Literary notes about frightened (AI summary)
The word frightened is deployed in literature to convey both a palpable sense of immediate terror and a deeper internal vulnerability. Authors use it to illustrate sudden, instinctive responses—when a character quivers uncontrollably at a ghostly presence [1] or retreats in panic amid chaos [2]—while also highlighting more subtle, lingering apprehensions that shape a character’s inner life [3]. It often marks the transition between rational thought and overpowering emotion, as a look or a tremble can reveal unspoken fears and the fragility of human resolve [4, 5]. Whether used to emphasize a momentary loss of composure or to foreshadow larger conflicts, the term serves as a versatile tool that enriches narrative tension and deepens our understanding of a character’s experience [6, 7].
- For a moment, Master trembled like a frightened child.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - and here he rolled upon the bottom of the nest in such contortions that he frightened them all.
— from The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum - “It was dark when I awoke; I felt cold also, and half-frightened as it were instinctively, finding myself so desolate.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Natásha, motionless on her knees (she was unable to stir), with frightened eyes riveted on him, was restraining her sobs.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - Becky started, and opened her eyes with a frightened gasp.
— from A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett - Do not let us be frightened from a good deed by a trifle.
— from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - As I was taking the money out of my pocket, frightened to death lest he should accept it, he left the room, saying that he would not have it.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
