Literary notes about Inanimate (AI summary)
In literature, the term “inanimate” fluidly traverses both literal and metaphorical realms, serving to highlight the stark contrast between the living and the lifeless. In some works, it straightforwardly denotes objects devoid of life—as in descriptions of inert bodies or unanimated volumes ([1], [2], [3])—while in other texts it attains more nuanced meanings. For example, authors like Émile Durkheim and David Hume use “inanimate” to delineate between what renews itself and what does not, thereby philosophically probing the nature of existence ([4], [5], [6]). Meanwhile, novelists such as Mary Shelley and Jules Verne evoke the eerie quality of inanimacy when lifeless bodies or objects are imbued with a haunting presence or even quasi-vital traits ([7], [8], [9]). This wide-ranging application—from concrete physicality to abstract existential reflection—demonstrates the term’s literary versatility and its capacity to both ground narrative descriptions and elevate metaphorical discourse ([10], [11], [12]).
- The young man raised the arm, which fell back by its own weight, perfectly inanimate and helpless.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - What praise, even of an inanimate form, if the regularity and elegance of its parts destroy not its fitness for any useful purpose!
— from An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals by David Hume - Inanimate things, as a Church, an Hospital, a Bridge, may be Personated by a Rector, Master, or Overseer.
— from Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes - The most notable distinction between living and inanimate beings is that the former maintain themselves by renewal.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - It is held, he says, that there is a time when men do not realize the differences which separate the animate from the inanimate.
— from The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life by Émile Durkheim - The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - The moment at length came when, facing the solid rock, I knew my fate, and fell inanimate on the arid floor!
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - Noirtier’s eye still retained its inanimate expression.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - I never saw so much expression in an inanimate thing before, and we all know how much expression they have!
— from The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman - “It is when my umbrella turns inside out that I am convinced of the total depravity of inanimate things,” she said gaily.
— from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
