Marcin S.
she stood in for junior divinity... An excerpt from a book: "Jim Prideaux was a poor white of the teaching community. He belonged to the same sad bunch as the late Mrs Loveday who had a Persian lamb coat and stood in for junior divinity until her cheques bounced(...)" The question is: Did she pretend a godess and paid by bad cheques, or was she a religion teacher in junior classes or something else?more: "The truth is, if old Major Dover hadn't dropped dead at Taunton races Jim would never have come to Thursgood's at all. He came in mid-term without an interview, late May it was though no one would have thought it from the weather, employed through one of the shiftier agencies specialising in supply teachers for prep schools, to hold down old Dover's teaching till someone suitable could be found. 'A linguist,' Thursgood told the common room, 'a temporary measure,' and brushed away his forelock in self-defence. Priddo.' He gave the spelling P-R-I-D' - French was not Thursgood's subject so he consulted the slip of paper - 'E-A-U-X, first name James. I think he'll do us very well till July.' The staff had no difficulty in reading the signals. Jim Prideaux was a poor white of the teaching community. He belonged to the same sad bunch as the late Mrs Loveday who had a Persian lamb coat and stood in for junior divinity until her cheques bounced, or the late Mr Maltby, the pianist who had been called from choir practice to help the police with their enquiries, and for all anyone knew was helping them to this day, for Maltby's trunk still lay in the cellar awaiting instructions. Several of the staff, but chiefly Marjoribanks, were in favour of opening that trunk. They said it contained notorious missing treasures: Aprahamian's silver-framed picture of his Lebanese mother, for instance; Best-Ingram's Swiss army penknife and Matron's watch. But Thursgood set his creaseless face resolutely against their entreaties. Only five years had passed since he had inherited the school from his father, but they had taught him already that some things are best locked away."
2011年11月19日 11:58
回答 · 9
Hmmmm, I do not know the book so I cannot be sure of the following. But I read this differently from Padraig. Saying that "....she stood in for junior divinity..." can mean that she thought she was better than everyone else, a goddess as you suggest. Two things make me think this, first, saying she had a Persian lamb coat seems to indicate she had expensive looking clothes. Second "...until her cheques bounced" tells me that her reputation disintegrated because her credit was bad. So I think the author is saying that she thought she was a goddess, better than everyone else, but when her cheques bounced she and everyone else knew she was just poor.
2011年11月19日
stand in, — vb (usually foll by for ) 1. to act as a substitute junior divinity = junior class of theology she stood in for junior divinity, means, "she is teaching junior class of theology temporarily", just like Jim Prideaux.
2014年4月26日
I agree
2011年11月20日
It appears from the passage that she was a teacher, in the school that Jim Prideaux had inherited.
2011年11月19日
She was a religious teacher. I'm not sure, but I don't think that deities are paid by cheque. :)))))))))))))))
2011年11月19日
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