Literary notes about contempt (AI summary)
Across literary works, "contempt" emerges as a multifaceted term used to express disdain, moral judgment, and personal or societal disapproval. Philosophers and novelists alike harness the word to signal both inner revulsion and a broader cultural critique; for instance, Nietzsche deploys it to capture a scorn for the human condition, while Tolstoy links financial greed to a loss of public respect ([1],[2]). The term is equally versatile in character portrayals, marking the dismissive attitudes of figures who regard others with derision or feel internally alienated, as seen when a sibling exchanges a cutting remark or a character’s self-loathing is laid bare ([3],[4]). In classical texts, contempt is interwoven with themes of fate, pride, and the burdens of life, serving as a critical lens through which characters and societies are examined ([5],[6]).
- The anarchist. Contempt of man, loathing.
— from The Will to Power: An Attempted Transvaluation of All Values. Book I and II by Nietzsche - All these people, just like our spirit monopolists in old days, get their money in a way that gains them the contempt of everyone.
— from Anna Karenina by graf Leo Tolstoy - You are a chicken-hearted fellow, Gania!” said Varia, looking at her brother with contempt.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - My contempt and my longing increase together; the higher I clamber, the more do I despise him who clambereth.
— from Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche - The fool of fate, thy manufacture, man, With penury, contempt, repulse, and care, The galling load of life is doom'd to bear.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - Love make his heart of flint that you shall love; And let your fervour, like my master's, be Plac'd in contempt!
— from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare