Literary notes about grimacing (AI summary)
The term "grimacing" is used in literature to convey a vivid image of a character's physical or emotional distress, often blending discomfort with irony or humor. Writers deploy it to illustrate not only the pain—whether it be from hunger, injury, or sorrow as in a man “perishing of hunger” [1] or the agonized expressions during physical strain [2]—but also to hint at more complex internal reactions, such as reluctant admiration [3] or mock misery [4]. In dialogue and narrative alike, a grimace becomes a powerful, economical gesture that encapsulates a range of sentiments from torment and indignation to playful mimicry or even grotesque humor, as when a character’s face twists in a bizarre, almost caricature-like manner [5][6]. The word thus serves as a multifaceted tool that enriches character portrayal and heightens dramatic atmosphere in literature.
- It was the grimacing of a man who jests when he is perishing of hunger, or is shrinking under knife or cautery.
— from Voltaire by John Morley - he groans, grimacing with a face of agony.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Caterina was ready enough to obey, for while she was singing she was queen of the room, and Miss Assher was reduced to grimacing admiration.
— from Scenes of Clerical Life by George Eliot - Blaine was laughing as he recovered, retreating and grimacing, as if in mock misery.
— from Our Pilots in the Air by William Perry Brown - I found no sound on my lips to press it, and I was aware of replying only with a vague, repeated, grimacing nod.
— from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - " They were both silent again, and Archer felt the spectre of Count Olenski's letter grimacing hideously between them.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
