Literary notes about Fastidious (AI summary)
The term "fastidious" is deployed in literature to evoke a sense of meticulous refinement or, at times, an almost fussy disposition. In some works, it characterizes individuals whose exacting standards underscore their refined taste and delicate sensibilities—as when a character’s fastidious nature highlights a precise and cultured demeanor [1, 2]. Other texts use it more pejoratively, suggesting an excessive or even obstinate attention to detail, whether in matters of personal grooming, artistic creation, or even culinary predilection [3, 4, 5]. Authors like Jane Austen and Henry James often employ "fastidious" to reveal nuances of character and social behavior, while other writers extend its meaning to encompass refined, almost artistic behaviors in both human and natural settings [6, 7, 8].
- I was simply the most fastidious young gentleman living.
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - He was at the same time haughty, reserved, and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - “I would not be so fastidious as you are,” cried Mr. Bingley, “for a kingdom!
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - It was slow work, fastidious and delicate, and Martin did not learn it so readily.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - The count appeared, dressed with the greatest simplicity, but the most fastidious dandy could have found nothing to cavil at in his toilet.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - No wild nature here: rather a most aristocratic mountain landscape made by a fastidious artist-creator.
— from Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw - My dear cousin" (sitting down by her), "you have a better right to be fastidious than almost any other woman I know; but will it answer?
— from Persuasion by Jane Austen - Mr. Poe wrote with fastidious difficulty, and in a style too much above the popular level to be well paid.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 1 by Edgar Allan Poe
