Literary notes about quandary (AI summary)
Writers often invoke the term "quandary" to capture moments of deep uncertainty or indecision, emphasizing the inner turmoil of characters as they grapple with difficult choices. It is used to portray both trivial predicaments and matters of significant consequence, such as a character deliberating between drastic actions or feeling overwhelmed by circumstances beyond control [1][2]. In many narratives, being in a quandary becomes a lens through which the reader is invited to understand the nuanced, sometimes conflicting emotions that drive a character's behavior, highlighting the tension between personal desires and external demands [3][4].
- And with this she went in, leaving me in a quandary whether to throw a stone at her, or run back and take her round the neck.
— from The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett - Forrest was in a quandary as to how he should get over that sluggish but deep ditch, and stood looking at it in dismay.
— from Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 02 (of 15), American (2) by Charles Morris - I am in a sad quandary about it, and for the heart’s blood of me cannot tell yet with whom of the two to side.
— from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais - He wanted to marry, to get settled somehow, to get out of the quandary he found himself in.
— from The Rainbow by D. H. Lawrence
