Hi folks, long time lurker here, this is my first post in this sub. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to ask such a silly question like this one here but here it is:
Can anyone explain to me what this paragraph in the book **Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell** means?
>// Nothing was more characteristic of Sir Walter Pole than *Surprize*. His eyes grew large, his eyebrows rose half an inch upon his face and he leant suddenly backwards and altogether he resembled nothing so much as a figure in the engravings of Mr Rowlandson or Mr Gillray. In public life *Surprize* served Sir Walter very well. “But, surely,” he cried, “You cannot mean to say —!” And, always supposing that the gentleman who was so foolish as to suggest – in Sir Walter’s hearing was no friend of yours, or if you have that sort of mischief in you that likes to see blunt wits confounded by sharp ones, you would be entertained. On days when he was full of cheerful malice Sir Walter was better than a play in Drury-lane. Dull gentlemen in both Houses grew perplexed, and avoided him when they could. (Old Lord So-and-so waves his stick at Sir Walter as he trots down the little stone passage that connects the House of Commons to the Horse-Guards, and cries over his shoulder, “I will not speak to you, sir! You twist my words! You give me meanings I never intended!”) //
English is not my first language and I just can’t seem to fathom what this paragraph means even though I have read and re-read it many times, especially this sentence:
>// And, always supposing that the gentleman who was so foolish as to suggest – in Sir Walter’s hearing was no friend of yours, or if you have that sort of mischief in you that likes to see blunt wits confounded by sharp ones, you would be entertained. //
Kept me scratching my head. Thanks in advance everyone, happy reading 🙂
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by jolcheung2
1 Comment
The dash is intended to represent an opinion – ANY opinion – that Sir Walter could argue with. So for instance – Surely you cannot mean to suggest that we withdraw from the war with Napoleon?
Sir Walter will then put forward arguments as to why they should do so and he will do this really well, because he likes arguing. He may not believe in what he’s saying at all – he just likes a fight. If you don’t like the person who put forward that opinion or if you’re a bit of a mean person who likes seeing people looking stupid, you’re going to have fun watching it happen
If this doesn’t make sense, let me know
Edit to change a typo