All 4 Uses of
doting
in
Wuthering Heights
- I was vain of his commendations, and softened towards the being by whose means I earned them, and thus Hindley lost his last ally: still I couldn't dote on Heathcliff, and I wondered often what my master saw to admire so much in the sullen boy; who never, to my recollection, repaid his indulgence by any sign of gratitude.†
p. 27.3dote = demonstrate love and uncritical affection
- He had room in his heart only for two idols — his wife and himself: he doted on both, and adored one, and I couldn't conceive how he would bear the loss.†
p. 45.4doted = demonstrated love and uncritical affection
- Heathcliff, I'm proud to show you, at last, somebody that dotes on you more than myself.†
p. 76.2 *dotes = demonstrates love and uncritical affection
- Even if he had doted on me, the devilish nature would have revealed its existence somehow.†
p. 125.5doted = demonstrated love and uncritical affection
Definitions:
-
(1)
(doting) demonstrating love and uncritical affectionDoting may also imply that the doter tends to hover around the person they love to help attend to any needs.
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, in classic literature you may encounter doting in reference to old age -- especially old age leading to diminished mental capacity.