Literary notes about mantel (AI summary)
The word “mantel” in literature is often used as a device to evoke both a sense of domestic familiarity and a subtle undercurrent of symbolism. In many works, the mantel serves as a repository for cherished mementos—books, photographs, and treasured ornaments—which creates an intimate portrait of the home and its history ([1], [2], [3]). At the same time, the mantel frequently becomes a silent witness to the emotional and psychological states of characters, as noted when its presence is accompanied by the tick-tock of a clock or the weight of a brooding moment ([4], [5], [6]). Moreover, dramatic events—such as a shattered ornament or a character leaning against it in a moment of introspection—render the mantel a focal point where personal upheavals and domestic ritual converge ([7], [8], [9], [10]).
- On the mantel piece, place a few books that she may read, if she wishes, before sleeping.
— from The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness by Florence Hartley - She said nothing today but she sat and looked fixedly at the picture over the mantel.
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - I gazed on the picture of my mother, which stood over the mantel-piece.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Something drummed and clanged furiously in his ears; he could not tell if it were the blood in his veins, or the tick of the clock on the mantel.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - By its aid I measured the irregularities of the clock upon the mantel, and of the watches of the attendants.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - He put his face downward to the pillow, and for a few moments there was no sound but the ticking of a clock on the mantel.
— from The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales by Bret Harte - Then a china mantel ornament smashed upon the fender.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - He had thrust his chest out, supporting his shoulders against the mantel and resting his weight on one large patent-leather foot.
— from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - Moreover, a large vase upon the mantel had got broken—I do not know how.
— from The Country of the Blind, and Other Stories by H. G. Wells - He walked towards the mantel-piece and leaned his arm on it, and waited in silence for—he hardly knew what.
— from Middlemarch by George Eliot
