Literary notes about bafflement (AI summary)
The word "bafflement" in literature is used to convey a spectrum of perplexity and disorientation that illuminates both character and mood. Authors often depict it through physical expressions—such as a head shake or a look of complete confusion—to signal a character’s internal struggle or inability to understand what unfolds around them ([1], [2], [3]). At other times, the term enriches the narrative atmosphere, casting a pall over settings or situations that seems to manifest as an ambient state of disquiet ([4], [5]). Its strategic employment, whether highlighting personal torment or satirizing social scenarios, underscores the multifaceted human reaction to inexplicable circumstances ([6], [7]).
- The adventuress of the demure face shook her head in token of complete bafflement.
— from Within the Law: From the Play of Bayard Veiller by Bayard Veiller - His voice was unchanged; she stared at him in complete bafflement.
— from The Dark Other by Stanley G. (Stanley Grauman) Weinbaum - Dick shook his head in bafflement, and glanced at his watch.
— from The Little Lady of the Big House by Jack London - An air of bafflement and suspense hung over the city.
— from The Gray Phantom by Herman Landon - Nothing could be done to him, and Ramsey, utterly unable to defend his own sensibilities in like manner, had always to retire in bafflement.
— from Ramsey Milholland by Booth Tarkington - A ludicrous bafflement passed over her face as she repeatedly sniffed the odor of jasmine from a type of flower she well knew to be scentless.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - He was equable, he was to be relied upon, and withal there was a certain bafflement about him.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London
