Literary notes about Evening (AI summary)
In literature, "evening" frequently functions as both a literal marker of time and a subtle symbol for transition or transformation. Authors use it to set the mood or denote pivotal moments, as seen when the comfort of an evening is disrupted ([1]) or when it provides a reflective pause in a character’s day ([2], [3]). In some narratives, evening is tied to social rituals and formalities—for example, as a greeting or sign of proper attire ([4], [5])—while in others it plays a role in the progression of events, marking the time for critical decisions or escapes ([6], [7]). Whether signaling the gentle close of a day ([8], [9]) or advancing the narrative in travel logs and historical records ([10], [11]), the word "evening" is adapted across genres to evoke a spectrum of emotions and themes.
- The comfort of the whole evening was destroyed.
— from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - Her mind was going over the events of the evening.
— from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser - She had finished her day of school, and was free to plunge into the glowing evening of Cossethay.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - She then bid me good-evening and withdrew.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - dress; court dress, full dress, evening dress, ball dress, fancy dress; tailoring, millinery, man millinery, frippery, foppery, equipage.
— from Roget's Thesaurus by Peter Mark Roget - Accordingly, one evening, just as the sun had set, and while his keeper's eye was off him, he fled.
— from Fox's Book of Martyrs by John Foxe - But he would hang about me, till one evening I found the courage to slam the door in his face.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - I was walking alone in the garden, one evening, about a fortnight afterwards.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - It was evening.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - Collins & Windsir returned this evening with one Deer which they had Killed.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis - This evening we finished cureing the meat.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis