All 3 Uses of
despot
in
Bleak House
- If I were to meet that most unparalleled despot in the streets to-morrow, I would fell him like a rotten tree!†
Chpt 7-9 *
- Thus night at length with slow-retreating steps departs, and the lamp-lighter going his rounds, like an executioner to a despotic king, strikes off the little heads of fire that have aspired to lessen the darkness.†
Chpt 31-33
- "Why, it matters this much, mistress," says the lawyer, deliberately putting away his handkerchief and adjusting his frill; "the law is so despotic here that it interferes to prevent any of our good English citizens from being troubled, even by a lady's visits against his desire.†
Chpt 40-42
Definition:
-
(despot) a ruler with absolute power -- especially one who abuses that power