Literary notes about amnesia (AI summary)
In literature, amnesia is often more than a mere clinical condition—it serves as a powerful metaphor for disorientation, loss, and renewal of identity. Writers depict it as the erasure of personal histories, where characters may forget vital parts of their lives, such as familial bonds or traumatic experiences ([1], [2]). At times, its manifestation underscores the psychological impact of extreme situations like war or hysteria, suggesting that memory itself can be both fragile and selective ([3], [4]). Moreover, the presence of amnesia in narrative structures encourages readers to ponder the relationship between experience and identity, as seen when characters confront the void left by forgotten episodes of their past ([5], [6]).
- He then showed an amnesia not merely for his illness but for his whole life: he did not know his father, that he was married or that he had a mother.
— from Benign Stupors: A Study of a New Manic-Depressive Reaction Type by August Hoch - This visual amnesia extends to objects dating from his childhood's years—paternal mansion, etc., forgotten.
— from Psychology: Briefer Course by William James - "Well," I said, "amnesia's not so unusual among war casualties, and you seem to have done pretty well since."
— from A Trace of Memory by Keith Laumer - As he sat there, pale as the twilight sky, the mists of amnesia lifted from him.
— from The Sky Line of Spruce by Edison Marshall - What idiosyncracies of the narrator were concomitant products of amnesia?
— from Ulysses by James Joyce - “You’re recovering from a severe case of amnesia,” revealed Penny.
— from Ghost Beyond the Gate by Mildred A. (Mildred Augustine) Wirt
