Literary notes about indigence (AI summary)
The term "indigence" functions as a multifaceted emblem throughout literature, capturing not only the stark realities of material poverty but also evoking broader themes of social decay and personal despair. Some authors use it to denote literal privation—a state of reduced fortunes or stark absence of resources, as when noble families are relegated to dismal conditions ([1], [2], [3]) or when lavish opulence highlights the impoverishment of others ([4], [5]). In other instances, "indigence" appears with a more metaphorical weight, serving as a symbol of emotional desolation or existential vulnerability, as in portrayals of sorrow dragging down a once robust spirit ([6], [7]) or the melancholic life of characters accustomed to it ([8], [9]). Even in poetic invocations, the word paints a picture of harsh realities intermingled with wry humor, suggesting that the state of indigence can serve as both a curse and a poignant commentary on human condition ([10], [11]).
- His parents, Henry Kepler and Catherine Guldenmann, were both of noble family, but had been reduced to indigence by their own bad conduct.
— from The Martyrs of Science, or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler by David Brewster - Their last days were passed in indigence, and Lowin when an octogenarian was reduced to keeping the inn of the "Three Pigeons," at Brentford.
— from Shakespeare and the Modern Stage; with Other Essays by Lee, Sidney, Sir - Even Wolf and Vio had subscribed to funds till reduced to what they considered indigence.
— from The Thread of Flame by Basil King - For one very rich man, there must be at least five hundred poor, and the affluence of the few supposes the indigence of the many.
— from An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith - The luxury of one class is counterbalanced by the indigence of another.
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - The poet’s hitherto robust constitution now sank under the pressure of sorrow and indigence.
— from History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature (Vol 2 of 2) by Friedrich Bouterwek - I was all at once abandoned to despair, to indigence, and distress, to the vile practices of a villain, who, I fear, hath betrayed us both.
— from The Adventures of Ferdinand Count Fathom — Complete by T. Smollett - She was obliged to accustom herself to disrepute, as she had accustomed herself to indigence.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - It is indigence which produces these melancholy human plants.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - Our indigence--let's cheer it up; 'Tis nonsense to repine; To give to Hope the fullest scope Needs but one draught of wine.
— from Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 4 - "The general aspect of life is not indigence and famine, but on the contrary richness, opulence, even an absurd prodigality.
— from The life of Friedrich Nietzsche by Daniel Halévy
