When Mr. Weston
marries Miss Taylor in Jane Austen's "Emma", the women of Highbury expect
his son, Frank Churchill, to visit his stepmother: "There was not a
dissentient voice on the subject, either when Mrs. Perry drank tea with Mrs.
and Miss Bates, or when Mrs. and Miss Bates returned the visit." The expectation
increases when Mrs. Weston receives a letter from him, but the gossipers only
"hear of" it; they "understand it was a very handsome
letter"; Mr. Woodhouse tells them "he never saw such a handsome
letter in his life." Repetition turns hearsay into understanding, and the
subsequent reference to an authority figure fully establishes a truth beyond
dissent. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 21 January 2021)
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