When I was a teenager, I thought that to be caught snoring would be the most embarrassing thing in the world. I worried about what it would be like to be married, sharing a bed, and snoring.Fast forward to adulthood. Guess what? Lots of people snore. Even girls.
Especially girls in Betty Neels world. Her heroines are often caught sleeping with their mouth slightly open and a soft, ladylike snore emanating from their person. Her heroes seldom sleep - so we don't have many examples of male snoring...but considering the build(vast) and nasal capacity of a Neels hero - I'm guessing her guys would actually be prodigious snorers.
Like I was last night. I woke myself up at least 2 or 3 times because I was snoring. I'm pretty sure it wasn't ladylike. Oh well.
Snoring can be delicate but drooling is another story. Nothing makes drooling attractive.
ReplyDeleteI've never thought of snoring as "delicate".
ReplyDeleteI was told by my then-mother-in-law (who's British and only a bit younger than Betty Neels) that I had a very ladylike snore. (Alas, that would be the only thing I had in common with a Betty Neels heroine -- tall AND outsize: no Dutch doctor was ever interested in me, although I did snag two Oxbridge types...sorry, that's another story.)
ReplyDeleteI was just going to write something about how we never know about Neels heroes snoring because no Neels heroine ever sees a Neels hero -- even one she's married to! -- sleeping. But surely someone sleeps sometime. Hugo van Elving after that terrible drive in the snow to the cottage in Scotland (Fate is Remarkable)? I'm not saying they snore -- heaven forfend! -- just that we may see the rare Neels hero asleep.
Surprisingly, there are more than a few sleeping heroine sightings. Usually it's the girl that has been waiting for the doctor to return from some important case and fallen asleep in a dainty manner.
ReplyDelete"Her heroes seldom sleep - so we don't have many examples of male snoring...but considering the build(vast) and nasal capacity of a Neels hero - I'm guessing her guys would actually be prodigious snorers."
ReplyDeleteFrom _A Little Moonlight_:
"Serena finishes up the typing and takes the offending documents down to the consultant's room... to find Dr. ter Feulen snoring without any loss of dignity. "