All 4 Uses of
attribute
in
Frankenstein - 1831 version
- I have often attributed my attachment to, my passionate enthusiasm for, the dangerous mysteries of ocean to that production of the most imaginative of modern poets.
p. 21.9 *attributed = credited (pointed to as the cause of something)
- The raising of ghosts or devils was a promise liberally accorded by my favourite authors, the fulfilment of which I most eagerly sought; and if my incantations were always unsuccessful, I attributed the failure rather to my own inexperience and mistake than to a want of skill or fidelity in my instructors.
p. 42.4attributed = blamed (pointed to a source for something)
- Clerval at first attributed my unusual spirits to joy on his arrival, but when he observed me more attentively, he saw a wildness in my eyes for which he could not account, and my loud, unrestrained, heartless laughter frightened and astonished him.
p. 62.5attributed = credited (pointed to as the cause of something)
- He soon perceived that I disliked the subject; but not guessing the real cause, he attributed my feelings to modesty, and changed the subject from my improvement, to the science itself, with a desire, as I evidently saw, of drawing me out.
p. 69.3
Definitions:
-
(1)
(attribute as in: It is an attribute of...) a characteristic or feature (of something or someone)
-
(2)
(attribute as in: I attribute it to...) to credit (a source for something)in two typical senses:
- "I attribute it to her work." -- to say who or what made something happen
- "Remember to attribute any quotations in your paper." -- indicate the source of a quotation or idea