Literary notes about perdu (AI summary)
The term "perdu" is deployed across literary works to convey various shades of loss—whether of time, opportunity, or identity. In some contexts it is used implicitly to denote a fleeting moment or trivial lapse that does not harm affection, as when one speaks of an "instant de perdu" that offends not love [1]. At other times it captures a more tangible state of being lost, whether it is describing a character as the "enfant perdu" whose aimlessness defines his existential plight [2, 3] or indicating a discarded object or forgotten place [4, 5]. Furthermore, "perdu" often enters into expressions that evoke both physical and emotional abandonment, as seen when characters resign themselves to their fate by declaring "tout est perdu" in moments of despair [6]. In these various incarnations, the word serves as a versatile marker—rich in poetic resonance and narrative depth—imbuing texts with nuanced reflections on loss and detachment.
- Un instant de perdu N’offense pas L’Amour, si je l’ai convaincu.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - He looked again, and seemed to himself to grow quite old as he looked, and he said, " Enfant perdu! "
— from Bohemian Days: Three American Tales by George Alfred Townsend - He was the enfant perdu of the Romantic School.
— from Main Currents in Nineteenth Century Literature - 2. The Romantic School in Germany by Georg Brandes - Adolphe, sauve la Marquise, cet escalier n'est pas perdu .
— from Girlhood and WomanhoodThe Story of some Fortunes and Misfortunes by Sarah Tytler - Far to the west, over other ranges, the guide points out the glaciers of Mont Perdu and the Vignemale.
— from A Midsummer Drive Through the Pyrenees by Edwin Asa Dix - No buckles to his shoes?"—"Ah, Monsieur," answers Dumouriez, glancing towards the ferrat: "All is lost, Tout est perdu."
— from The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle
