Literary notes about acceptance (AI summary)
The term "acceptance" in literature is remarkably versatile, reflecting both the quiet resignation of personal circumstances and the formal affirmation inherent in social or legal contexts. It can indicate a subtle surrender or internal transformation, as when a character’s slight movement signals both triumph and resignation ([1], [2]). At times, it defines a binding agreement or a moment of decision that confers finality and formality, underscoring the gravity of commitment ([3], [4], [5]). Moreover, "acceptance" frequently operates as a symbolic device, capturing the tension between emotional vulnerability and the strength to acknowledge challenging truths—whether in the form of personal defeat or the embrace of a higher, often reluctant, responsibility ([6], [7], [8]). Its usage, spanning everything from contractual consent to a philosophical recognition of light and truth ([9], [10]), enriches narratives by compelling readers to consider the nuanced interplay of willingness and resignation in human experience ([11], [12]).
- There seemed a little prance of triumph in his movement, she could not rid herself of a movement of acquiescence, a touch of acceptance.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence - In this avowal there was something more than acceptance of humiliation, there was acceptance of peril.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - When I come home, I'll make them for you, and desire your acceptance.
— from Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson - And, since first-class magazines always paid on acceptance, there was a check inside.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - INDEX ToC Acceptance of an invitation, 122-123 ; to a formal dinner, 187 , 188 ; to an informal dinner, 125 ; to a wedding, 111 .
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - A friend to whom she confided her history ridiculed her grave acceptance of her position; and all was over with her peace of mind.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - She smiled her acceptance; and nothing less than a summons from Richmond was to take him back before the following evening.
— from Emma by Jane Austen - It had blocked his acceptance of the Church; it blocked his acceptance of Tess.
— from Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman by Thomas Hardy - For our power to judge is proportioned to our acceptance of this light.
— from The City of God, Volume I by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine - Doubtless many clergymen prefer finish to fervor—let them choose: they are rarely men who sway the masses to acceptance of their message.
— from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein - And yet—there was a rebellious spirit in her which wondered whether the acceptance might not have been less delicate and more beautiful.
— from A Room with a View by E. M. Forster - And would not my four months' silence appear to him a tacit acceptance of our situation?
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
