Literary notes about path (AI summary)
The term "path" in literature is a versatile device, used both to evoke tangible journeys through nature and to symbolize the inner or moral courses one undertakes. It is often portrayed as a literal route—such as the narrow, precarious trail amid rocky landscapes [1] or the winding garden path [2, 3]—that guides characters through physical settings. At the same time, the word carries rich metaphoric weight, representing choices, ethical directions, and the quest for virtue or enlightenment, as seen where characters pursue the path of righteousness [4, 5] or follow a predetermined course of destiny [6, 7]. Thus, "path" bridges the external world with the internal journey of its characters, serving as a powerful emblem of both movement and transformation.
- The precipice was approached by a narrow path between bushes, and fragments of rock formed the precarious steps of that natural staircase.
— from A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Iurevich Lermontov - his only vision was of the mater, tall and stout, rustling down the garden path, with Chinny and Biddy at her heels...
— from The Garden Party, and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield - The steps ended in a steeply sloping path with flat stone slabs down the middle.
— from The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim - It is not possible by any means to make her swerve from this path of virtue!
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - The path which is trodden by the virtuous is laudable.
— from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1 - In this way she was the first, so to speak, who swam against the tide and met me upon my new path.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville
