Literary notes about admittance (AI summary)
The term “admittance” functions with rich versatility in literature, serving as both a literal and symbolic gateway. In many narratives, it designates physical entry—ranging from a consort’s demand in a domestic scene ([1]) and the exclusionary policies at club gates ([2]), to the simple signifiers of opening a door ([3], [4]). Meanwhile, in works like Joyce’s brief command “No admittance except on business” ([5]) or the military imagery of gaining entry through padlocked grates ([6]), it highlights the institutional rigor or barriers of various settings. Symbolically, “admittance” extends to more intangible realms—such as entering the inner circle of society ([7]) or even being granted access to one’s soul, as in Bunyan’s allegorical passages ([8], [9]). This multiplicity of usage underscores the word’s capacity to portray different forms of permission, acceptance, or exclusion depending on the author’s purpose and context.
- Squeers, meanwhile, opened the shutters and blew the candle out; when the voice of his amiable consort was heard in the passage, demanding admittance.
— from Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - No one ever regretted the admittance of Sam Weller, for a more devoted, well-behaved, and jovial member no club could have.
— from Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott - I opened the wicket and ran to the door, knocking vehemently for admittance.
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - I could only observe the picture during the few brief seconds that Rachel held the door for our admittance.
— from The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë - No admittance except on business.
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - Note 135 ( return ) [ Not a bridge over a river, but a military engine used for gaining admittance into a fortress.]
— from The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Complete by Suetonius - It requires years to gain admittance to the inner circle of Italian society.
— from On Love by Stendhal - She clapped her hands with joy, and cried, "Oh, there's the Wicket Gate, And I must seek admittance there, Before it is too late."
— from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan Every Child Can Read by John Bunyan - But is it not a wonder they got not from him his certificate, by which he was to receive his admittance at the Celestial Gate? CHR.
— from The Pilgrim's Progress from this world to that which is to come by John Bunyan