In chapter 9, what does Hindley mean when he says the following to Catherine?
"I'd advise you all to look sharp: I shall only have the more humour for you."
Thanks.
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In chapter 9, what does Hindley mean when he says the following to Catherine?
"I'd advise you all to look sharp: I shall only have the more humour for you."
Thanks.
Just that in the absence of Heathcliff the rest of the household are likely to end up on the receiving end not only of Hindley's customary cantankerousness but of the extra bile he's spared the boy...in fact my explanation is more complicated than Bronte's own words, but the confusion might arise from the word 'humour'; between its orignal use as a medical term and its current comedic connotations it was largely (and technically remains) synonymous with 'mood', both words being qualified implicitly by context. Hindley, having given his punchbag the day off, is anticipating a bout of bad 'humour', so today I suppose he'd say:
'watch out you lot, I'm only going to be in a worse mood'
sorry that's a bit waffly, especially if I've misinterpreted your question, but hopefully some help :)