Ain't that interesting?
I'm reading The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy for my enrichment reading book. I came across something very interesting; it made me smile and rush to my friend to tell her this exciting tidbit of information.
I'm assuming this book takes place in the 1800s. Basically, one of the main characters grew up in a rural, peasant-y area and is now living with the mayor of Casterbridge. Of course, it's a completely different lifestyle that requires "lady-like" mannerisms and whatnot.
In one part, the mayor scolds the girl for using one of her "peasant lingo" and says she should know how to talk properly. Now, this is the part that made me go, "Oh, my gosh!" It's when she reminds herself that she should not use such uncivilized words; instead, she should use proper English.
. . . and in time it came to pass that for "fay" she said "succeed"; that she no longer spoke of "dumbledores" but of "humble bees"; no longer said of young men and women that they "walked together," but that they were "engaged" . . . that when she had not slept she did not quaintly tell the servants next morning that she had been "hagrid," but that she had "suffered from indigestion."
Now, isn't that just awesome?
Then again, I'm such a Harry Potter fanatic. I don't know about you guys. Anyhoo, at the back of the book, it does confirm that J.K. Rowling was inspired by these names and used them for two very special characters in her series.
Rowling borrows two of these vernacular terms to name characters in her novels: "dumbledores" and "hag-rid." In Hardy's lexicon, the words mean bumblebees and indigestion, respectively. Rowling uses them to name Dumbledore, the master of Harry's school, and Hagrid, the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds.
I think that's pretty cute. Well, the indigestion part makes me laugh, but I find the bumblebee/humble bee name adorable, especially for Albus Dumbledore's character.
I'm assuming this book takes place in the 1800s. Basically, one of the main characters grew up in a rural, peasant-y area and is now living with the mayor of Casterbridge. Of course, it's a completely different lifestyle that requires "lady-like" mannerisms and whatnot.
In one part, the mayor scolds the girl for using one of her "peasant lingo" and says she should know how to talk properly. Now, this is the part that made me go, "Oh, my gosh!" It's when she reminds herself that she should not use such uncivilized words; instead, she should use proper English.
. . . and in time it came to pass that for "fay" she said "succeed"; that she no longer spoke of "dumbledores" but of "humble bees"; no longer said of young men and women that they "walked together," but that they were "engaged" . . . that when she had not slept she did not quaintly tell the servants next morning that she had been "hagrid," but that she had "suffered from indigestion."
Now, isn't that just awesome?
Then again, I'm such a Harry Potter fanatic. I don't know about you guys. Anyhoo, at the back of the book, it does confirm that J.K. Rowling was inspired by these names and used them for two very special characters in her series.
Rowling borrows two of these vernacular terms to name characters in her novels: "dumbledores" and "hag-rid." In Hardy's lexicon, the words mean bumblebees and indigestion, respectively. Rowling uses them to name Dumbledore, the master of Harry's school, and Hagrid, the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds.
I think that's pretty cute. Well, the indigestion part makes me laugh, but I find the bumblebee/humble bee name adorable, especially for Albus Dumbledore's character.