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God forbid you should ever be aught but yourself, my Elspie!
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“God forbid you should ever be aught but yourself, my Elspie!”

Arthur Hugh Clough

Source
The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich
Date
1848
Local voice
Fictional character · Philip
Meaning

Meaning of “God forbid you should ever be aught but…”

Philip answers Elspie’s fear that marriage and class expectations might require her to become someone else by insisting that he wants her to remain herself.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich (1848), represented in Project Gutenberg’s Poems of Arthur Hugh Clough. Philip speaks to Elspie during their courtship conversation after she says she does not want to become “a lady.” The line is fictional verse dialogue and is kept under Philip’s local voice rather than treated as Clough autobiography.

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Speaker context

Why the local voice matters

The Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich. Philip answers Elspie during their courtship conversation; this is fictional verse dialogue, not Clough autobiography.

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IdentityLoveRelationshipSelf-WorthShortThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite ReflectionTrust
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Source details

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