Literary notes about indulgence (AI summary)
Literary works employ the term indulgence in multifaceted ways. At times it functions as a polite request for forbearance or understanding, as when a character implores another to excuse a slight or hardship [1] [2]. In other contexts, it critiques unbridled self-gratification by highlighting how excess—whether in passion, pleasure, or idle behavior—can lead to moral or social decay [3] [4]. Moreover, authors use the word to cast light on the subtleties of human nature, balancing compassionate leniency with an awareness that even kind allowances have their limits [5] [6] [7].
- Oh, M. de Villefort, I beseech your indulgence for him.”
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - I have only therefore to request the reader's indulgence and conclude.
— from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African by Equiano - I don’t like it, it’s just self-indulgence!”
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - The rarest offerings of the purest loves are but a self-indulgence, and no generosity at all.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy - Indulgence in remembrance, and indulgence in forgetfulness.
— from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens - When that business was over, he applied to Miss Bingley and Elizabeth for the indulgence of some music.
— from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - My parents were possessed by the very spirit of kindness and indulgence.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
