Thoughts on Contempt
As I mentioned a few weeks ago when I decided to share random “finds” on Fridays, I still have the quotes I’ve been collecting since junior high. One quote is from one of my favorite classics, Great Expectations. Before this scene when Pip first meets Miss Havisham and Estella, Pip’s life had been very simple. He wasn’t exactly happy, per se, but he wasn’t particularly unhappy with his life either.
I read Great Expectations in high school and again in college, but the lines I jotted down in my quote book I must have highlighted in 10th or 11th grade. Something was obviously bothering me at that time. This quote is about shame, for sure.
Estella says, “‘And what coarse hands he has. And what thick boots!’
I had never thought of being ashamed of my hands before; but I began to consider them a very indifferent pair. Her contempt was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it.”
Isn’t that so true about undue criticism and contempt? It is infectious. Charles Dickens got it exactly right.
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7 Responses
Yes, it’s so true. It is infectious. I remember a teacher once telling me that if someone hurt me, it was because I was letting them hurt me. Well, of course! I have feelings. I wish it were as simple as he said.
Tamara recently posted..And This Is How It’s Done.
Oh yeah, that would be nice. 😉
What a great quote, I agree! Happy Hanukkah, Nina!
Julia Munroe Martin recently posted..Lost in the story
Thanks, Julia!
Happy Hanukkah to you– hope you are enjoying wonderful family time.
As for the quote– so true, unfortunately.
Thanks, Julie!
So interesting. Great Expectations is one of my favorites, actually, at least among the classics. I think I read it at a time when I was susceptible to the idea of class mobility. (I might not have put it that way then…)
But yes, contempt is infectious. It is a little bit why I dislike living in my hipster Brooklyn neighborhood. If everything is beneath you, where can you walk?
Deb @ Urban Moo Cow recently posted..Everyone Has Limits, Not Everyone Has Choices