Yawning, swallowing
No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid , but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.
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Hi, this paragraph is from C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed'.
Here he is writing about the bereavement of his wife. However, it is very hard to understand because his writing is so literary. I don't know what "yawning" means here, or what "swallowing" means. Later in the following paragraph, he says "It is so uninteresting", which might the a clue to understand what 'yawning' means here, but I am not sure if I can translate it to its main meaning of .. yawn.
Can someone help me, please?
Top answer
When you're saddened over the death of someone you cared a lot for, your reaction can be something like depression: you feel tired (hence, the yawning); you have digestive problems (stomach distress), you swallow a lot (to keep your emotions from taking over).
- When you're saddened over the death of someone you cared a lot for, your reaction can be something like depression: you feel tired (hence, the yawning); you have digestive problems (stomach distress), you swallow a lot (to keep your emotions from taking over).
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When you're saddened over the death of someone you cared a lot for, your reaction can be something like depression: you feel tired (hence, the yawning); you have digestive problems (stomach distress), you swallow a lot (to keep your emotions from taking over).
0fort leeI don't know what "yawning" means here, or what "swallowing" means.
They are literal, just what any dictionary says they mean. I don't see that Mr Lewis has any literary tricks up his sleeve here.
CJ
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