Chapter 8 of Characteristics of Women is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Characteristics of Women is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness. Can Fulvia die? And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife. O most false love! Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
Chapter 8 of Characteristics of Women is here in full — 396 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
From this reading “And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.”
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading “And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.”
third-person singular of “provoke” — call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
From this reading “And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.”
a polite refusal of an invitation
From this reading “And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.”
an old form of “should”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?”
experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss
From this reading “Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?”
third-person singular of “tempt” — dispose or incline or entice to
From this reading “And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.”
plural of “vial” — a small bottle that contains a drug (especially a sealed sterile container for injection by needle)
From this reading “Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
in a state of proper readiness or preparation or arrangement
In this reading “And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
how long something has existed
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Can Fulvia die?
a property characteristic of a child
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading Can Fulvia die?
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
From this reading O most false love!
make full, also in a metaphorical sense
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
third-person singular of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
the condition of being free; the power to act or speak or think without externally imposed restraints
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Can Fulvia die?
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading O most false love!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
showing your contempt by derision
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
used to form the superlative
From this reading O most false love!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O most false love!
(often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
third-person singular of “provoke” — call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
a polite refusal of an invitation
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
concerned with religion or religious purposes
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
an old form of “should”, used with “thou”
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
third-person singular of “tempt” — dispose or incline or entice to
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Though age from folly could not give me freedom, It does from childishness.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
plural of “vial” — a small bottle that contains a drug (especially a sealed sterile container for injection by needle)
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
in or at the place that
From this reading Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill With sorrowful water?
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And then follows the artful mockery with which she tempts and provokes him, in order to discover whether he regrets his wife.
Chapter 8 of Characteristics of Women by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson holds 396 sentences, grouped into 80 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 8 holds 396 sentences of Characteristics of Women, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Characteristics of Women by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 396 sentences, grouped into 80 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Characteristics of Women by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4217 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26152 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26152, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 351 minutes of reading across 844 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Characteristics of Women section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Characteristics of Women to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Characteristics of Women, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
