The Infectious Nature of Contempt

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.

 

Quote From Great Expectations purple and gray border

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Nina Badzin hosts the podcast Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship. She's been writing about friendship since 2014, co-leads the writing groups at ModernWell in Minneapolis, and reviews 30+ books a year on her website.

7 Responses

  1. 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 ChoicesMy Profile

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Hi, I'm Nina

HI, I’M NINA BADZIN. I’m a writer fascinated by the dynamics of friendship, and I’ve been answering anonymous advice questions on the topic since 2014. I now also answer them on my podcast, Dear Nina! I’m a creative writing instructor at ModernWell in Minneapolis, a freelance writer and editor, and an avid reader who reviews 50 books a year. Welcome to my site! 

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DEAR NINA: Conversations About Friendship is a podcast and newsletter about the ups and downs of adult friendship. I’m the host, Nina Badzin, a Minneapolis-based writer who accepted a position as a friendship advice columnist in 2014 and never stopped. DEAR NINA, the podcast, started in 2021, and has been referenced in The Wall Street JournalThe Washington PostTime Magazine, The GuardianThe Chicago TribuneThe Minneapolis Star Tribune, and elsewhere

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