"The love of sway was her ruling passion, and she knew it would be highly gratified by taking into her house a young orphan, who had no appeal from her decisions, and on whom she could exercise without controul the capricious humour of the moment."
— Radcliffe [née Ward], Ann (1764-1823)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson
Date
1794
Metaphor
"The love of sway was her ruling passion, and she knew it would be highly gratified by taking into her house a young orphan, who had no appeal from her decisions, and on whom she could exercise without controul the capricious humour of the moment."
Metaphor in Context
Emily checked the tears, that trembled in her eyes, while she said, "When my conduct mall deserve this severity, madam, you will do well to exercise it; till then justice, if not tenderness, should surely restrain it. I have never willingly offended you; now I have loft my parents, you are the only person to whom I can look, for kindness. Let me not lament more than ever the loss of such parents." The last words were almost stifled by her emotions, and she burst into tears. Remembering the delicacy and the tenderness of St. Aubert, the happy, happy days she had passed in these scenes, and contrasting them with the coarse and unfeeling behaviour of Madame Cheron, and with the future hours of mortification she must submit to in her presence--a degree of grief seized her, that almost reached despair. Madame Cheron, more offended by the reproof, which Emily's words conveyed, than touched by the sorrow they expressed, said nothing, that might soften her grief; but, notwithstanding an apparent reluctance to receive her niece, she desired her company. The love of sway was her ruling passion, and she knew it would be highly gratified by taking into her house a young orphan, who had no appeal from her decisions, and on whom she could exercise without controul the capricious humour of the moment.
(I, pp. 299-300)
(I, pp. 299-300)
Provenance
Reading
Citation
9 entries in ESTC (1794, 1795, 1799, 1800).
The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Romance; Interspersed with some Pieces of Poetry. By Ann Radcliffe, Author of the Romance of the Forest, etc. 4 vols. (London: Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1794). <Link to ECCO><Link to ECCO-TCP, Vol. I>
Reading The Mysteries of Udolpho, ed. Jacqueline Howard (New York: Penguin Books, 2001).
The Mysteries of Udolpho, a Romance; Interspersed with some Pieces of Poetry. By Ann Radcliffe, Author of the Romance of the Forest, etc. 4 vols. (London: Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1794). <Link to ECCO><Link to ECCO-TCP, Vol. I>
Reading The Mysteries of Udolpho, ed. Jacqueline Howard (New York: Penguin Books, 2001).
Date of Entry
03/06/2014
