Literary notes about bemusement (AI summary)
The word "bemusement" frequently appears in literature to convey a state of perplexed or ironic amusement, where characters are caught between confusion and a detached, often wry, self-reflection. It can describe an internal response that mixes subtle admiration with a sense of disorientation, as when a character experiences a quiet, introspective state while observing unexpected circumstances [1, 2]. In other moments, its use reveals a deeper emotional complexity—ranging from mild bewilderment to an almost resigned detachment—that underscores the shifting moods of characters interacting with their surroundings [3, 4, 5, 6]. Such nuanced employment of "bemusement" enriches narrative texture, providing readers with insight into the layered emotional landscapes that define character experience [7, 8, 9, 10].
- In a state of self-bemusement he rode the elevator down to his suite on the ninety-first story.
— from The Ambassador by Sam Merwin - It is a vital absorbing affair of life, a "bemusement" rather.
— from England by Frank Fox - “What's that—that black——?” The devilry, mockery, admiration, bemusement, had gone out of his face; it was white and calm, and horribly pathetic.
— from The Country House by John Galsworthy - He and Lester stared at Sammy, wearing similar expressions of bemusement.
— from Makers by Cory Doctorow - A student at the nearby University of Helsinki at the time, Torvalds regarded Stallman with bemusement.
— from Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software by Sam Williams - " The three entered the larger room, which smelled of antiseptic—rather to Medart's bemusement.
— from The Alembic Plot: A Terran Empire novel by Ann Wilson - So that even the conversation helped to deepen this bemusement that gathered somewhat tenderly about his mind.
— from A Prisoner in Fairyland (The Book That 'Uncle Paul' Wrote) by Algernon Blackwood - He spent that day in a state of numb bemusement, remembering the men and women he had worn like garments, appalled and exhilarated.
— from Plague of Pythons by Frederik Pohl - He felt only the shortest moment of anger at Mimi, but it quickly cooled and then warmed again, replaced by bemusement.
— from Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Cory Doctorow - She frowned and was about to retort just as peremptorily, but an odd bemusement tempered her mood.
— from Ten From Infinity by Paul W. Fairman
