Chapter 16 of The dark mother is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The dark mother is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I am afraid. I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me. I am a coward,” he muttered to himself. Constance Bardale had understood him better. She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
Chapter 16 of The dark mother is here in full — 414 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading “Constance Bardale had understood him better.”
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading “I am a coward,” he muttered to himself.”
playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest
From this reading “I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.”
past form of “glimpse” — catch a glimpse of or see briefly
From this reading “She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.”
an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention
From this reading “She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.”
characterized by profanity or cursing
From this reading “She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.”
the act of refusing
From this reading “She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.”
persistent determination
From this reading “She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.”
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.
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 I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “I am afraid.
past form of “allow” — make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading “I am afraid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Constance Bardale had understood him better.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading Constance Bardale had understood him better.
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading Constance Bardale had understood him better.
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading I am a coward,” he muttered to himself.
comparative of “deeply” — to a great depth psychologically or emotionally
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
to come or go into
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
divisible by two
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
opinion or judgment
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest
From this reading I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.
past form of “glimpse” — catch a glimpse of or see briefly
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Constance Bardale had understood him better.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I am a coward,” he muttered to himself.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Constance Bardale had understood him better.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading I am a coward,” he muttered to himself.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I am afraid.
the sound of laughing
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.
come together
From this reading I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading I am a coward,” he muttered to himself.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
characterized by profanity or cursing
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
the act of refusing
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
your consciousness of your own identity
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
persistent determination
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
fully apprehended as to purport or meaning or explanation
From this reading Constance Bardale had understood him better.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading She had glimpsed under his sudden tenacity of refusal to meet her, to meet even her eyes or her laughter, some deeper preoccupation which her profane self must not be allowed to enter.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading I am afraid to meet a woman flirting with me.
Chapter 16 of The dark mother by Waldo David Frank holds 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 16 holds 414 sentences of The dark mother, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The dark mother by Waldo David Frank exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 414 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 16 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 The dark mother by Waldo David Frank on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The dark mother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The dark mother 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 The dark mother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
