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Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" from the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf.
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李曉冬
Sep 23, 2016, 4:30:20 AM9/23/16
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Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife" from part 1 of the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf.
https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91t/part1.html
“But,” said his father, stopping in front of the drawing-room window, “it won’t be fine.”
Had there been an axe handy, a poker, or any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his father’s breast and killed him, there and then, James would have seized it. Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife, narrow as the blade of one, grinning sarcastically, not only with the pleasure of disillusioning his son and casting ridicule upon his wife, who was ten thousand times better in every way than he was (James thought), but also with some secret conceit at his own accuracy of judgement. What he said was true. It was always true. He was incapable of untruth; never tampered with a fact; never altered a disagreeable word to suit the pleasure or convenience of any mortal being, least of all of his own children, who, sprung from his loins, should be aware from childhood that life is difficult; facts uncompromising; and the passage to that fabled land where our brightest hopes are extinguished, our frail barks founder in darkness (here Mr. Ramsay would straighten his back and narrow his little blue eyes upon the horizon), one that needs, above all, courage, truth, and the power to endure.
Below is the sentence about which I have several questions.
Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
What does the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" refer to?
Does the word "extreme" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "either one of two opposite conditions, feelings, positions, etc., that are thought of as being far from what is normal or reasonable"?
Does the word "excite" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "If something excites a particular feeling, emotion, or reaction in someone, it causes them to experience it" or mean "to make somebody feel a particular emotion or react in a particular way"?
Does the word "breast" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "somebody's chest and heart, considered as the part of somebody's body where somebody feels emotions"?
Does the clause "Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence" modify "the extremes of emotion"?
I am not very clear about the usage "such was something that ...".
Which meaning of the word "as" is used in the sentence "standing, as now"?
Is the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" an adjective?
Does the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "thin but look strong and healthy"?
Does the word "as" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "like"?
Thanks a lot for everyone's help in advance.
https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91t/part1.html
“But,” said his father, stopping in front of the drawing-room window, “it won’t be fine.”
Had there been an axe handy, a poker, or any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his father’s breast and killed him, there and then, James would have seized it. Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife, narrow as the blade of one, grinning sarcastically, not only with the pleasure of disillusioning his son and casting ridicule upon his wife, who was ten thousand times better in every way than he was (James thought), but also with some secret conceit at his own accuracy of judgement. What he said was true. It was always true. He was incapable of untruth; never tampered with a fact; never altered a disagreeable word to suit the pleasure or convenience of any mortal being, least of all of his own children, who, sprung from his loins, should be aware from childhood that life is difficult; facts uncompromising; and the passage to that fabled land where our brightest hopes are extinguished, our frail barks founder in darkness (here Mr. Ramsay would straighten his back and narrow his little blue eyes upon the horizon), one that needs, above all, courage, truth, and the power to endure.
Below is the sentence about which I have several questions.
Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
What does the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" refer to?
Does the word "extreme" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "either one of two opposite conditions, feelings, positions, etc., that are thought of as being far from what is normal or reasonable"?
Does the word "excite" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "If something excites a particular feeling, emotion, or reaction in someone, it causes them to experience it" or mean "to make somebody feel a particular emotion or react in a particular way"?
Does the word "breast" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "somebody's chest and heart, considered as the part of somebody's body where somebody feels emotions"?
Does the clause "Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence" modify "the extremes of emotion"?
I am not very clear about the usage "such was something that ...".
Which meaning of the word "as" is used in the sentence "standing, as now"?
Is the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" an adjective?
Does the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "thin but look strong and healthy"?
Does the word "as" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "like"?
Thanks a lot for everyone's help in advance.
Dingbat
Sep 23, 2016, 4:58:32 AM9/23/16
to
On Friday, September 23, 2016 at 2:00:20 PM UTC+5:30, 李曉冬 wrote:
> Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
> Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
Yes; try entering 'such is life' here:
> Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
> Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
http://zzcad.com/parse.htm
Such refers to something in the previous sentence.
Peter T. Daniels
Sep 23, 2016, 8:23:02 AM9/23/16
to
On Friday, September 23, 2016 at 4:30:20 AM UTC-4, 李曉冬 wrote:
> Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife" from part 1 of the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf.
> Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife" from part 1 of the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf.
> Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
Yes.
> What does the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" refer to?
> Does the word "extreme" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "either one of two opposite conditions, feelings, positions, etc., that are thought of as being far from what is normal or reasonable"?
> Does the word "excite" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "If something excites a particular feeling, emotion, or reaction in someone, it causes them to experience it" or mean "to make somebody feel a particular emotion or react in a particular way"?
> Does the word "breast" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "somebody's chest and heart, considered as the part of somebody's body where somebody feels emotions"?
> Does the clause "Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence" modify "the extremes of emotion"?
> I am not very clear about the usage "such was something that ...".
>
> Which meaning of the word "as" is used in the sentence "standing, as now"?
> Is the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" an adjective?
> Does the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "thin but look strong and healthy"?
> Does the word "as" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "like"?
> Thanks a lot for everyone's help in advance.
Why did you copy out vast amounts of surrounding text?
If such a simple sentence as this baffles you, you are clearly
not ready to be
reading an "experimental" (for her time) author like Virginia Woolf.
李曉冬
Sep 23, 2016, 10:24:19 AM9/23/16
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李曉冬
Sep 23, 2016, 10:25:17 AM9/23/16
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Athel Cornish-Bowden
Sep 23, 2016, 10:47:58 AM9/23/16
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On 2016-09-23 10:30:16 +0200, 李曉冬 <lixiao...@gmail.com> said:
> Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the
> extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breas
> ts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife" from part 1 of
> the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf
Hmm. My newreader abbreviates the long subject line to "Hello everyone,
> Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the
> extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breas
> ts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife" from part 1 of
> the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf
I have several questions about the sentence 'Such ... en’s breasts'".
That me to expect something different from what I saw (especially with
"breasts" in the plural).
--
athel
Jerry Friedman
Sep 23, 2016, 10:53:34 AM9/23/16
to
On 9/23/16 2:30 AM, 李曉冬 wrote:
> Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife" from part 1 of the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf.
>
> https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91t/part1.html
>
> “But,” said his father, stopping in front of the drawing-room window, “it won’t be fine.”
>
> Had there been an axe handy, a poker, or any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his father’s breast and killed him, there and then, James would have seized it. Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife, narrow as the blade of one, grinning sarcastically, not only with the pleasure of disillusioning his son and casting ridicule upon his wife, who was ten thousand times better in every way than he was (James thought), but also with some secret conceit at his own accuracy of judgement. What he said was true. It was always true. He was incapable of untruth; never tampered with a fact; never altered a disagreeable word to suit the pleasure or convenience of any mortal being, least of all of his own children, who, sprung from his loins, should be aware from childhood that life is difficult; facts uncompromising; and the passage to that fabled land where our brightest hopes are extinguished, our frail barks founder in darkness (here Mr. Ramsay would straighten his back and narrow his little blue eyes upon the horizon), one that needs, above all, courage, truth, and the power to endure.
>
> Below is the sentence about which I have several questions.
>
> Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
>
>
> Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
No. You could call it a "pro-adjective" (although I don't think that
> Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife" from part 1 of the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf.
>
> https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91t/part1.html
>
> “But,” said his father, stopping in front of the drawing-room window, “it won’t be fine.”
>
> Had there been an axe handy, a poker, or any weapon that would have gashed a hole in his father’s breast and killed him, there and then, James would have seized it. Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife, narrow as the blade of one, grinning sarcastically, not only with the pleasure of disillusioning his son and casting ridicule upon his wife, who was ten thousand times better in every way than he was (James thought), but also with some secret conceit at his own accuracy of judgement. What he said was true. It was always true. He was incapable of untruth; never tampered with a fact; never altered a disagreeable word to suit the pleasure or convenience of any mortal being, least of all of his own children, who, sprung from his loins, should be aware from childhood that life is difficult; facts uncompromising; and the passage to that fabled land where our brightest hopes are extinguished, our frail barks founder in darkness (here Mr. Ramsay would straighten his back and narrow his little blue eyes upon the horizon), one that needs, above all, courage, truth, and the power to endure.
>
> Below is the sentence about which I have several questions.
>
> Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
>
>
> Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
term is common).
"Such" can also be a pronoun, though I think that's pretty rare.
