Literary notes about affluence (AI summary)
Literature employs affluence both as a depiction of material wealth and as a symbol of social stature and personal fulfillment. It is often used to illustrate luxuriant surroundings and refined lifestyles, as seen when characters are surrounded by signs of splendor that hint at their elevated status [1][2]. In other passages, affluence not only reflects physical wealth but also the power, connections, and respectability that come with it [3][4][5]. At times, it contrasts sharply with themes of poverty or the burdens that excessive wealth might bring, evoking both admiration and envy [6][7]. Moreover, some authors use the term more abstractly to suggest an overflow of life and vitality, highlighting its dynamic and multifaceted role in character development and societal commentary [8][9].
- He could not fail to notice the signs of affluence and luxury on every hand.
— from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser - And she looked at him and at his dress as a man of affluence, and at the furniture he had provided for the room—ornate and lavish to her eyes.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - The West Indian interest, which opposed them, was a collected body; of great power, affluence, connections, and respectability.
— from The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave Trade by the British Parliament (1808)Volume II by Thomas Clarkson - He was descended from a good family in France, where he had lived for many years in affluence, respected by his superiors, and beloved by his equals.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - And these thy sons will rule their ancestral kingdom, maintaining their friends and relatives in luxury and affluence and happiness.’
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - What happiness will not be his who, himself in affluence, will cast his eyes on Dhananjaya attired in barks and deer-skins?
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - The affluence of the rich excites the indignation of the poor, who are often both driven by want, and prompted by envy to invade his possessions.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - With an affluence for life I have settled down to enjoy the remainder of my days in peace and quietness.
— from Choice Readings for the Home Circle - In her animal spirits there was an affluence of life and certainty of flow, such as excited my wonder, while it baffled my comprehension.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë
