Literary notes about Intrude (AI summary)
The word "intrude" has been used in literature with a range of nuanced meanings, from a polite hesitance to assert oneself into another’s space or conversation, to a forceful, and sometimes unwelcome, entrance into a private realm. In many examples, characters express regret at the prospect of entering someone’s personal or emotional sanctuary, as when a gentleman hesitates before disturbing Sir Henry’s acquaintance [1] or vows not to "intrude upon your solitude" [2]. Conversely, the term is sometimes employed in a more literal or physical sense, describing the act of imposing oneself into spaces that are not one's own, whether that be venturing into forbidding environments where no man should dare intrude [3] or boldly stepping into a private domestic sphere [4]. Even in playful or metaphorical contexts, such as the crawling shape that unexpectedly appears [5], “intrude” carries with it the connotation of uninvited interference, whether in social interaction or the natural order. Overall, the varied usage of “intrude” in these literary excerpts highlights both the tension and the social delicacy surrounding the act of entering another’s domain without invitation [6, 7].
- Do you think that I should intrude if I were to call this afternoon and make the acquaintance of Sir Henry?”
— from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - I don't want to intrude upon you at all, or to let it become known to anybody.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - Who can follow an animal which can traverse the sea of ice and inhabit caves and dens where no man would venture to intrude?
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - He was reading in the little alcove; and I said, Sir, am I licensed to intrude upon you?—No, my dear, said he, because you cannot intrude.
— from Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson - But see, amid the mimic rout A crawling shape intrude!
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - "I have not come to intrude upon you at the Court, my dear uncle," said the young man, as the baronet shook him by the hand in his own hearty fashion.
— from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon - " "But I cannot intrude—" "You do not intrude, nor do you in the least embarrass my project.
— from Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne