Literary notes about Reflection (AI summary)
Literature employs the term "reflection" in multifaceted ways, ranging from a moment of introspection to the literal mirroring of images. In many works, it describes a pause for thoughtful deliberation—a meditative state where characters assess their experiences or moral choices ([1], [2], [3]). At other times, it denotes a physical phenomenon, as when a character gazes into a pond or mirror and sees not only their visage but an altered, often surprising, image of themselves ([4], [5], [6]). Moreover, reflection is invoked in philosophical settings to suggest the process by which sensory information is transformed into deeper insights, underscoring the interplay between appearance and inner truth ([7], [8], [9]). In this manner, writers use "reflection" to add layers of meaning, enriching both narrative technique and character development ([10], [11], [12]).
- A moment's reflection shewed her the mistake she had been under.
— from Persuasion by Jane Austen - Master Charles Bates, appalled by Sikes's crime, fell into a train of reflection whether an honest life was not, after all, the best.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - If, on reflection, I find I have fallen into no great absurdity, I shall try to forgive you; but it was not right.”
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë - When he recovered himself he had a sense that he was staring at the reflection of a stranger.
— from The Best Short Stories of 1917, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story - But the time was long to him, and he looked at the reflection of his face on the surface of the water.
— from Household Tales by Brothers Grimm by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm - There was a flash of lightning on the right, and, like a reflection in the looking-glass, at once a second flash in the distance.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - If the subject matter gets the better of the creation, the result is a mere replica of the event, not a reflection of it through the Artist's mind.
— from My Reminiscences by Rabindranath Tagore - But the impressions of reflection resolve themselves into our passions and emotions: none of which can possibly represent a substance.
— from A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume - Passion and presumptuous ignorance joining hands tried to oppose wisdom from on high, and have left behind only a faint reflection of it.”
— from Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos (Vol. 1 of 2) by Henri Mouhot - ATHENIAN: Upon reflection I see a way of imposing the law, which, in one respect, is easy, but, in another, is of the utmost difficulty.
— from Laws by Plato - I A very little quiet reflection was enough to satisfy Emma as to the nature of her agitation on hearing this news of Frank Churchill.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - she said, suddenly, after some minutes’ reflection.
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë