Literary notes about Detested (AI summary)
The term "detested" is deployed in literature to convey an intense, often visceral repudiation that can apply to people, behaviors, environments, or abstract concepts. It is used to construct relationships laden with personal and societal aversion, such as the immediate loathing that shapes a character’s fate [1] or deep-seated interpersonal disdain that colors social interactions [2]. Authors also employ the word to illustrate inner conflict and moral repugnance, as when characters resolve to avoid relationships or circumstances with which they are emotionally at odds [3, 4]. Its versatility in context—from domestic and political spheres to inner turmoil—demonstrates that "detested" serves as a powerful tool for evoking strong emotions and establishing the moral landscape of a narrative.
- From the first day that he came to the farm, Lecacheur's wife had detested him, and now she was sure that he had committed the theft.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - "Ma, I always hated and detested Mr. Quale!"
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - I began by stating my firm resolve to die rather than wed a being I detested.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - And I, who here detested real misery, was there seeking unreal happiness.
— from The Confessions of St. Augustine by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine
