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Literary notes about unaffected (AI summary)

The term “unaffected” in literature is often used to suggest a natural, sincere, and uncontrived quality—one that implies a depth of character free from pretense. In works such as Burnett’s The Secret Garden, we see Dickon described as “simple and unaffected,” emphasizing his genuine kindness and innate goodness [1]. Austen, too, employs the word in various contexts—whether highlighting a character’s modest delight in Northanger Abbey or underscoring the plain, courteous manner prized in Emma [2, 3, 4]—thus reinforcing an ideal of natural ease and honesty. Meanwhile, in more philosophical or reflective texts such as Galen’s writings or even in political treatises, “unaffected” takes on a broader significance, evoking resilience or an immunity to external pressures [5, 6]. Across genres, from the understated grace celebrated in poetry to the straightforward sincerity valued in social etiquette guides, “unaffected” remains a versatile descriptor that underscores authenticity and a refreshing lack of artifice.
  1. Dickon was quite simple and unaffected about it.
    — from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  2. In a few moments Catherine, with unaffected pleasure, assured her that she need not be longer uneasy, as the gentlemen had just left the pump-room.
    — from Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  3. With men he can be rational and unaffected, but when he has ladies to please, every feature works.”
    — from Emma by Jane Austen
  4. It was enough to secure his good opinion; for to be unaffected was all that a pretty girl could want to make her mind as captivating as her person.
    — from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
  5. 251 Are we to suppose this latter faculty alone to be as tough as steel and unaffected by circumstances?
    — from Galen: On the Natural Faculties by Galen
  6. “The three last,” returned he, with a negligence evidently unaffected, for he could not imagine with what intention the question was put.
    — from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet

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