Literary notes about Mite (AI summary)
The word "mite" has long been employed in literature as a multifaceted term, evoking both a sense of minuteness and a measure of modest contribution. In classic narratives, for example, authors like L. M. Montgomery ([1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]) and Louisa May Alcott ([7], [8], [9], [10]) use "mite" to suggest a small, yet significant, quantity—whether in reference to a morsel of food or a token of affection—while in satirical and moral essays by Alexander Pope ([11], [12], [13], [14]) it poetically underscores the idea that even the smallest part should not be robbed. Similarly, in works ranging from Aesop’s fables ([15]) to Chekhov’s short stories ([16], [17], [18]) and even in historical and social commentary ([19], [20], [21]), the term carries a dual imagery of physical diminutiveness and symbolic worth. Thus, across a wide swath of literary genres, "mite" persistently resonates as both an indicator of literal smallness and a metaphor for the humble contributions that cumulatively make a significant impact.
- " Never, in all her life, had Rilla seen anything like the abject meekness with which those two big people obeyed that mite.
— from Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery - The Elisha Wrights are thankful to be rid of her, and I can’t say I blame them a mite.”
— from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery - I'll come when I can, and you come when you can, and so long's we have our pleasant little chat it don't matter a mite what roof's over us.
— from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery - ‘My, you don’t look a mite like I expected.
— from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery - It don’t matter a mite.
— from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery - It's a mite lonely, to be sure, with neither the light nor the water for company, but if our friends come to see us often we'll weather it through.
— from Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery - "'Not a mite more than I ought, ma'am.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - "I should not wait for that, and I know mother would give her widow's mite if she saw that it was needed."
— from Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott - “I've only held his head—I haven't given him a mite of medicine.
— from Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter - The cake ain't hurt a mite, and everything looks lovely."
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - Commas and points they set exactly right, And ’twere a sin to rob them of their mite.
— from An Essay on Man; Moral Essays and Satires by Alexander Pope - Say what the use, were finer optics given, To inspect a mite, not comprehend the heaven?
— from An Essay on Man; Moral Essays and Satires by Alexander Pope - Commas and points they set exactly right, And 'twere a sin to rob them of their mite.
— from The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems by Alexander Pope - Say what the use, were finer optics giv'n, T' inspect a mite, not comprehend the heav'n?
— from The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems by Alexander Pope - Let this be their just object, and not one among the relieved would withhold his mite from their suffering fellows in other climes.
— from Aesop's Fables by Aesop - When I looked at this poor mite just now, I thought of my own Grishutka, and my heart went cold within me.”
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - “Poor motherless mite!”
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Poor mite, God has preserved you, poor little one!
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - I've been lookin' round and watchin' things, and I know a little mite 'bout Woman's Rights, too.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - I wanted to tell you a mite about Woman's Rights, and so I came out and said so.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I - I come forth to speak 'bout Woman's Rights, and want to throw in my little mite, to keep the scales a-movin'.
— from History of Woman Suffrage, Volume I