Literary notes about indolence (AI summary)
Writers adopt the term “indolence” to evoke a range of moods—from wistful, dreamy detachment to pointed moral criticism. In some narratives it paints a picture of a character whose languor hints at distant, exotic experiences [1], while in others it functions as a self-aware, almost ironic remark that excuses inaction [2], [3]. At times, indolence sets the tone for environments marked by neglect or an unhurried, almost lethargic ease that contrasts sharply with bursts of purposeful activity or ambition [4], [5]. Philosophers and novelists alike use the word to underscore a state of inertia that can either be charmingly reflective or critically condemnable, thereby offering a multifaceted symbol of human passivity and its consequences [6], [7].
- I cannot think why his indolence and dreaminess always gave me the impression he had been to sea.
— from Bliss, and other stories by Katherine Mansfield - “Please remember my indolence,” said Osmond.
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - My indolence, at any rate, was one of the reasons I didn’t go to Rome.
— from The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James - If anyone were to undertake to depict her surroundings, then the dominating mood of the picture would be indolence.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - When the first transports of rage which had produced his activity in seeking her were over, he naturally returned to all his former indolence.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - But, if they are such as we conceive them to be, can we possibly suppose that they ever act in the spirit of carelessness and indolence?
— from Laws by Plato - It’s simply Russian indolence, our degrading impotence to produce ideas, our revolting parasitism in the rank of nations.
— from The possessed : by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
