Literary notes about Divergence (AI summary)
In literature, the term divergence is employed to evoke the idea of separation or a growing distance between entities—be they species, opinions, states of being, or even narrative themes. It can capture the gradual process by which a single origin splits into myriad paths, as seen in discussions of natural selection [1][2][3] or when drawing attention to differences in perspective and practice, such as the narrowing gap between divergent viewpoints in society or art [4][5][6][7]. This versatile usage not only underscores distinctions—whether genetic, intellectual, or cultural—but also implies a dynamic evolution of ideas and characters, making divergence a potent literary device for reflecting change and complexity [8][9].
- Divergence of Character, related to the diversity of inhabitants of any small area, and to naturalisation.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - Action of Natural Selection, through Divergence of Character and Extinction, on the descendants from a common parent.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - THE PROBABLE EFFECTS OF THE ACTION OF NATURAL SELECTION THROUGH DIVERGENCE OF CHARACTER AND EXTINCTION, ON THE DESCENDANTS OF A COMMON ANCESTOR.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - So it is important to determine the actual extent of this divergence.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim - A most decided divergence of opinion manifested itself as touching the real relation of Greek and Latin.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - If the divergence is too wide, or the unison too close, there is, it seems to me, no room for poetry.
— from My Reminiscences by Rabindranath Tagore - Up to that time I had felt inclined to ascribe it to the divergence of our respective views on artistic points.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - It is the very demon for conveying similarities of sound that are miracles of divergence from similarity of sense.
— from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain - " The race divergence under the system of miseducation was fast getting wider.
— from Up from Slavery: An Autobiography by Booker T. Washington
