Literary notes about unassuming (AI summary)
The word "unassuming" has been employed by various authors to evoke a sense of quiet modesty and understated presence in both people and places. In James Joyce’s work, for example, it describes not only an ordinary drapery shop [1] but also a character noted for his quiet, reserved nature [2]. Charles Dickens uses the term to illustrate characters who remain modest despite their fortunes and circumstances [3, 4], while Thomas Hardy and Washington Irving emphasize its role in portraying environments and individuals that are simple yet dignified [5, 6, 7]. From the humble depiction in poems by Robert Burns to the subtle characterization in texts by Chekhov and Dostoyevsky [8, 9, 10], "unassuming" consistently carries connotations of natural modesty—eschewing flamboyance in favor of a calm, reserved strength that stands in gentle contrast to more ostentatious figures and settings.
- It was an unassuming shop, registered under the vague name of Drapery .
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - He was unassuming and spoke little.
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - Yet, having already made his fortune in his own mind, he was so unassuming with it that I felt quite grateful to him for not being puffed up.
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Granting Annuities to Unassuming Members of the Middle Classes, if twenty individuals will previously present purses of one hundred pounds each.
— from Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - The house was large, the rooms lofty, and the landings wide; and the two unassuming women scarcely made a perceptible addition to its contents.
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - Nothing could be more simple and unassuming than their appearance.
— from The Sketch-Book of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington Irving - She is so quiet and unassuming.”
— from The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy - There, in thy scanty mantle clad, Thy snawie bosom sun-ward spread, Thou lifts thy unassuming head In humble guise;
— from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns by Robert Burns - Tatyana Ivanovna, rosy and unassuming as always, was sitting at a little table sewing at her husband’s shirt.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Added to this, his manner was modest and unassuming; he knew when to be silent, yet never allowed himself to be trampled upon.
— from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
