One of my favorite things about reading classic literature is the delight of coming across phrases that I didn’t realize have been around for a long, long time.
Case in point: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, serialized in 1859.
On the day of a beloved friend’s wedding, two matter-of-fact characters, Miss Pross, the no-nonsense housekeeper, and Mr. Lorry, who is all business all the time, have this brief exchange:
“‘Well; but don’t cry,’ said the gentle Mr Lorry.
‘I am not crying,’ said Miss Pross; ‘you are.'”
What???
It is a sweet and surprising scene between these two characters. But the big surprise was reading a phrase from 1859 that has become a popular meme in recent years.
A brief internet search on the phrase’s origin didn’t turn up much. Issac on DigitalCultures writes, “The phrase is used as a humorous way for men to cover up their tears and their emotional vulnerability.” He attributes it to a 2004 Starsky and Hutch movie. Issac ends with, “Another possible origin for the expression is the 1859 novel of Charles Dickens – A Tale of Two Cities, in which the phrase “I’m not crying, you are” is uttered by Miss Pross.”
It seems straightforward that Dickins originated the phrase, even if it didn’t become popular until 150 years after he first penned it. It is also curious that the phrase has been gendered as male, at least in the explanation above, when it was first uttered by a female character written by a man. Crying, or not, is such a gendered issue. Sadly.
Have you come across a phrase in a classic or older book that surprised you in this way?