Literary notes about Fatuity (AI summary)
In literature, fatuity is employed as a pointed descriptor for various kinds of folly—from the self-indulgent vanity that borders on empty conceit ([1]) to the broader social and political misjudgments that imperil institutions and erode public understanding ([2], [3]). Authors often deploy the term to capture moments when characters exhibit not only a lack of sense or discernment but also an almost ironic, bittersweet quality in their imprudence, as when a protagonist laments his personal missteps ([4], [5]). At times, fatuity even carries a subtle charm, suggesting that what might initially seem laughable or injudicious can expose deeper truths about human nature.
- This conviction was strengthened by his vanity and conceit, a conceit to the point of fatuity.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The peace of all British South Africa was seriously jeopardized by the weakness and fatuity of the Government of the Transvaal Republic.
— from History of the Zulu War by Alexander Wilmot - But in so far as it sits making the Constitution, on the other hand, it is a fatuity and chimera mainly.
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle - On the instant I realized my own fatuity and attempted to repair my error.
— from First Person Paramount by Ambrose Pratt - ‘I don’t know all I have done, in my fatuity,’ said Mr. Wickfield, putting out his hands, as if to deprecate my condemnation.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
