Vidal Gore — Eighteen Seventy [2200]

I did not mean to sound petulant, but I fear that was the impression I gave. Quickly I modified my tone. “But then one cannot expect the gentry to read the Herald.” … “No, I have read you on Turgenev, on Flaubert; read you with passion, let me herewith confess.” — Vidal Gore, Eighteen Seventy, 2200

Note

The narrator’s self-awareness about his status and the recognition from the young admirer reflect the complexity of identity in literary circles. The interplay of admiration and humility shows the narrator’s mixture of pride and insecurity.