Literary notes about Mystifying (AI summary)
In literature, "mystifying" is often employed to imbue situations, characters, or narrative twists with an air of the inexplicable, inviting readers to confront ambiguity head‑on. Writers use the term to suggest that certain events or behaviors, whether playful deceptions or profound mysteries, resist straightforward explanation—adding layers of complexity and inviting deeper interpretation. For instance, it is applied to describe bewildering cinematic phenomena and confusing spiritual dialogues [1], while also characterizing deceptive antics that both entertain and puzzle [2, 3]. In other contexts, "mystifying" underscores the elusive nature of motives or occurrences, enhancing suspense and deepening thematic intrigue within the work [4, 5, 6].
- This question one afternoon from Master Mahasaya was mystifying; the term was then used in India to signify motion pictures.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Porthos fancied they were mystifying him, and began to curl his mustache and knit his eyebrows; but the knee of Mme.
— from The three musketeers by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - She was highly delighted in playing such a mischievous prank and completely mystifying and embarrassing a poor boy.
— from White Nights and Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - His report was at first mystifying, then startling, and finally perplexing.
— from The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, August, 1913Vol. LXXXVI. New Series: Vol. LXIV. May to October, 1913 by Various - In the interval Winterbourne had often thought of Daisy Miller and her mystifying manners.
— from Daisy Miller: A Study by Henry James - Afterward, when I had found my way back to the Crimson Tower, I searched for hours for something that might give a clue to Adric's mystifying past.
— from Falcons of Narabedla by Marion Zimmer Bradley
