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Literary notes about thwarted (AI summary)

The term “thwarted” in literature often evokes the sense of obstruction—whether of ambitions, desires, or carefully laid plans—with an echo of both external force and internal defeat. Writers deploy the word to highlight characters’ struggles against fate or societal impositions, as in the frustration of political maneuvering [1] or the sorrow of unfulfilled love and purpose [2]. It captures a moment when efforts are undermined, as seen by characters facing continual barriers in their pursuits [3], or when intentions, no matter how fervent, ultimately falter under unforeseen circumstances [4]. This layered usage enriches narratives by emphasizing the tension between human determination and the inexorable, often indifferent realities of life.
  1. For in these years of his life it seems to have been Palmerston’s business to have thwarted Louis Philippe in all his politics.
    — from Lord Palmerston by Anthony Trollope
  2. Thus all the widow's thwarted love went out to wards this little child.
    — from The Hungry Stones, and Other Stories by Rabindranath Tagore
  3. “Bear it;” replied Laura scornfully, “I’ve all my life borne it, and fate has thwarted me at every step.”
    — from The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner
  4. When she meets her lover, however, they renew their pledges and arrange, if their plans are thwarted, to meet at the Chapel of the Virgin.
    — from The Standard Light Operas, Their Plots and Their Music by George P. (George Putnam) Upton

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