Literary notes about Exasperation (AI summary)
In literature, exasperation functions as a powerful emotional marker that illustrates a character’s threshold of irritation or dismay. It can signal both a sudden outburst of disbelief or anger, as when a character exclaims in incredulity amid extreme frustration [1, 2, 3], and a more gradual, simmering sense of impotence or contempt that colors interactions and internal monologues [4, 5, 6]. Authors deploy the term to reflect personal crises or even collective discontent—imbuing historical narratives and societal commentaries with a palpable tension [7, 8, 9]. This nuanced use of exasperation enriches the texture of narrative, allowing readers to viscerally experience the characters' struggles against circumstances perceived as overwhelming.
- "What!" cried I, in the height of my exasperation, "we are on the way to an eruption, are we?
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - “Why not?” said Nikolay Levin, now turning with exasperation upon Kritsky.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - As for him, I saw him grow pale also, pale with rage and exasperation, ready also perhaps to commit any violence.
— from Complete Original Short Stories of Guy De Maupassant by Guy de Maupassant - In the name of—of brimstone, why?" says Grandfather Smallweed with a plain appearance of exasperation.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - She attacked the driver with exasperation.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Would exasperation, however, if relief had longer been postponed, finally have betrayed me?
— from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - The cause was evidently the exasperation of the Aetolians, and of the war with Antiochus.
— from The Histories of Polybius, Vol. 1 (of 2) by Polybius - The exasperation of the commons and soldiers against the consul was then augmented.
— from The History of Rome, Books 01 to 08 by Livy - The Provinces, the Southern Cities feel it in their turn; and what it brings: Exasperation, preternatural Suspicion.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle
