Literary notes about sorrel (AI summary)
In literature, “sorrel” takes on fluid and multifaceted roles. In some works it serves as a vivid descriptor for horses, capturing the distinctive reddish-brown hue and free-spirited nature of equine characters—as seen in Jonathan Swift’s narrative of a sorrel nag [1, 2] and Edith Wharton’s depictions of sorrel steeds in Ethan Frome [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. In other contexts, particularly in George Eliot’s writings, it transforms into a personal identifier, most memorably embodied by Hetty Sorrel in Adam Bede [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20]. Additionally, in herbal and culinary texts, “sorrel” designates a tangy, edible plant with a distinctive flavor—adding both literal and metaphorical layers to the narratives [21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32]. This versatility enriches the literary landscape, allowing the term to function on both natural and symbolic levels.
- Being one day abroad with my protector the sorrel nag, and the weather exceeding hot, I entreated him to let me bathe in a river that was near.
— from Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Jonathan Swift - I had worked two chairs with my knife, the sorrel nag helping me in the grosser and more laborious part.
— from Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Jonathan Swift - Ethan, with a touch of his whip, roused the sorrel to a languid trot.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - At the gate, instead of making for Starkfield, he turned the sorrel to the right, up the Bettsbridge road.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - It was not till he led out the sorrel and backed him between the shafts of the sleigh that he once more became conscious of what he was doing.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - His one desire now was to postpone the moment of turning the sorrel toward the Flats.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - “Now then, go 'long,” he said, with a shake of the reins that sent the sorrel placidly jogging down the hill.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - He had driven his load half-way to the village when Jotham Powell overtook him, urging the reluctant sorrel toward the Flats.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - He opened the barn-door and craned his head into the obscurity, half-fearing to discover Denis Eady's roan colt in the stall beside the sorrel.
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - Suddenly he heard the old sorrel whinny across the road, and thought: “He's wondering why he doesn't get his supper...” “Come!”
— from Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - I overtook pretty little Hetty Sorrel as I was coming to my den—the Hermitage, there.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - “Hetty Sorrel is in prison, and will be tried on Friday for the crime of child-murder.”...
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - “He's set's heart on that Hetty Sorrel, as 'ull niver save a penny, an' 'ull toss up her head at's old mother.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - “That is Hetty Sorrel,” said Miss Lydia Donnithorne, “Martin Poyser's niece—a very likely young person, and well-looking too.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - Her mother's fortune had been spent by that good-for-nought Sorrel, and Hetty had Sorrel's blood in her veins.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - “I want to go to Hetty Sorrel, the young woman who has been condemned to death—and to stay with her, if I may be permitted.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - This is not the first time you've met Hetty Sorrel in this grove, and this is not the first time you've kissed her.”
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - I take some interest in this Hetty Sorrel, for the sake of that fine fellow, Adam Bede.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - “But Hetty—Hetty Sorrel,” said Adam, abruptly; “Where is she?”
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - You needn't look quite so much at Hetty Sorrel then.
— from Adam Bede by George Eliot - A syrup made with the juice of Sorrel and fumitory, is a sovereign help to kill those sharp humours that cause the itch.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - Lettice, Purslain, Water Lilies, Violets, Sorrel Endive, Succory, Fumitory.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - In fact the salt of sorrel in the leaves contains a large quantity of oxalic acid mixed with potassium oxalate.
— from The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by T. H. Pardo de Tavera - Endive, Lettice, Purslain, Succory, Gourds, Cucumbers, Melons, Citruls, Pompions, Sorrel, Nightshade.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - Sorrel, Wood sorrel, Viper’s Bugloss, Lettice, Burnet, Violet leaves, Strawberry leaves, and Water-Lilies.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - The roots of Sorrel are held to be profitable against the jaundice.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - Lapathi acuti, Oxylapathi. Sorrel, according to Galen ; but Sharp-pointed Dock, according to Dioscorides .
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - Mince sorrel and sage, and stamp them with bread, the yolks of hard eggs, pepper, salt, and vinegar, but no sugar at all.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson - Our ordinary Sorrel, which grows in gardens, and also wild in the fields, is so well known, that it needs no description.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - Sorrel, Woodsorrel, Dandelyon, Endive, Succory, Strawberry leaves, Fumitory, Liverwort, Lettice, Purslain, Nightshade, Water Lilies.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - All of them have a kind of cooling (but not all alike) drying quality, the sorrel being most cold, and the Blood-worts most drying.
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper - Yellow Succory Solomon’s Seal Wild Succory Spignel Wood Sorrel Common Sorrel Smallage Sow Thistle Tansy
— from The Complete Herbal by Nicholas Culpeper
