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Literary notes about Mysterious (AI summary)

In literature, "mysterious" is often employed to evoke an atmosphere of intrigue and uncertainty, hinting at forces or events that defy immediate explanation. It can describe unreal phenomena—a sword that appears on the banks of a river to wound its owner [1]—or signal subtle changes in character and circumstance, such as a shift so profound that it leaves one wide awake with amazement [2]. The word also imbues scenes with hidden depths or secretive qualities, whether in the enigmatic index finger that appears in darkness [3], the puzzling disappearance of an artist [4], or the inexplicable power that lifts a vessel from the water in a surreal fashion [5]. Through such uses, "mysterious" deepens the narrative by inviting readers to explore layers of meaning beyond the immediately visible.
  1. He lived on the banks of the Liu-sha Ho, where every seventh day a mysterious sword appeared and wounded him in the neck.
    — from Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. Werner
  2. A mysterious change had taken place—so mysterious a change that he was shocked wider awake.
    — from White Fang by Jack London
  3. He was counselled to the one which alarmed him by that mysterious index finger which we all perceive whenever we fix our eyes on the darkness.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  4. Now they have got the mysterious disappearance of an artist.
    — from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
  5. It was lifted right out of the water by some wondrous and mysterious power, and then started off twenty fathoms distant.
    — from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

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