Wednesday, December 17, 2008

What does the following section mean?: "'The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement,and avoidance of anything...

Framton Nuttel is a complete bore. He has come out to the country to get away from anything strenuous. After hearing Vera's dramatic and morbid story about her aunt's husband and brothers, he is even more on edge. (Vera had told Framton that, years ago, her aunt's husband and brothers went hunting and never returned, having died in a bog. Vera adds that her aunt, Mrs. Sappleton, keeps the window open in case her husband and brothers return.) This is all a lie, but it is convincing to the weak-minded Framton who then becomes even more nervous. As a result, he resorts to the thing he knows best: talking about himself. From the moment he arrived at the Sappleton home, he could only talk about himself and his ailments. But at this point, he is also nervously rambling. 


In this section, Framton "labored" (behaved) under the delusion that these people would actually be interested in his ailments. He goes on to talk about his diet. Again, he keeps talking, partly out of nerves and partly because he thinks this stuff is interesting to his hosts. Note the contrast between Framton and Vera. Even though Vera lies compulsively, at least she says interesting things. Framton has nothing interesting to say. 

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