Literary notes about Impecunious (AI summary)
In literature, "impecunious" is often used to vividly characterize individuals or groups defined by financial shortfall, frequently imbuing them with a blend of resilience, irony, or even nobility despite their economic hardships. For instance, a captain whose significant gain is all the more meaningful because of his impecunious status ([1]) contrasts sharply with a refined figure depicted as the “impecunious count,” whose title belies his lack of wealth ([2]). The descriptor also serves as a vehicle for social commentary; characters from impoverished lovers facing societal challenges ([3]) to aristocrats forced into unseemly financial decisions ([4], [5]) all underscore the nuanced interplay between social standing and poverty. This multifaceted usage enriches narratives by highlighting how economic condition can shape character and plot in both poignant and satirical ways.
- Trifling though such a sum might seem to many people, to the impecunious Captain it represented a very substantial and satisfactory gain.
— from The Grey Monk by T. W. (Thomas Wilkinson) Speight - A gentleman by his bearing, debonair and graceful, he looks the very picture of an impecunious count.
— from My Wonderful Visit by Charlie Chaplin - In the meantime silence and faithfulness was the only resource of the impecunious lovers.
— from The Learned Lady in England, 1650-1760 by Myra Reynolds - The register is crowded with the names of earls and barons, all of whose monuments were sold by the impecunious and callous marquis for £100.
— from Milton's England by Lucia True Ames Mead - Then, in 1784, Philippe-Égalité, finding himself in an impecunious condition, conceived a fine plan for making money.
— from Historic Paris by Jetta Sophia Wolff
