Literary notes about Inquiry (AI summary)
In literature, “inquiry” operates on several levels, often standing in for both formal investigations and broader intellectual pursuits. It is employed to describe official probes into mysterious or criminal circumstances, as when characters note that a matter would not go unnoticed at a coroner’s inquest [1] or when authoritative investigations are instituted by decree [2]. At the same time, the word captures the essence of reflective questioning—a deliberate process of thought used to dissect philosophical or societal issues [3][4]. It also appears in quieter, personal contexts where a character’s gentle query unveils underlying feelings or intensifies interpersonal dynamics [5][6]. In this way, “inquiry” enriches narratives by simultaneously driving plot developments and deepening thematic exploration, whether it be through dramatic, methodical investigations or the subtle workings of curiosity and self-reflection [7][8].
- It could only be a small one, or it would have been remarked upon at the coroner’s inquiry.
— from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - [86] A formal inquiry was made into this circumstance, by order of Charles the Fifth.
— from The Memoirs of the Conquistador Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Vol 1 (of 2) by Bernal Díaz del Castillo - Taken as a doubtful possibility, it affords a standpoint, a platform, a method of inquiry.
— from How We Think by John Dewey - But it is not the minds of heretics that are deteriorated most, by the ban placed on all inquiry which does not end in the orthodox conclusi
— from On Liberty by John Stuart Mill - he said, with a vigorous gesture of refusal, and he looked with gloomy inquiry towards Darya Alexandrovna.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - “Excuse me, ma'am, but this is by no means my intention; I make no inquiry myself, and should be sorry to have any made by my friends.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - “I have something to say to you, sir,” answered the Sergeant, “on the subject of the inquiry I am conducting here.
— from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins - By the way, there is one curious little point about those papers which may serve us as the starting-point for an inquiry.
— from The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle