Literary notes about submit (AI summary)
The term "submit" takes on a rich range of meanings throughout literature, often functioning as a metaphor for yielding to forces beyond human control. In some works, it conveys a resigned acceptance of fate or divine will—for instance, characters in a narrative may relinquish their pride or agency in the face of destiny ([1], [2]). In other contexts, the term is employed more procedurally, indicating the act of presenting ideas, texts, or oneself for evaluation and judgment ([3], [4]). Meanwhile, its usage can capture the tension between individual defiance and the pressure to conform to legal, societal, or cosmic orders, as seen when characters rebel against oppressive authority or circumstances ([5], [6]). This versatility allows "submit" to embody both passive surrender and a critical, sometimes reluctant, acknowledgment of forces that shape human existence.
- Misfortune has broken my once haughty spirit; I yield, I submit; ’tis my fate.
— from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain - For it is senseless and arrogant indeed for those who cultivate virtue not to submit to God once and for all, as far as possible.
— from The Works of the Emperor Julian, Vol. 1 by Emperor of Rome Julian - These considerations I submit to those to whom I may seem at first sight to have handled my text too freely. viii
— from On the Sublime by active 1st century Longinus - I thought, however, that before taking the final step I should like to submit the whole matter to your consideration.”
— from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - "This is only part of a system:—a scheme of tyranny to which I will never submit.
— from The Last Man by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - That done, there was nothing left but to submit to circumstances, and return to London.
— from The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
