Literary notes about tenaciousness (AI summary)
In literature, tenaciousness is often depicted as a quality that can be both admirable and burdensome. Authors use the term to evoke a sense of persistence—whether in a character’s unwavering determination, as seen in references to steadfast purpose and endurance [1, 2], or in the intransigence of opinions that cling despite reason [3, 4]. It is equally employed to highlight both the positive aspects of resoluteness, such as in feats of valor or the holding fast to one’s dignity [5, 6], and its negative dimensions, where an obstinate grip on error or sentiment becomes oppressive [7, 8]. This multifaceted use enriches characters and settings, presenting tenaciousness as a double-edged trait that can drive individuals to both greatness and downfall.
- These traits were linked to a certain incapacity for bad luck and an unwearying tenaciousness of purpose.
— from The Kingdom of Slender Swords by Hallie Erminie Rives - In the first stage of Gale's observation of Yaqui he had marked tenaciousness of life, stoicism, endurance, strength.
— from Desert Gold by Zane Grey - But it did not occur to me, that my tenaciousness of opinion might seem as strange to him as did his to me.
— from Home Scenes and Home Influence; a series of tales and sketches by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur - He tried to free himself of that thought, but it clung to him with a tenaciousness that oppressed him with a grim and ugly foreboding.
— from The Golden Snare by James Oliver Curwood - This tenaciousness of their own dignity and privileges was shown in some disagreements with the upper house.
— from Constitutional History of England, Henry VII to George II. Volume 1 of 3 by Henry Hallam - Prodigies of valour, audacity, and tenaciousness were displayed by the citizens in these wars.
— from Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Kropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kniaz - 'Nothing is less wonderful, Spurius, than the obstinacy and tenaciousness of error?'
— from Aurelian; or, Rome in the Third Century by William Ware - Hence the tenaciousness of his logic, the acuteness of his observations, the refinement and the inconsistency of his reasoning.
— from The Collected Works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 01 (of 12) by William Hazlitt