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The Ghost and Mrs. Muir · 1947 — 第 16 / 18 章 · 3'26" · B2

Mrs. Muir's Book Becomes a Success, Explained：what possessed me

The book has paid off — Sproule sends a hundred pounds in "advance royalties" — but the money is only half the story. Lucy is already planning to marry Mr. Fairley and asking Martha to move Captain Gregg's portrait to the attic. "I don't know what possessed me," she says, as if catching herself.

あらすじ

Sproule's letter brings good news: a £100 advance on Lucy's book, which she wrote by taking down Captain Gregg's dictation. Martha admits she has been reading it and disapproves of its rough language. Lucy, meanwhile, is waiting for Mr. Fairley, plans to marry him, and wants the captain's portrait moved from the sitting room to the attic.

Goodbyes & funeralsPromisingTeasingBoss & employeeB2mediumamericanClean
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注目の表現

advance royaltieswhat possessed meliving up toyou mean he is

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このシーンの表現

what possessed me

what made me act so strangely

Lucy looks back on hanging the captain's portrait and cannot explain her own impulse.

I don't know what possessed me to buy a boat.

このシーンの他の表現

  • advance royalties

    money paid before a book earns

  • living up to

    to match an expectation

  • you mean he is

    a dry correction of her 'we'

  • hold someone to a promise

    insist you keep your word

このシーンのメモ一覧

50 行のセリフに 23 件のメモ

表現 · B2advance royalties

money paid before a book earns

Reading the letter aloud, Lucy shows Martha the cheque her publisher enclosed.

"Our check for £100 advance royalties "as you requested."
表現 · B1pay good money for something

a lot of money here it means a large amount of money

You mean to tell me they paid you good money for that?
発音mean to

Link mean and to so they blur into mee-na.

You mean to tell me they paid you good money for that?
文法 · B1have you been reading

present perfect continuous: It marks an action running up to now, here with a hint of suspicion.

Martha, have you been reading my book?
発音have you been

In fast speech have you shrinks toward /həv jə/.

Martha, have you been reading my book?
表現 · B1fall under someone's eye

come into my sight

I'm supposed to dust in here, and what falls under me eye falls under me eye.
文法 · B1I'm supposed to

be supposed to: Be supposed to states what one is expected to do; here it is a mild defense.

I'm supposed to dust in here, and what falls under me eye falls under me eye.
スラング · B1me eye

my eye, dialectally — Dialectal for my; cozy and informal, not for writing.

I'm supposed to dust in here, and what falls under me eye falls under me eye.
スラング · B1Lummy

an old-fashioned exclamation — Dated British exclamation; playful surprise or reproach.

I'm surprised at you. Such language! Lummy.
表現 · B1the sort of thing someone would use

that kind of wording

Well, if you're writing about a sea captain, you have to use the sort of language he would use.
表現 · B1live up to something

to match an expectation

Martha punctures the idealized sea captain Lucy has written, saying no real man could match her picture.

He'd have a hard time living up to your idea of him.
表現 · A2come into town

travel into the city

Mr. Sproule wants me to come into town to sign some papers, but I can't possibly leave here now just when...
発音can't possibly

The t in can't is often dropped, so it can sound like can positively.

Mr. Sproule wants me to come into town to sign some papers, but I can't possibly leave here now just when...
表現 · A2be going to marry someone

about to marry him

Please remember that I'm going to marry him.
表現 · B1put something up in the attic

stored in the attic

By the way, I've been thinking we might put that portrait of Captain Gregg up in the attic.
表現 · A2if you don't mind

if that is all right with you

I'll hang it in my room, if you don't mind.
文法 · B1get Uncle Neddy to paint

causative get: Get someone to do something means to have them do it for you.

Perhaps you can get Uncle Neddy to paint one of himself instead.
表現 · B2I dare say

I suppose

A billet-doux, I dare say.
スラング · C1billet-doux

a love letter — A playful, old-fashioned word for a love letter.

A billet-doux, I dare say.
表現 · B1be called up to a place

summoned away

Mr. Fairley has been called up to London for a few days.
表現 · B1deposit a check into an account

put a cheque into the bank

Except to deposit the checks to your account when they come in.
表現 · B1the truth about something

the real facts about

You know, someday when I've known you a little longer, Mr. Sproule, I'll tell you the truth about the captain.
表現 · A2Would you please ...?

a polite request

Would you please give me Mr. Fairley's address?

