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Literary notes about abnormal (AI summary)

Over time, literary authors have deployed "abnormal" to evoke deviations from the usual—in nature, behavior, morality, or social conditions—in ways that span scientific, psychological, and cultural realms. Historical narratives have labeled eras or phenomena as abnormal to stress the extraordinary character of events, as in the depiction of an eccentric age in [1] or the abnormal social conditions influencing trade in [2]. On a personal level, characters often self-identify or are portrayed as abnormal, denoting deep-seated deviations from accepted norms—as seen in Chekhov’s reflections on moral degradation ([3], [4]) and in explorations of abnormal psychological states ([5], [6]). The term also finds use in the biological and natural sciences, where abnormal forms or conditions—be they in plants ([7], [8]) or in bodily secretions ([9])—underscore variations that challenge standard classifications. Even within political or sociological treatises ([10], [11]), authors use "abnormal" to signal departures from expected order, linking the concept to broader discussions about societal change and the limits of conformity.
  1. "It is an age of eccentricity, an abnormal era of the world's history.
    — from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon
  2. This has created abnormal conditions in the coffee trade.
    — from All About Coffee by William H. Ukers
  3. Yes, my life is abnormal, corrupted, of no use to any one, and what prevents me from beginning a new life is cowardice—there you are quite right.
    — from The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  4. The tone of his voice betrayed that he was conscious of his abnormal position and regretted it.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  5. Kraepelin, on the basis of his examination of abnormal mental states, offers a classification of types of psychopathic personalities.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  6. Case Studies of Mentally and Morally Abnormal Types.
    — from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park
  7. It was observed that the roots were thickened and presented an abnormal appearance.
    — from Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 44th Annual Meeting
  8. (14) Three abnormal nut types were also encountered growing concurrently with the normal types.
    — from Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 44th Annual Meeting
  9. It involves a rapid wasting away of nervous energy, an abnormal increase of detrimental secretions, as, for instance, that of bile into the stomach.
    — from Ecce Homo by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
  10. But in this scientific age money, by its very abnormal bulk, has won its throne.
    — from Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore
  11. This attitude of apathy and contempt is natural where the relationship is abnormal and founded upon national selfishness and pride.
    — from Nationalism by Rabindranath Tagore

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