Literary notes about Innocent (AI summary)
In literature, the term "innocent" assumes a variety of nuanced meanings, ranging from moral purity and naivety to ironic or even tragic vulnerability. On one hand, it describes characters who are simple, sincere, and free from wrongdoing or guile, as seen in portrayals of youthful or uncorrupted individuals ([1], [2], [3]). On the other hand, the word often carries an ironic charge, highlighting deceptive appearances by juxtaposing an unassuming exterior with hidden motives, much like Shakespeare’s image of an "innocent flower" concealing the serpent within ([4], [5]). Additionally, "innocent" is employed to intensify the impact of injustice, whether by emphasizing a wrongful accusation or the collateral damage of corruption, as when guilt is misattributed or when harmless lives are sacrificed for political ends ([6], [7], [8]). This multifaceted use of "innocent" enriches literary narratives by inviting readers to question the apparent simplicity of a character or situation and to explore the deeper moral ambiguities beneath the surface ([9], [10]).
- To abandon the artless, innocent girl seemed to me an awful crime of which I could not be guilty, and the mere idea of it made me shudder.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - I, at nine years old, was not so untaught, or innocent.
— from The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 2 by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb - A little innocent child was weeping, and praying for mercy for her.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - To beguile the time, Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue; look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it.
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - Look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under it.
— from Composition-Rhetoric by Stratton D. (Stratton Duluth) Brooks - You cast the suspicion of your disgrace (thanks to my base silence!) on an innocent man!
— from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - However innocent he might be, he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the circumstances were very black against him.
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - For every guilty person they catch, they have to punish thousands of innocent people.
— from Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - He had for years been known as a professional beggar, but his life appeared to have been a very quiet and innocent one.
— from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - "No need to lose your temper, young innocent.
— from Fathers and Sons by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev