But delightful though it is to indulge in righteous indignation, it is misplaced if we agree with the lady's-maid that high birth is a form of congenital insanity, that the sufferer merely inherits the diseases of his ancestors, and endures them, for the most part very stoically, in one of those comfortably padded lunatic asylums which are known, euphemistically, as the stately homes of England.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Woolf says it is wrong to think wealthy people are born insane, even though they live in comfortable isolation.
- In plain terms
- Don't think rich people are crazy just because they live comfortably apart from others.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid mocking wealthy people as insane.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is wealth a disease?
- When is anger misplaced?
Another view
It defends the wealthy without acknowledging their lack of accountability.
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