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Avangi Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
Re: What does it mean?
This seems like a very profound question to ask a baby. I think it's poetic, at the very least. She's probably musing out loud to herself.
"She" probably assumes that it would be the normal thing for "him" to love the baby. She's searching for a reason why he doesn't, probably not intending to suggest there's anything wrong with the baby herself, but some possibly complicated circumstance. I think it's in the nature of a lament.
It also seems conceivable that as reported speech the "asker" is referring to herself as "her," addressing the question to the baby in the way we often talk to our pets. That is, "What is so broken inside me that makes it so hard for him to love me?" (speaking to the baby.)
"She" probably assumes that it would be the normal thing for "him" to love the baby. She's searching for a reason why he doesn't, probably not intending to suggest there's anything wrong with the baby herself, but some possibly complicated circumstance. I think it's in the nature of a lament.
It also seems conceivable that as reported speech the "asker" is referring to herself as "her," addressing the question to the baby in the way we often talk to our pets. That is, "What is so broken inside me that makes it so hard for him to love me?" (speaking to the baby.)
Top answer
Does "him" refer to the baby, or some third person? Does she feel her own child doesn't love her?
- Does "him" refer to the baby, or some third person?
- Does she feel her own child doesn't love her?
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8 Answers
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Does "him" refer to the baby, or some third person?
Does she feel her own child doesn't love her?
Does she feel her own child doesn't love her?
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I think you've got it, GG. Boy, what a little context can do! (I'm obviously way too tired!)
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No, I'm guessing too. Perhaps her baby is simply her sounding board, and she can't figure out why "he" doesn't love her, whoever "he" is.
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Grammar GeekDoes "him" refer to the baby, or some third person?
The answer: the baby
Does she feel her own child doesn't love her?
The answer: yes
Hi Avangi and GG,
Thanks for your reply. But what does 'broken' mean here? I'll change the context a little bit to make it more clear as follows:
Mary asked the baby what was so broken in
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Simply, what's wrong with her, what makes her unlovable.
Obviously, the baby is in no position to answer. She is, as Avangi says, simply expressing her lament out loud that she feels even her own baby can't love her because there is something profoundly wrong with her.
Obviously, the baby is in no position to answer. She is, as Avangi says, simply expressing her lament out loud that she feels even her own baby can't love her because there is something profoundly wrong with her.
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Hi,
It's easy to understand the word 'broken' when we say something like this. I dropped my cup. It is broken.
I think there's a trend these days to say things like this.
The political system in this country is broken instead of the political system has problems.
Something is broken in her head instead of she has mental/pscholog
It's easy to understand the word 'broken' when we say something like this. I dropped my cup. It is broken.
I think there's a trend these days to say things like this.
The political system in this country is broken instead of the political system has problems.
Something is broken in her head instead of she has mental/pscholog
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I take "something broken inside me" as a holdover from the days when surgery was sawing off a leg or letting a little blood, and the heart was thought to pump air. Because it's "inside me," we can't know what it is. But we still use it in a figurative way. Something perhaps beyond our comprehension.
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