Literary notes about underling (AI summary)
In literature, "underling" is often employed to designate a person of inferior rank or a subordinate whose role emphasizes the power imbalance within a hierarchy. Writers use the term to evoke a sense of deference or insignificance, whether portraying a minor official in a bureaucratic system [1, 2] or a character whose subservience is highlighted through dismissive treatment [3, 4]. Additionally, the word sometimes bears an ironic or critical tone, suggesting both literal and metaphorical deference to authority while questioning or critiquing established power structures [5, 6]. Through such usage, authors underscore social stratification and the dynamics of control in personal and institutional relationships.
- Her father was some sort of underling in the general post office—a clerk or accountant, or something of the kind.
— from Gloria Mundi by Harold Frederic - Fortunately, as I before said, Barnard was an underling,—young, unknown, and obscure.
— from Devereux — Complete by Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron - cried Douglas, imperiously, as though he spoke to an underling.
— from The Black Douglas by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett - Yet, poor as he was, merely her father’s underling, how could he ever hope to gain her hand?
— from Behind the Throne by William Le Queux - The apologetic little peasant monk, who had let us in was evidently an underling.
— from Poor Folk in Spain by Jan Gordon - When you've been an underling all your life you can't imagine what a joy it is to be top dog occasionally."
— from Jan and Her Job by L. Allen (Lizzie Allen) Harker
