Literary notes about obstinate (AI summary)
In literature, “obstinate” is employed to evoke a sense of unyielding determination or inflexible stubbornness that reveals the inner workings of a character or the nature of a conflict. Authors use it to highlight personal vulnerability and emotional resistance—consider the depiction of relentless crying-spells in the face of psychological turmoil [1]—as well as to mark an unbending defiance in matters of belief or authority, evident in descriptions of intractable heretics [2] or immovable political stances [3]. Its usage spans from the intimate, as in the portrayal of an obstinate mood disrupting human connection [4], to the grand and historical, where obstinacy underscores the persistence of nations or ideologies [5]. This versatility in application and tone demonstrates how “obstinate” can both condemn and, at times, subtly valorize the resistance that defines human character.
- Psychological ferment and my unresponsive body brought me to many obstinate crying-spells.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Thou wast ever an obstinate heretic in the despite of beauty. CLAUDIO.
— from Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare - When at length, after an obstinate struggle, he yielded to the power of the empire, Civilis secured himself and his country by an honorable treaty.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - I seem to see the expression of her face, as she turned away discouraged by my obstinate mood.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - All the so-called primitive races, and some nearer survivals, had raised doubts which persisted against the most obstinate convictions of evolution.
— from The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
