Hello everyone. I am reading a novel, and I came across this expression. Could you please let me know its meaning?
Here I am trying to determine that there is no below after rock bottom, no after-omega, that beyond the person I see in Clara there is no other person, and yet how like her to tell me that rock bottom does not exist, that there are as many Claras as there are buried tiers and legends on our planet. And how about me?
“Man thinking about first night, wondering what would have happened had he gotten off on wrong floor and gone to a different party.”
“Man would have met different Dutch lady.”
“Yes, but what does present Dutch lady think of that?”
“Man is fishing, so Dutch lady says Go fish.”
How I loved her mind. To every north, my south, to every secret, its sharer, to every glove the partner.
- André Aciman, Eight White Nights, Fourth Night
This is a novel published in the United States of America in 2010. This novel is narrated by the nameless male protagonist who meets Clara at a Christmas party in Manhattan. Three nights after the party, the protagonist is talking to Clara how he would have met another woman if he had gone to another party, and would not have met Clara.
In this part, I wonder what the underlined expression means.
I am vaguely guessing that "to" is a comparative, meaning he loved her mind better than (=to) every north etc, but I am not sure.
I especially have absolutely no idea as to how the sentence is structured at "to every globe the partner", so I just wanted to ask you.
Thank you very much for your help.
Curious Reader I am vaguely guessing that "to" is a comparative, meaning he loved her mind better than (=to) every north etc, but I am not sure. No. It is more like "for" in this use.
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
Curious ReaderI am vaguely guessing that "to" is a comparative, meaning he loved her mind better than (=to) every north etc, but I am not sure.
No. It is more like "for" in this use. He names pairs of elements in the meeting of their minds. This omission of "to be" is usual and idiomatic.
Curious ReaderI especially have absolutel