Literary notes about peach (AI summary)
Literary authors employ the word peach in a remarkably versatile manner. In some works it appears as a concrete and sensuous object in richly painted landscapes—consider the description of a “magnificent peach” ripened by artificial heat [1] and the natural beauty of a “ripe peach” symbolizing health and charm in a character’s visage [2]. Others use it as a metaphor for delicacy and affection, whether portraying a gentle, beloved quality in someone referred to as “a peach” [3] or evoking the soft allure of “peach-cheeks” in tender moments [4]. Moreover, the fruit is not merely confined to the botanical realm, as it takes on mythical and allegorical roles as well, such as when it is imbued with magical properties or serves as a symbol of immortality [5, 6]. Through these varied portrayals, the peach consistently emerges as a motif of beauty, vitality, and nuanced human character.
- A magnificent peach was hanging against an adjoining wall, ripened by the same artificial heat.
— from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet - Her face was round and rosy, with a healthful downy softness, suggestive of a ripe peach.
— from Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - “She’s my lady friend,” Jim explained, “and she’s a peach.
— from Martin Eden by Jack London - And he adds, “I kiss both your little peach-cheeks.”
— from Juliette Drouet's Love-Letters to Victor Hugo by Juliette Drouet and Louis Guimbaud - “I have brought with me a magic peach, of a kind not to be found in any earthly orchard.
— from Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. Werner - He is sometimes represented holding his feather-fan, Yü-mao Shan; at other times the peach of immortality.
— from Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. Werner
