But the books we cherish, which deserve the name of classics, feel essentially humane to us, despite their limitations, even their bigotry.
But with loud rock music, a generic background to the drama of dependence, insecurity and intimacy that they enact, they feel essentially alone.
For many liberals, the outcome of the election has filled them with a crippling sense of helplessness and horror; despite taking action, they feel essentially voiceless in their own country.
We feel essentially unprotected, vulnerable.
Parisians can be credited with reclaiming the "City of Lights" from the terrorists, and the city streets and cafes feel essentially normal, with little outward evidence of the horrific acts of November 13.
Eric Taylor, a professor at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, says: "I feel that essentially the drugs are for serious cases that can't be managed any other ways, but there is a lot that can be done without drugs.
The play, too, feels essentially familiar, and not just because I saw a different production of it on Broadway two seasons ago.
"They felt, essentially, the foreign view emphasized the party's fragility and insecurity".
"Diana's music feels essentially American without getting into that whole Americana thing," Ms. Patchett added.
But it tastes good, and feels essentially nourishing, to both body and soul, to cook and eat.
