Literary notes about Regret (AI summary)
Throughout literature, "regret" emerges as a complex emotion that reflects everything from personal remorse to philosophical musing. In some works, characters express regret as a bittersweet acknowledgment of past choices and losses—for instance, the reflective sorrow found in the musings of older individuals who fear wasting the fruits of their long-lived labors ([1]), or the resigned lament of missed opportunities ([2], [3]). At times, regret is interwoven with gratitude or hope, as seen when it coexists with a recognition of life’s transient beauty, even amidst deep discord ([4]). Philosophical texts invite readers to reconsider regret as a framework for understanding determinism and moral reflection ([5], [6]), while other narratives use it to propel character interactions and underscore the inescapable consequences of actions ([7], [8]). This multifaceted use in literature not only adds layers to character development but also challenges readers to contemplate the intricate relationship between choice, consequence, and the passage of time.
- The old regret life more than the young; they do not want to lose all they have spent in preparing for its enjoyment.
— from Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau - I know you warned me against it, and I wish I had listened to you: but it’s too late to regret that now.
— from Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë - It was some days before she saw Jane Fairfax, to judge of her honest regret in this woeful change; but when they did meet, her composure was odious.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - It brought a jar of discord, a pang of regret; it was not flattering, yet, after all, I ought to be thankful; it might have been worse.
— from Villette by Charlotte Brontë - Thus, our deterministic pessimism may become a deterministic optimism at the price of extinguishing our judgments of regret.
— from The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James - Murder and treachery cannot be good without regret being bad: regret cannot be good without treachery and murder being bad.
— from The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James - “All I regret,” said he, “is, that I shall see my poor parents no more; but for that, I should await death calmly, and almost with joy.”
— from Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China (Siam), Cambodia, and Laos (Vol. 1 of 2) by Henri Mouhot - “I could pass my life here,” said he to me; “and among these mountains I should scarcely regret Switzerland and the Rhine.”
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
