Is my analysis of the word "blithe" right or wrong?

Question

Source: Dictionary.com

Definitions:

1. without thought or regard; carefree; heedless

Example: a blithe indifference to anyone's feelings.

2. joyous, merry, or happy in disposition; glad; cheerful:

Example: Everyone loved her for her blithe spirit.

To me, this word seems to convey the connotation of someone not being worried or concerned about something that normally brings about great concern in people. The person simply does not give an iota of care about this concern; this person defies all expectations. With this lack of care, the subject is uninhibited by bad/unpleasant feelings that people normally experience in regards to a dangerous or bad--it's as though the person has developed a strong immunity against whatever thing that would normally render most people into a state of reluctance. The subject can go about being"happy and worry-free"; feeling as though they're invincible or they don't care about what danger lurks in the shadow.

Am I wrong in my analysis?

Answer 1

You should not combine those definitions (1) and (2). They describe different meanings of the same word. Your long single paragraph concentrates on meaning (1) but you have ignored the other possible meaning (2).

We might feel angry about a Western tourist who takes a vacation in a poor country and is blithely unaware of the poverty and disease as he thinks about his next cocktail in the hotel bar, but we do not begrudge a child her happiness as she blithely plays with her toys, even though both uses of the word refer to unawareness of bad things in the world.

Essentially, to be blithe is to be, seemingly, happily unaware of something bad. Whether we frown or smile at it in a person depends on the circumstances.