Literary notes about Substitute (AI summary)
The use of "substitute" in literature is remarkably versatile, functioning not only as a simple replacement for one tangible object with another but also as a metaphor for more abstract or symbolic stand-ins. Authors employ the term to denote a deliberate swap—such as replacing a genuine substance with a lesser one or adopting an alternative method in place of tradition—thereby inviting readers to reflect on authenticity and value ([1], [2], [3]). In some narratives, practical exchanges are detailed, where one item, like a wig or a different means of travel, takes the place of a lost or preferred original ([4], [5]), while in other works, the word extends into the realm of ideas, substituting established rituals or beliefs with modern equivalents or even entirely new constructs ([6], [7], [8]). Furthermore, the concept is harnessed in discussions of language and style, serving to illustrate shifts in meaning or grammatical adjustments ([9]), and in dramatic storytelling, where it encapsulates themes of replacement and transformation within personal relationships and societal roles ([10], [11]).
- For "real" therefore, we must substitute ordinary, or lingua communis.
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - “The originally valuable offering is compromised for a smaller tribute or a cheaper substitute, dwindling at last to a mere trifling token or symbol.”
— from Malay Magic by Walter William Skeat - He thought the plums would be a substitute for the molasses, but we were not to be cheated out of our rights in this way.
— from Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana - we determined to leave the white perogue at this place, and substitute the Iron boat, and also to make a further deposit of a part of our stores.
— from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis - The early loss of his hair obliged Mr. —— to procure the substitute of a wig.
— from Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie - If the real Prince Charming was never to come she would have none of a substitute.
— from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery - The drink sacrifice was originally the blood of the sacrificed animals; wine was used later as a substitute for the blood.
— from Totem and Taboo by Sigmund Freud - It is no EXPLANATION of our concrete universe, it is another thing altogether, a substitute for it, a remedy, a way of escape.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - In which of the sentences that you have written (under 3 and 4) would it be possible to substitute an of -phrase for the possessive?
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - From the moment when Marius took his place, and was the substitute, Cosette would not have regretted God himself.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - But—oh, Rosalind! Rosalind!... “It's all a poor substitute at best,” he said sadly.
— from This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald