Literary notes about dignity (AI summary)
In literature, dignity is portrayed as both an intrinsic sense of self-worth and an emblem of social or official rank. Characters often refuse actions they perceive as beneath their station, as when someone avoids the appearance of impropriety to preserve personal honor ([1], [2]). At the same time, dignity is linked to ceremonial and institutional authority, evident in descriptions of regal vestments and public offices ([3], [4], [5]). Moreover, it underscores an inner strength—a quiet nobility that can emerge in moments of adversity or personal triumph ([6], [7], [8]). This dual usage highlights how dignity can both define individual identity and symbolize collective esteem, weaving together the personal and the public in the fabric of narrative character.
- “Here they come,” said I; and I returned to my former position, for it seemed beneath my dignity that they should find me watching them.
— from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson - When the boy had entered the hut, Pétya sat down at a distance from him, considering it beneath his dignity to pay attention to him.
— from War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy - He is also entitled to a seat in the East, and to wear a jewel and collar peculiar to his dignity.
— from The Principles of Masonic Law by Albert Gallatin Mackey - .That is, with all the vestments denoting his dignity and authority.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - The terror of the Roman arms added weight and dignity to the moderation of the emperors.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - And it was a comfort to me, and an impulse to me, and I felt a dignity rise up within me that was derived from him when I thought so.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens - He bears himself with a calm, stately dignity, and is a man of noble presence.
— from Roughing It by Mark Twain - After a pause of still greater dignity he continued.
— from Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
