"A secret regret for the unhappiness she must occasion him, which silently yet powerfully reproached her, stole fast upon her mind, and poisoned its tranquility, for though her opinion was invariable in holding his proposal to be wrong, she thought too highly of his character to believe he would have made it but from a mistaken notion it was right."
— Burney [married name D'Arblay], Frances (1752-1840)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell
Date
1782
Metaphor
"A secret regret for the unhappiness she must occasion him, which silently yet powerfully reproached her, stole fast upon her mind, and poisoned its tranquility, for though her opinion was invariable in holding his proposal to be wrong, she thought too highly of his character to believe he would have made it but from a mistaken notion it was right."
Metaphor in Context
Delvile to set out for London, and he expected the morning after to claim her for his wife; yet Mr. Monckton neither sent nor came, and she knew not if her letter was delivered, or if still he was unprepared for the disappointment by which he was awaited. A secret regret for the unhappiness she must occasion him, which silently yet powerfully reproached her, stole fast upon her mind, and poisoned its tranquility, for though her opinion was invariable in holding his proposal to be wrong, she thought too highly of his character to believe he would have made it but from a mistaken notion it was right. She painted him, therefore, to herself, as glowing with indignation, accusing her of inconsistency, and perhaps suspecting her of coquetry, and imputing her change of conduct to motives the most trifling and narrow, till with resentment and disdain, he drove her wholly from his thoughts.
(IV, p. 106)
(IV, p. 106)
Categories
Provenance
C-H Lion
Citation
At least 14 entries in ESTC (1782, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1790, 1791, 1793, 1795, 1796).
Frances Burney, Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress. By the Author of Evelina. 5 vols. (London: Printed for T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell, 1782). <Link to ESTC>
Frances Burney, Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress. By the Author of Evelina. 5 vols. (London: Printed for T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell, 1782). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
06/16/2013