James: provide for your marriage
Marius Hancu
"To provide for a marriage"
does it imply here providing both:
- the bride
- the financial means?
-----
[After finding that Chad isn't marriage material for the time being,
Strether wants to arrange the marriage of Bilham with Mamie]
"Oh precisely! But he needn't marry at all—I'm at any rate not obliged
to provide for it. Whereas in your case I rather feel that I AM."
Little Bilham was amused. "Obliged to provide for my marrying?"
"Yes—after all I've done to you!"
The young man weighed it. "Have you done as much as that?"
"Well," said Strether, thus challenged, "of course I must remember
what you've also done to ME. We may perhaps call it square. But all
the same," he went on, "I wish awfully you'd marry Mamie Pocock
yourself."
Henry James, The Ambassadors, p. 283
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/432/432-h/432-h.htm
-----
--
Thanks.
Marius Hancu
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
<marius...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Hello:
>
>"To provide for a marriage"
>does it imply here providing both:
>- the bride
>- the financial means?
>
To me it is the financial means.
OED:
provide, v.
III. To supply someone; to equip with the necessary resources.
8. intr.
b. To supply the necessary resources for a thing to happen or exist.
1583 B. MELBANCKE Philotimus sig. P4v, Your father in his life time
did not meanely provide for your marriage.
The father presumably set aside money to pay for the marriage.
>-----
>[After finding that Chad isn't marriage material for the time being,
>Strether wants to arrange the marriage of Bilham with Mamie]
>
>"Oh precisely! But he needn't marry at all�I'm at any rate not obliged
>to provide for it. Whereas in your case I rather feel that I AM."
>
>Little Bilham was amused. "Obliged to provide for my marrying?"
>
>"Yes�after all I've done to you!"
>
>The young man weighed it. "Have you done as much as that?"
>
>"Well," said Strether, thus challenged, "of course I must remember
>what you've also done to ME. We may perhaps call it square. But all
>the same," he went on, "I wish awfully you'd marry Mamie Pocock
>yourself."
>
>Henry James, The Ambassadors, p. 283
>http://www.gutenberg.org/files/432/432-h/432-h.htm
>-----
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Marius Hancu
wrote:
> >"To provide for a marriage"
> >does it imply here providing both:
> >- the bride
> >- the financial means?
>
> To me it is the financial means.
>
> OED:
>
> provide, v.
>
> III. To supply someone; to equip with the necessary resources.
> 8. intr.
> b. To supply the necessary resources for a thing to happen or exist.
>
> 1583 B. MELBANCKE Philotimus sig. P4v, Your father in his life time
> did not meanely provide for your marriage.
>
> The father presumably set aside money to pay for the marriage.
Yes, but in this case he's not the father of the bride and is making
the go-between between the youths too ... so I thought it's perhaps
both.
>
>
> >-----
> >[After finding that Chad isn't marriage material for the time being,
> >Strether wants to arrange the marriage of Bilham with Mamie]
>
> >"Oh precisely! But he needn't marry at all—I'm at any rate not obliged
> >to provide for it. Whereas in your case I rather feel that I AM."
>
> >Little Bilham was amused. "Obliged to provide for my marrying?"
>
> >"Yes—after all I've done to you!"
>
> >The young man weighed it. "Have you done as much as that?"
>
> >"Well," said Strether, thus challenged, "of course I must remember
> >what you've also done to ME. We may perhaps call it square. But all
> >the same," he went on, "I wish awfully you'd marry Mamie Pocock
> >yourself."
Thanks.
Marius Hancu