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Literary notes about Disguise (AI summary)

In literature, disguise is a versatile device serving both literal and metaphorical purposes. Characters don physical disguises to traverse unfamiliar territories or hide their true identities, as seen when a narrative figure throws off his black cassock to reveal his authentic self ([1]) or when one masquerades intentionally to avoid detection ([2]). Beyond mere clothing, disguise becomes a symbol for the concealment of emotions or truths; a character might withhold the display of inner despair or joy, choosing not to mask—or to reveal—their genuine feelings ([3], [4]). Authors also use the term in a broader, more figurative sense, suggesting that cloaked intentions or even social pretensions can both mislead and illuminate hidden realities ([5], [6]). Thus, disguise in literature is not solely about altering outward appearances, but also about exploring the complexities of identity and perception.
  1. He rose, and throwing off the black cassock and hat which had formed his disguise, he packed them away in a hand-bag.
    — from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
  2. There I put on this disguise, and, accompanied by the servant, proceeded to meet him.
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  3. “At least I hope so,” said the novice, with an expression of joy which she made no effort to disguise.
    — from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
  4. how can I bear it?’ was the first sentence he uttered, in a tone that did not seek to disguise his despair.
    — from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  5. The wealth of two empires was ostentatiously displayed; and many senators completed their ruin, by an expensive effort to disguise their poverty.
    — from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
  6. “It would be quite unnecessary,” replied Ratchcali, “for a man in my present situation to equivocate or disguise the truth.
    — from The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete by T. Smollett

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