Literary notes about supernatural (AI summary)
In literature, the word "supernatural" is employed to evoke a realm that lies beyond ordinary human understanding and everyday reality. It can describe mysterious forces and beings that incite fear or admiration, as when peasants refer to eerie phenomena in a folkloric context [1] or when a character's overwhelming enthusiasm is deemed almost otherworldly [2]. At the same time, authors use the term to challenge the bounds of natural logic, suggesting that even reason may not fully account for religion's mysterious allure [3]. This multifaceted usage highlights both the emotional and intellectual dimensions that supernatural elements can introduce to storytelling.
- [34] A phrase often used by the peasants, when frightened by anything of supernatural appearance.
— from Russian Fairy Tales: A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore - Unless I had been animated by an almost supernatural enthusiasm, my application to this study would have been irksome and almost intolerable.
— from Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - 273 If we submit everything to reason, our religion will have no mysterious and supernatural element.
— from Pascal's Pensées by Blaise Pascal
