Literary notes about Cape (AI summary)
In literature, “cape” carries a dual significance, evoking both the wild geography of distant shores and a distinctive element of personal attire. As a geographic feature, it designates imposing promontories that often mark the edge of the known world—Cabo de Finisterra [1], Cape Horn [2], or even the turning point of a long voyage [3]—lending a sense of adventure, isolation, or danger to the narrative. Simultaneously, as a garment, the cape is imbued with symbolic weight; it can denote mystery or transformation, as when a character remarks, “I don’t need my cape after all” [4] or is enveloped in a rough cloak that conceals his identity [5]. This versatility makes the word “cape” a potent literary device, enriching both settings and character portrayals with layered meaning.
- 3090 Supposed by Ansart to have dwelt in the vicinity of the Celtic promontory, now Cabo de Finisterra or Cape Finisterre.
— from The Natural History of Pliny, Volume 1 (of 6) by the Elder Pliny - By these diminutions, we were short-handed for a voyage round Cape Horn in the dead of winter.
— from Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana - Then at last he turned again to the east, and found that he had doubled the Cape.
— from A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499 - “I don’t need my cape after all,” said she.
— from Bliss, and other stories by Katherine Mansfield - He was wrapped in a large rough cape, which concealed his form and partly his face.
— from Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
