Literary notes about cravat (AI summary)
Writers use the cravat to evoke a sense of elegance and to subtly signal a character’s social standing or mood. At times, its detailed description—with attention to fabric, color, and fit—establishes an image of polished refinement, as when it is portrayed as a shining accessory that completes a gentleman’s ensemble [1, 2, 3]. In other passages, the cravat becomes a source of humor or a symbol of quirky behavior, such as when it is confused with a belt or adjusted in a theatrical manner [4, 5]. Moreover, moments of fastening or untying the cravat are often charged with emotional or transformative significance, marking shifts in a character’s disposition or circumstances [6, 7, 8]. Through these varied uses, the cravat emerges as a versatile motif, rich with both aesthetic and symbolic meaning [9, 10, 11].
- With his collar turned up, his shiny, seedy coat, his red cravat, and his worn boots, he was a perfect sample of the class.
— from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - and he had himself embalmed in a frock coat suit, with a satin cravat and a diamond pin.
— from The Forsyte Saga, Volume I. by John Galsworthy - His cravat was a shiny combination of silken threads, not loud, not inconspicuous.
— from Sister Carrie: A Novel by Theodore Dreiser - At least, a beautiful cravat, I should have said—no, a belt, I mean—I beg your pardon.
— from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Alice Gerstenberg - Humpty Dumpty It is a— most—provoking —thing, when a person doesn’t know a cravat from a belt.
— from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and Alice Gerstenberg - The snow drifted under my great-coat, under my coat, under my cravat, and melted there.
— from Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Utterly preposterous as his cravat was, and as his collars were, I was conscious of a sort of dignity in the look.
— from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - “At my suggestion a couple of the county police were summoned to be present, and I then endeavored to raise the stone by pulling on the cravat.
— from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle - Courfeyrac untied his cravat and with it bandaged Marius’ brow.
— from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo - He returned in a few seconds enveloped in an ulster and a cravat.
— from A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle - "My amiable child," murmured Mr. Turveydrop, adjusting his cravat.
— from Bleak House by Charles Dickens
