Confusion: Is it a praise or disparagement?
Can anyone tell me whether that's a praise for the woman or a disparagement of her?
''Lydia Lucas Mims was truly not the sort of creature a man could fail to approve of at least somewhat just as she was truly not the sort of creature a woman could help but despise and vilify straightoff."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/01/books/daddy-has-the-best-gossip.html
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Antworten · 3
1
By itself it is hard to say as we don't know why men and women feel that way about her. Before I clicked on the link my initial way of reading this was that she was acting in a manner men would approve of and women would really hate. Based on this I saw it as mainly disparagement even though the following text makes it clear it's mainly praise of her beauty.
I don't find it very well written myself. It's quite a clumsy sentence to read to me and slightly confusing.
1
A little of both, it implies:
- she is beautiful, so most men would have no choice but to approve in that way
The second part for women seems to imply:
- women would be jealous of her beauty, and therefore dislike her
1
This says that men will approve of Lydia and that other women will immediately despise and vilify her.
"at least somewhat" = "to some degree, but not necessarily completely".
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