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For example, consider the famous opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good for
by mrob 9y ago
For example, consider the famous opening sentence of Pride and Prejudice:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
The joke only works in passive voice. If you attribute it to a specific person or group then it's no longer comical wishful thinking, it's just plain wrong. Sometimes vagueness is beneficial.
- draw_down 9y agoPride and Prejudice, you say? Must have been written by some rube.
- 1123581321 9y agoClose — it’s because this kind of wanting is a passive, chronic want that may or may not be acted on with the right amount of forwardness, as the novel demonstrates. You could rewrite the sentence as “a single man...wants a wife” and talk about exactly the same group (men with a fortune) so that’s not where the inaccuracy lies.