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Literary notes about affair (AI summary)

The term "affair" in literature is remarkably versatile, often signifying more than a mere incident. At times it denotes a complex event or political controversy, as seen when a singular incident dwarfs individual efforts or even leads to far‐reaching historical implications [1, 2]. In other contexts, it captures intimate and personal matters, ranging from delicate romantic entanglements [3, 4] to the mundane or absurd proceedings of everyday life [5, 6]. Moreover, its application extends to both serious and humorous situations, imbuing the narrative with an undercurrent of mystery or irony [7, 8]. This breadth of usage demonstrates how a single word may encapsulate a spectrum of human experiences and narrative functions.
  1. The Trent Affair dwarfed individual effort.
    — from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
  2. War is like government: it is an affair of tact.
    — from Napoleon's Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812 by Emperor of the French Napoleon I
  3. In a love affair there are generally two parties; and Miss Prudence has got to be persuaded that she is in love.
    — from Aesop's Fables by Aesop
  4. Darya Alexandrovna, getting the message, simply sighed over the rouble wasted on it, and understood that it was an after-dinner affair.
    — from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy
  5. The disappearance of Jane Finn was forgotten and the whole affair was lost in oblivion.”
    — from The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
  6. That affair had remained rather obscure.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  7. He had heard nothing, and the affair remained a complete mystery.
    — from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
  8. DUKE Be it as you shall privately determine, Either for her stay or going: the affair cries haste, And speed must answer it.
    — from Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare

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