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Literary notes about Servant (AI summary)

In literature, the word servant is employed in a variety of contexts that extend far beyond its literal meaning. It appears in formal closings that affirm a writer’s loyalty and humility, as in letters where individuals sign off as “Your obedient servant” ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, narrative works use the figure of the servant to develop themes of class, duty, and the subtle dynamics of power—as when a humble character’s actions lend insight into social hierarchies and human frailty ([4], [5], [6]). Moreover, in biblical and allegorical texts, the servant symbolizes submission to divine or moral order, reflecting a relationship in which duty and obedience are paramount ([7], [8], [9]). Even in metaphoric expressions where the servant becomes emblematic of a guiding principle or internal disposition, the term continues to evoke questions about authority and the nature of service ([10], [11], [12]).
  1. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, Your obedient servant, ( Signed ) Wm.
    — from The American Occupation of the Philippines 1898-1912 by James H. Blount
  2. Their faithful Friend and Servant, C. D. December, 1843.
    — from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  3. I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, W. T. SHERMAN, Brigadier-General, commanding Division.
    — from Memoirs of General William T. Sherman — Complete by William T. Sherman
  4. From the poultry-yard was heard the screaming of the fowls whom the servant was chasing in order to wring their necks.
    — from Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
  5. We occupied a commodious carriage, our servant officiated as coachman.
    — from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
  6. Don’t be afraid, on that account, of my feelings as a man getting in the way of my duty as a servant!
    — from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
  7. And whosoever will be first among you shall be the servant of all.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  8. And worshipping, said: What saith my lord to his servant?
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  9. O Lord, for I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  10. If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master.
    — from Character and ConductA Book of Helpful Thoughts by Great Writers of Past and Present Ages
  11. Merry Report in Heywood’s Weather constantly moralizes, and speaks of himself as the servant of God in contrast with the devil.
    — from The Devil is an Ass by Ben Jonson
  12. Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master.
    — from The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

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