A mental list of grievances
Elizabeth’s mood suddenly changed; she seemed to revert to a mental list of grievances drawn up in preparing for the interview. “You are dreadfully haughty,” she said. “You imagine that there is no one so clever as you.” Again, Catherine was ready: “If I ever had such a conceit, Madame, nothing would be more likely to destroy it than my present situation and this very conversation.”
Q1: a mental list of grievances = a lot of grievances? why did the author have to add 'mental'? Grievances certainly belong to mental problem. Is this a usual expression?
Q2: why did Catherine address Empress Elizabeth "Madame" instead of 'Your Majesty"?
Thanks!
Top answer
1. e. had memorised as opposed to written down.
- 1.
- e.
- had memorised as opposed to written down.
- 2.
- Don't know.
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1. A list of grievances that she kept in her head, i.e. had memorised as opposed to written down.
2. Don't know. Only someone with very specialist knowledge of the etiquette of that court would know whether "Madame" was appropriate. (There is also the question of what language they were speaking, and whether "Madame" would have been literally the word used or a translation for the purpos
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