Literary notes about shortcomings (AI summary)
In literature, "shortcomings" is employed to denote inherent flaws—whether in individuals who introspectively question their own limitations or in institutions and systems that reveal structural faults. Authors use it self-reflectively, as when characters acknowledge personal failings and seek growth [1, 2, 3], while others turn the term toward commentary on societal or mechanical deficits, suggesting that robust systems or powerful personalities may still harbor imperfections [4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. This dual usage enriches narrative depth, providing both a mirror for self-improvement and a critique of external structures.
- “I know my own shortcomings quite well, and I shall be too glad to learn—especially if you are kind enough to teach me.”
— from Colomba by Prosper Mérimée - Elisabeth cheerfully caught at this straw of comfort; she was always ready to take a lenient view of her own shortcomings.
— from The Farringdons by Ellen Thorneycroft Fowler - It was the very knowledge of my own shortcomings that urged me to retain, if possible, some sparks of my brother's God-given nature.
— from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself by Harriet A. Jacobs - Love should not make us blind to faults, nor familiarity make us too ready to blame the shortcomings we see.
— from Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott - Hao is continually attacking Tu Mu's shortcomings.
— from The Art of War by active 6th century B.C. Sunzi - Their moral shortcomings, when brought home to them, may produce a feeling of shame, but hardly a conviction of guilt.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - He rebuked the vacillations, the shortcomings, the imbecility, of the Queen's government in offensive terms.
— from Life and Death of John of Barneveld — Complete (1609-1623) by John Lothrop Motley - He urged that power and insight are lessened by shortcomings in morals.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson
