Literary notes about Ennui (AI summary)
In literature, "ennui" is employed to evoke a deep, often existential boredom that permeates both individual experience and broader societal conditions. Some authors depict it as a relentless specter—one that drives characters to seek distraction through rigorous pursuits, as when a man is described as "hunted by ennui" and forced into methodical study ([1]). In other instances, the word serves as a metaphor for the stifling atmosphere of a place, imbuing settings like a "Castle Ennui" with an air of ironic confinement ([2]). Writers also use "ennui" to underline the inner contradictions of life; while personal dissatisfaction breeds despair and misanthropy in the isolated spirit ([3]), it may also be countered by the stirring forces of passion, as suggested when love or gratitude banishes its power ([4]). Such varied usages highlight the term's capacity to capture the multifaceted ennui of modern existence.
- Hunted by ennui, he could no longer escape, and, by way of a summer school, he began a methodical survey--a triangulation--of the twelfth century.
— from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams - "The dungeons of Castle Ennui," she repeated meditatively.
— from The Wit and Humor of America, Volume X (of X) - He had absolutely nothing to do, almost died of ennui , and became a confirmed misanthrope.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Oh, believe me, that when three great passions, such as sorrow, love, and gratitude fill the heart, ennui can find no place.”
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet
