Literary notes about wizened (AI summary)
The adjective “wizened” is widely used in literature to evoke an image of age and transformation, suggesting not only physical shrinkage but also a depth of experience and history. In Gogol’s "Dead Souls," the term appears both in the portrayal of a wizened old lady [1] and in describing marble-like features that imply a long, storied life [2]. Similarly, Andrew Lang in "The Blue Fairy Book" employs the term to paint a vivid picture of a dwarf with an aged, withered face [3], while Kafka’s brief depiction of a small, wizened man with a candle [4] underscores a sense of mysterious endurance. Arthur Conan Doyle’s use in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" [5] and the folklore narrative in "Philippine Folk Tales" [6] further cement the term as a marker of wisdom and the burdens of time, a sentiment echoed by Temple Bailey in "The Gay Cockade" [7], where characters emerge as plump or wizened echoes of their former selves.
- Here there lived a relative of the Chichikovs, a wizened old lady who went to market in person and dried her stockings at the samovar.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol - In the same way, his wizened, marble-like features reminded one of nothing in particular, so primly proportioned were they.
— from Dead Souls by Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol - When they approached nearer they perceived a dwarf with a wizened face and a beard a yard long.
— from The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang - It was a small, wizened man with a full beard, he held a candle in his hand.
— from The Trial by Franz Kafka - We were admitted by a strange, wizened, rusty-coated old manservant, who seemed in keeping with the
— from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle - Tinguian In the depths of a dark forest where people seldom went, lived a wizened old Alan.
— from Philippine Folk Tales - Some of them died, some of them resigned, some of them worked on, plump or wizened parodies of their former selves.
— from The Gay Cockade by Temple Bailey
