Literary notes about doting (AI summary)
In literature, "doting" often describes an excessive, sometimes foolish, affection that can imbue a character with both warmth and weakness. It is used to characterize parents who lavish their children with overly indulgent care—at times to the point of spoiling them, as seen when an only child is described as the cherished object of extravagant parental adoration ([1], [2], [3]). At other points, the term conveys a satirical tone when applied to figures in power or romance, suggesting that such tender attachment can lead to imprudent decision-making or absurd behavior ([4], [5], [6]). Whether highlighting the vulnerability of those who love too freely or critiquing the folly inherent in excessive sentimentality, "doting" serves as a multifaceted descriptor that enriches character portrayals and infuses narratives with irony and pathos ([7], [8]).
- The only child of a doting father, she had ruled him, and, of course, the helpless slaves who had watched her moods and trembled at her passion.
— from An Original Belle by Edward Payson Roe - Every luxury that money could buy, including christening, had been lavished on you by your fond and doting parents.
— from The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde - Stella is the only child of wealthy and doting parents.
— from School Credit for Home Work by L. R. (Lewis Raymond) Alderman - Not he—not while there are any honors handy, with a doting King to shower them on him, and a Princess waiting for wife.”
— from The Princess Dehra by John Reed Scott - When doting monarchs urge Unsound resolves, their subjects feel the scourge.
— from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton - The witty little duck said of the Portuguese, that the old lady was getting quite a "doting ducky," All the other ducks laughed at this.
— from Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen by H. C. Andersen - With all her splendid common sense and practical every-day ability, Roxy was a doting fool of a mother.
— from The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain - She should find her husband rated as a doting fool, and herself rated as a scheming female adventuress.
— from Phineas FinnThe Irish Member by Anthony Trollope
