Both Uses of
pathetic
in
Brave New World
- Helmholtz had been restless throughout the entire scene; but when, pathetically mimed by the Savage, Juliet cried out:
Is there no pity sitting in the clouds,
That sees into the bottom of my grief?p. 184.7 *pathetically = in a manner that arouses pity
- "My friends, my friends!" said the Voice so pathetically, with a note of such infinitely tender reproach that, behind their gas masks, even the policemen's eyes were momentarily dimmed with tears, "what is the meaning of this?"
p. 215.0
Definitions:
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(1)
(pathetic as in: Her pathetic look saddened us.) pitiful (arousing pity)
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(2)
(pathetic as in: a pathetic attempt to insult me) very bad -- possibly so bad it is laughable (possibly mixed with some feeling of pity)
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, and typically just in classic literature, pathetic can mean "relating to emotions". One fairly modern example is in the book, A Separate Peace, where the expression pathetic fallacy is used to describe the non-rational human tendency to ascribe human emotions to inanimate objects or animals.