"Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril." - Oscar Wilde
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Saturday, September 3, 2011
Right now I am loving G. K. Chesterton's Manalive... but I just came across this funny quote:
"Pym rose with sincere embarassment; for he was an American, and his respect for ladies was real, and not at all scientific."
"whaaaa?"
What does he mean? about Americans? about ladies? What the heck? hahaha
Well, what I have to say is pure speculation, but here goes:
The British - aka Chesterton himself - are known as prim and proper, following the rules of decorum even when they are nonsensical, simply because things "are" or "are not" done, and not because they contain inherent worth. Americans -especially at the turn of the last century - are known for being rugged indivdualists (good) who were completely unschooled in proper manners and perhaps, even thought. So, not knowing the context of the quote, I think it's saying that perhaps Pym is standing up for what he believes in, and not what has been proven scientifically true or proceduraly correct. It's a back handed compliment of sorts. As for what it means to the ladies, well, I think that they are merely background noise in this context. LOL What do YOU think? xoxo
Well, what I have to say is pure speculation, but here goes:
ReplyDeleteThe British - aka Chesterton himself - are known as prim and proper, following the rules of decorum even when they are nonsensical, simply because things "are" or "are not" done, and not because they contain inherent worth. Americans -especially at the turn of the last century - are known for being rugged indivdualists (good) who were completely unschooled in proper manners and perhaps, even thought. So, not knowing the context of the quote, I think it's saying that perhaps Pym is standing up for what he believes in, and not what has been proven scientifically true or proceduraly correct. It's a back handed compliment of sorts. As for what it means to the ladies, well, I think that they are merely background noise in this context. LOL What do YOU think? xoxo