).  Therefore, Stein's short story is a piece of literature which adequately fulfills the two requirements that make up the principle of sufficient reason.
    Schopenhauer uses the example of the Cathedral of Mayence to illustrate his view on appreciation.  In Studies in Pessimism he writes, "the Cathedral of Mayence is so shut in by the houses that are built round about it that there is no one spot from which you can see it as a whole" (Schopenhauer Studies in Pessimism, 140).  Schopenhauer explains, a creation of beauty "ought to exist for its own sake alone, but before long it is misused to serve alien ends" (Schopenhauer Studies in Pessimism, 140).  "People come from all directions wanting to find in it support and maintenance for themselves; they stand in the way and spoil its effect" (Schopenhauer Studies in Pessimism, 140).
    Schopenhauer exhausts numerous other ways of analyzing art rather than the most frequently called upon "what"; in his belief he shares similar views on art with Susan Sontag.  It is obvious Sontag stresses her views in the same respects as Schopenhauer; she just reasons differently.  Please refer to the main menu to see a summary on Sontag's essay, "Against Interpretation".