Literary notes about ostensible (AI summary)
The word "ostensible" is used in literature to indicate that the surface reason or appearance presented is not necessarily the underlying truth. Writers often employ it to reveal a gap between what is outwardly declared and what actually motivates characters or events. For instance, it might describe a business pursued for ostensible reasons that mask more complex, personal agendas [1][2] or indicate that a stated purpose, like a charitable act or political move, is simply a façade concealing true intent [3][4]. This subtle nuance enriches the narrative, inviting readers to scrutinize the discrepancy between appearance and reality [5][6].
- Mr Verloc cared but little about his ostensible business.
— from The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad - “I own that your question embarrasses me, Valentine, for I cannot say that the count has rendered me any ostensible service.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - It was in an ostensible vein of sarcasm that he had asked me to call him, and that he himself called me, "my master."
— from Swann's Way by Marcel Proust - The ostensible reason why Ahab did not go on board of the whaler we had spoken was this: the wind and sea betokened storms.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - The roles became reversed, because Elijah-John was no longer needed to be the ostensible guru of Elisha-Jesus, now perfected in divine realization.
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - Its ostensible object was the reformation of the clergy; its real intent was to convert the papal autocracy into a constitutional monarchy.
— from History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, Volume II (of 2)Revised Edition by John William Draper
