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Literary notes about her (AI summary)

In literature, the pronoun “her” is used as a multifaceted tool to define female identity, relationships, and emotional states. It not only points to a character’s physical attributes or possessions, as seen when a lady’s simple gown or shawl is mentioned [1, 2], but also layers in complex interpersonal dynamics and societal roles—for example, when illustrating familial ties and social expectations [3, 4, 5]. Authors deftly employ “her” to invite readers into both intimate moments of vulnerability, such as weeping or tender gestures [6, 7], and robust actions that drive narratives, like defiant resistance or expressive passion [8, 9]. In doing so, “her” becomes an essential device that encapsulates the inner life and outer circumstances of women across varied literary traditions [10, 11, 12].
  1. “Here’s her shawl she left on the bed in her hurry; she left her bonnet, too.”
    — from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
  2. The hat protects her face also against the fire, which ought not to strike her skin; to shield her hands she wears mittens.
    — from The Golden Bough: A Study of Magic and Religion by James George Frazer
  3. Alicia had just descended the stairs with her maid; a rosy-faced country girl.
    — from Lady Audley's Secret by M. E. Braddon
  4. “They have arrested me for my wife’s debts,” said he, “and they tell me I must pay them because I am her husband.”
    — from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova
  5. She never had a will of her own; a woman has no call for one, if she's got a proper man for her husband.
    — from Silas Marner by George Eliot
  6. Her face is pale and her eyes red with weeping.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  7. I asked her.
    — from Dracula's Guest by Bram Stoker
  8. He would have liked to resist, to retain her, to arouse her enthusiasm by some external and brilliant matter.
    — from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
  9. Seeing that she was leaving him he seized her by her lace sleeve and ended quickly: "If not to-day, then to-morrow; but you will have to give in.
    — from The Bet, and other stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  10. She was startled to find how the atmosphere of her old life enveloped her.
    — from The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
  11. She turned away from him, and pressed her handkerchief to her eyes.
    — from The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  12. What do you expect her to do?
    — from Ulysses by James Joyce

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