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Wu Ting
How would you explain ‘be loved ourselves’ 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 ‘be loved ourselves’ in the sentence: …it’s only so we’ll be loved ourselves?
Thanks!
PS: It’s from The Lacuna by Kingsolver.
Jul 30, 2014 1:31 PM
Answers · 1
'be loved ourselves' means that other people will love us.
Most ordinary people only do great things in order to be loved.
The word 'ourselves' is a reflexive pronoun added for emphasis.
July 30, 2014
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Wu Ting
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French
Learning Language
English
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