Wu Ting
How would you explain ‘Don’t spit yourself out like a seed ’ in the context? Frida was digging in that basket again, and unbelievably, produced another half-bottle of wine, recorked from some previous adventure. “And love, Sóli, don’t forget that. We are bodies, sometimes with dreams and always with desires.” “Love. But the pure kind of love, what Lev has for humanity, I don’t think that comes very often. Most of us are ordinary. If we do anything great, it’s only so we’ll be loved ourselves. Maybe just for ten minutes.” “Love is love, Sóli. We give greatly to receive. Don’t spit yourself out like a seed all the time. When Lev was your age, he was probably more like you than you think.” How would you explain ‘Don’t spit yourself out like a seed ’ in the context? Thanks! PS: It’s from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.
Jul 30, 2014 1:36 PM
Answers · 7
It means don't undervalue yourself.
July 30, 2014
Nor I. It's just my interpretation of what the character meant. Gordon and I are both devotees of Barbara Kingsolver, and I - together with other members - have been sharing our interpretations of this book for some time now.
July 31, 2014
Writers are free to coin new phrases. I think this is just something the author has thought up. Maybe it'll catch on. Maybe it already has!
July 30, 2014
Interesting. I live in Canada and am not familiar with this phrase.
July 30, 2014
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