「Mrs. Muir's Book Becomes a Success」を読み解く

What's really going on

The money is real, but what the scene is really about is Lucy letting go. The book that made her fortune was written with Captain Gregg, and now she is packing him off — asking Martha to "put that portrait of Captain Gregg up in the attic." Martha sees the truth and says it plainly: "He'd have a hard time living up to your idea of him." Lucy chooses the living man over the ghost, and her excuse — "I don't know what possessed me" — is really about how completely she once gave herself to him. The irony is that she still can't fully shut him out: she keeps the portrait, promises Sproule she'll tell him "the truth about the captain," and when Fairley cancels their picnic, she immediately asks for his London address.

Theme

MoneyThe book finally pays, and the first thing money buys Lucy is a life without the captain.
MemoryThe portrait, the attic, the secret behind the book: she files the past away and keeps reaching for it.

このチャプターで学べること

  • A cheque in a letter can unsettle as much as please.
  • Martha's teasing keeps Lucy's success from going to her head.
  • The captain's portrait is a small prop that quietly signals guilt.
  • Politeness in this scene is often a way of avoiding a decision.

発音のポイント

  • mean to — Link mean and to so they blur into mee-na.
  • have you been — In fast speech have you shrinks toward /həv jə/.
  • can't possibly — The t in can't is often dropped, so it can sound like can positively.
You mean to tell me they paid you good money for that?

Disbelief that a book full of rough sailor language actually earned Lucy real money.

I'm supposed to dust in here, and what falls under me eye falls under me eye.

Martha's defense for reading the manuscript: she was only dusting, and the pages happened to come under her eye.

He'd have a hard time living up to your idea of him.

A quiet warning: the real Captain Gregg could never match the flattering figure Lucy has built in her mind.

I don't know what possessed me.

Lucy's half-confession about how thoroughly she once devoted herself to the captain.

You know, someday when I've known you a little longer, Mr. Sproule, I'll tell you the truth about the captain.

She promises the publisher the real story one day — a way of keeping the captain secret and keeping him alive.

このシーンについての質問

Why does Lucy want to move Captain Gregg's portrait to the attic?

Because she is engaged to Mr. Fairley and trying to put her old life behind her. Moving the portrait is her way of demoting the captain without fully getting rid of him.

Did Martha really read Lucy's manuscript?

Yes, and she doesn't apologize for it. She claims she was dusting and the pages just "fell under her eye," which is a very tidy excuse for reading the whole thing.

Why is Lucy upset when Mr. Fairley is called to London?

It interrupts their picnic and, more importantly, removes the man she is counting on. She immediately writes off to get his London address, so her reaction is less grief than fear of losing him.

Why does Lucy say she'll tell Mr. Sproule "the truth about the captain" someday?

Because the book is published as her work, but the captain is the secret behind it. Promising the truth later lets her honor him while keeping him hidden for now.

What does "what possessed me" mean?

It means "what got into me?" — used about doing something you now regret or can't explain. Lucy says it about having hung the captain's portrait where it was.

幽霊と未亡人 · 全 18 章

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次のチャプター · 第 17 章take my breath awayAnna Brings Home a Fiance
第 1 章come crawling backLucy Leaves Her In-Laws' House第 2 章be the judge ofLucy Insists on Gull Cottage第 3 章obstinateLucy Rents the Haunted House第 4 章spunkLucy Meets Captain Gregg's Ghost第 5 章make a bargainGregg Strikes a Bargain with Lucy第 6 章as it isLucy Tells the Captain About Edwin第 7 章bats in the belfryIn-Laws Come to Take Lucy Home第 8 章throw yourself atCaptain Gregg Dictates His Memoirs第 9 章unvarnishedLucy Writes Captain Gregg's Memoir第 10 章wouldn't dream ofGregg Dictates His Last Chapter第 11 章cooped upCaptain Gregg Tells Lucy to Move On第 12 章unvarnishedLucy Barges In on a Publisher第 13 章a weakness forLucy Meets Miles in a Cab第 14 章today of all daysCaptain Gregg Gets Jealous第 15 章promise you the moonCaptain Gregg Says Goodbye to Lucy再生中 · 第 16 章what possessed meMrs. Muir's Book Becomes a Success第 17 章take my breath awayAnna Brings Home a Fiance第 18 章hopelessly in loveAnna and Lucy Talk About the Captain
第 16 / 18 章 · 残り約 5 分