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Literary notes about Drawback (AI summary)

In literature the term "drawback" often serves as a concise way to denote a limitation or disadvantage that colors character, plot, or argument. Authors wield the word to highlight a flaw or impediment that might seem minor on its surface yet carry significant narrative weight. In narratives about personal misfortune or physical decline, such as the subtle commentary on an illness foretelling a character’s deterioration [1], "drawback" is used to foreshadow further complications. It can describe social or practical constraints, as when a financial or logistical hindrance is noted in discussions of economic systems or travel arrangements [2, 3]. At times the term even acquires a humorous or ironic nuance, labeling imperfections that add complexity to a character’s persona or to a proposal, be it in the context of marriage, professional life, or creative undertaking [4, 5, 6]. Thus, whether remarking on a personal flaw that limits opportunity or a systemic shortcoming that hampers progress, "drawback" functions as a versatile literary device to remind readers that every ideal often carries with it an inherent imperfection [7, 8].
  1. If it was not for the drawback of her illness—but I am afraid we must expect to see her grown thin, and looking very poorly.
    — from Emma by Jane Austen
  2. All manufactures of leather may be exported duty free; and the exporter is besides entitled to the drawback of the whole duties of excise.
    — from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
  3. The chief drawback to travel in this region, aside from the roads, is not the character of the people, but the quality of bed and board.
    — from Our Southern Highlanders by Horace Kephart
  4. The only drawback was the doubt of her aunt Bertram's being comfortable without her.
    — from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  5. The real drawback to marriage is that it makes one unselfish.
    — from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  6. [anxiously] What drawback is that, Mr Ramsden?
    — from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw
  7. One great drawback to Simplified Spelling is, that in print a simplified word looks so like the very nation!
    — from What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain
  8. Indifference had been his greatest drawback, his defect, his vice.
    — from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant

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