Chapter 23 of My Wife and I is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of My Wife and I is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PERTURBATIONS. SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are. I am tired of everything. I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over. I wish I was a man.
Chapter 23 of My Wife and I is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
-ing form of “embroider” — decorate with needlework
From this reading “SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.”
an event that happens
From this reading “I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.”
an agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank
From this reading “SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.”
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading “I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.”
plural of “party” — an organization to gain political power
From this reading “I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.”
plural of “perturbation” — an unhappy and worried mental state
From this reading “PERTURBATIONS.”
searching for or buying goods or services
From this reading “I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.”
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading “SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.”
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 this reading “I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.”
In this reading “SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.”
In this reading “SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am tired of everything.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
-ing form of “embroider” — decorate with needlework
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading I am tired of everything.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
an event that happens
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am tired of everything.
an agency of the United Nations affiliated with the World Bank
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading I wish I was a man.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
plural of “note” — a brief written record
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I am tired of everything.
above and across; more than
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
plural of “party” — an organization to gain political power
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
plural of “perturbation” — an unhappy and worried mental state
From this reading PERTURBATIONS.
Identical; not different.
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
searching for or buying goods or services
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
a detailed critical inspection
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
a special situation
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading SCENE.--_Ida's Study--Ida busy making notes from a book--Eva sitting by, embroidering._ Eva--"Heigho! how stupid things are.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading I am tired of everything.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I wish I was a man.
in or at the place that
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading I wish I was a man.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading I am tired of shopping--tired of parties--tired of New York--where the same thing keeps happening over and over.
Chapter 23 of My Wife and I by Harriet Beecher Stowe holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 23 holds 119 sentences of My Wife and I, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of My Wife and I by Harriet Beecher Stowe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 23 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 My Wife and I by Harriet Beecher Stowe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7265 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47874 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47874, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1453 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through My Wife and I section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of My Wife and I 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 My Wife and I, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
