Literary notes about Importance (AI summary)
In literature, the term is employed to gauge and signal the relative significance of events, ideas, or characteristics. At times it underscores the weight of an incident or mission, as when a character’s actions are imbued with “the highest importance” ([1]) or when a duty is accepted “of great importance” ([2]). Conversely, authors often use the word to remark on triviality, noting that something is “not considered of great importance” ([3]) or merely “of slight importance” ([4]). It may also serve an ironic purpose, highlighting the discrepancy between perceived and actual significance, such as when everyday moments or mundane facts are elevated or diminished in a character's narrative ([5], [6]). Overall, the term functions both as a marker of pivotal moments and as a tool to challenge the reader’s judgment on what truly merits attention.
- “I have come on an affair of the highest importance,” she said, “and if I fail I shall for ever lose the reputation of a diplomatist.”
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - A young officer of the Horse Guards, Kutúzov’s orderly, pleased at the importance of the mission entrusted to him, went to Ermólov’s quarters.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - But here it was evident that the matter was not considered of great importance.
— from A True Friend: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant - Natural Selection: its power compared with man's selection, its power on characters of trifling importance, its power at all ages and on both sexes.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - At half-past two, an event occurred of daily importance to Mr. Joseph: the dinner-hour arrived.
— from Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - "I could see that although my uncle was annoyed at what had passed, he did not attach to my words the importance they deserved.
— from Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by Aaron Bernstein
