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‘And I shall be left alone with George! But suppose it isn’t cured,’ said Miss Henschil of a sudden. ‘Suppose it comes back again. What can I do? I can’t send for him in this way when I’m a married woman!’ She pointed like an infant.

This is from "In the Same Boat " by Rudyard Kipling.
https://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/tale/in-the-same-boat.htm

I don't understand the meaning of "pointed like an infant".

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    Hi, Hiroshi - is there a particular part that you don't understand? Do you know the verb to point, and the meaning of the word like, and what an infant is?
    – stangdon
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 0:16
  • She said in a childlike manner (but I am not sure)
    – Andrew
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 0:17
  • Is "pointed" supposed to be "pouted"? I don't know why she would point.
    – MarcInManhattan
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 0:51
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    @MarcInManhattan I found a dozen copies of this story online, and they all say "pointed", including Project Gutenberg
    – gotube ♦
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 1:58
  • @gotube Thanks. In that case, I wonder whether Kipling really meant to use that word and, if so, whether it might have had a different meaning for him than it does for us.
    – MarcInManhattan
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 5:08

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The meaning seems to be literal. Small children will point at people in a way that adults would find rude.

In the story, Miss Henschill says "I can’t send for him in this way when I’m a married woman!" and as she does so she points at Mr Conroy.

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  • James, thank you so much for giving me a new point of view. It seems possibly correct.
    – Hiroshi Inagaki
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 23:34

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