> What does the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" refer to?
murderous anger". The emotions that Mr. Ramsay excited were as extreme
as James's anger.
> Does the word "extreme" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "either one of two opposite conditions, feelings, positions, etc., that are thought of as being far from what is normal or reasonable"?
can be; they're at the extreme limit of emotion.
> Does the word "excite" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "If something excites a particular feeling, emotion, or reaction in someone, it causes them to experience it" or mean "to make somebody feel a particular emotion or react in a particular way"?
> Does the word "breast" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" mean "somebody's chest and heart, considered as the part of somebody's body where somebody feels emotions"?
> Does the clause "Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence" modify "the extremes of emotion"?
> I am not very clear about the usage "such was something that ...".
emotions that Mr. Ramsay excited were such. The emotions that he
excited were of the kind just described.
This inverted word order with "Such" was probably literary at the time,
not used much in ordinary conversation. I certainly don't encounter it
much now. An exception is the saying "Such is life", which Dingbat
mentioned.
> Which meaning of the word "as" is used in the sentence "standing, as now"?
when he's standing in a certain way, and he's standing that way at the
time described ("now"). But really it's more a way of introducing the
description of what he looks like at that moment, I'd say.
> Is the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" an adjective?
> Does the word "lean" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "thin but look strong and healthy"?
(However, you want "looking", not "look". Also, it's more "healthy"
than "strong".)
> Does the word "as" in the sentence "lean as a knife" mean "like"?
knife's. "Lean like a knife" would be informal or non-standard, and I
don't think Woolf would have written it.
--
Jerry Friedman
"No Trump" bridge-themed political shirts: cafepress.com/jerrysdesigns
Bumper stickers ditto: cafepress/jerrysstickers
Jerry Friedman
Sep 23, 2016, 10:55:10 AM9/23/16
to
On 9/23/16 2:58 AM, Dingbat wrote:
> On Friday, September 23, 2016 at 2:00:20 PM UTC+5:30, 李曉冬 wrote:
>> Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
>
>> Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
>
> Yes; try entering 'such is life' here:
> http://zzcad.com/parse.htm
Interesting. I hope it works better on other sentences.
> On Friday, September 23, 2016 at 2:00:20 PM UTC+5:30, 李曉冬 wrote:
>> Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence; standing, as now, lean as a knife
>
>> Is the word "such" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts" a pronoun?
>
> Yes; try entering 'such is life' here:
> http://zzcad.com/parse.htm
> Such refers to something in the previous sentence.
李曉冬
Sep 23, 2016, 9:37:11 PM9/23/16
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李曉冬
Sep 23, 2016, 9:40:00 PM9/23/16
to
李曉冬
Sep 23, 2016, 10:00:18 PM9/23/16
to
On Friday, September 23, 2016 at 4:30:20 PM UTC+8, 李曉冬 wrote:
Does the word "extreme" in the sentence "Such were the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his children’s breasts by his mere presence" mean "the greatest or highest degree of something"?
Peter Moylan
Sep 24, 2016, 10:41:38 PM9/24/16
to
On 2016-Sep-24 11:39, 李曉冬 wrote:
> Does "standing, as now" mean "standing like the current behavior of Mr. Ramsay"?
Approximately. Another way of saying it would be "standing, which is
> Does "standing, as now" mean "standing like the current behavior of Mr. Ramsay"?
what he is now doing,"
--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
李曉冬
Sep 25, 2016, 9:02:56 AM9/25/16
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Harrison Hill
Sep 25, 2016, 3:33:47 PM9/25/16
to
Normal rules no longer apply (arguably) in such places.
Virginia Wolf is tough going for a native English-speaker. "Tough
going" means "difficult".
李曉冬
Sep 26, 2016, 7:48:58 AM9/26/16
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Charles Bishop
Oct 3, 2016, 7:20:21 PM10/3/16
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In article <e4ktks...@mid.individual.net>,
Another good reason not to put the question in the Subect Line. It reads
"Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were
the extremes of emotion that Mr. Ramsay excited in his childrenﾕs
breasts" from the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf."
--
charles
"Hello everyone, I have several questions about the sentence "Such were
breasts" from the novel "To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf."
--
charles
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