Literary notes about apathy (AI summary)
In literature, "apathy" is often deployed to depict a profound emotional disengagement or indifference that affects both individuals and societies. It can illustrate a character’s descent into numb resignation, as seen when personal grief or disillusionment transforms passion into a state of inert indifference ([1], [2]). At times, authors use apathy as a contrast to moments of reawakening, where the dormant spirit is suddenly stirred into action ([3], [4], [5]). Beyond character development, the term serves as a subtle critique of societal or governmental inaction, highlighting a collective disengagement that stifles progress and leadership ([6], [7]). This multifaceted use enriches narratives by revealing how overwhelming circumstances can lead to a pervasive state of listlessness and discontent ([8], [9]).
- All that was left of her excitement and recklessness was a fearful weakness, apathy, and dreariness.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - In fact I was in a state of complete apathy, moral and physical.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - The awful sound, repeated by the vaults above, and Caverns below me, rouzed me from the despondent apathy in which I had been plunged.
— from The Monk: A Romance by M. G. Lewis - '"—This simple fable sufficed to rouse the prince from his apathy, and he thenceforward applied himself to fulfil the duties of his station.
— from The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I. - We were mute with astonishment, overcome by a kind of feeling which was next door to apathy.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - Thus stifled ability in the lower orders, and apathy or pampered incapacity in the higher, unite to deprive society of its natural leaders.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - The Government's apparent apathy toward the Boers also drove into the Democratic ranks for the time a great number of Dutch and German Republicans.
— from History of the United States, Volume 5 by Elisha Benjamin Andrews - It came to an end amid the apathy and indifference of the public.
— from A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, Volume III by Justin H. (Justin Huntly) McCarthy - For what else could ever have changed his nature into one of such apathy?
— from The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers by Diogenes Laertius
