Literary notes about perplexed (AI summary)
The word "perplexed" is frequently employed to express a state of bafflement or inner conflict when characters face confusing or unexpected circumstances. In some texts, it paints a picture of an individual caught off guard—staring in silent dismay or with a countenance that reveals deep uncertainty [1], [2]. At times, the sensation of being perplexed is intertwined with other emotions such as alarm, doubt, or even wry amusement, adding layers to character introspection and narrative tension [3], [4], [5]. Its usage stretches from philosophical musings on complex societal systems to intimate portraits of personal bewilderment, thereby enriching literature with moments that encapsulate the struggle to understand the inexplicable [6], [7], [8].
- “Can you tell me why he was in prison?” The old man seemed to be perplexed.
— from The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal - ‘And he spoke to me,’ she added, with a perplexed countenance.
— from Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë - That Mr Quilp was himself perplexed, and that in no small degree, by the contents of the letter, was sufficiently obvious.
— from The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens - The more he thought, the more perplexed he was; and, the more he endeavoured not to think, the more he thought.
— from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - The perplexed pilots fell to swearing, and finally uttered the entirely unnecessary wish that they might never get out of that place.
— from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain - But I was bewildered, perplexed, and unable to arrange my ideas sufficiently to understand the full extent of his proposition.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - cried Lord Henry, standing up, and looking at him in perplexed amazement.
— from The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - I waited now his return; eager to disburthen my mind, and to seek of him the solution of the enigma that perplexed me.
— from Jane Eyre: An Autobiography by Charlotte Brontë
