Sir Walter and shooting
Posted by Kathy F. on September 24, 1997 at 08:09:17:
In response to Deputatizing, written by Jane Elizabeth on September 19, 1997 at 12:25:04
] I don't know what he meant by "never killed...gentleman." It sounds like a sly Austen bit ribbing gentlemanly behavior...anyone?
To me, Sir Walter is always so worried about appearances (he has a man to arrange his hair, which no other book makes any mention whatever of this sort of thing), that I think that he is worried about messing something up by shooting--whether it is his hands from the powder, or the possibility of being disfigured if a gun backfires, or just being outside on a windy day. Or else, he's afraid that he won't be the best shot, so he never learned. Maybe that's why Lady Catherine (P&P) never learned to play piano--because she was afraid she wouldn't outshine everyone else, so she never undertook it. ?
Kathy
Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one.
