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Literary notes about relapse (AI summary)

The word "relapse" has been used in literature to evoke a return to a previous state, whether emotional, physical, or behavioral. In many works, authors employ the term to illustrate an involuntary or habitual reversion, as seen when a character slips back into despair or melancholy, such as Isaac’s descent into desolation in [1] or Marie’s immediate reversion to her old condition in [2]. At times, it conveys an intermittent lapse into affectation or silence, illustrated by the momentary switch into affectation in [3] or a reluctant return to contemplation in [4]. Moreover, the term is also applied to describe recurring deteriorations in health or spirit, highlighted by Nina Fyodorovna’s unmistakable symptoms in [5] and the ominous fear of a relapse in [6]. Across this spectrum, "relapse" serves as a literary device to underscore the difficulty of escaping one’s inherent nature or past struggles.
  1. Isaac groaned deeply, and began to wring his hands, and to relapse into his state of desolation and despair.
    — from Ivanhoe: A Romance by Walter Scott
  2. “When we left her, Marie used to relapse at once into her old condition, and sit with closed eyes and motionless limbs.
    — from The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  3. Let him relapse for an instant into affectation—a minute later comes a moment of frost.
    — from On Love by Stendhal
  4. Sometimes he would get up, try on his new suit, and sit down again to relapse into contemplation and silence.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  5. "_ VIII Towards the end of October Nina Fyodorovna had unmistakable symptoms of a relapse.
    — from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
  6. Yet not without some fear Of a relapse.
    — from The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster

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