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“She is Mr. Rochester’s ward; he commissioned me to find a governess for her. He intended to have her brought up in - shire, I believe. Here she comes, with her ‘bonne,’ as she calls her nurse.” The enigma then was explained: this affable and kind little widow was no great dame; but a dependant like myself. I did not like her the worse for that; on the contrary, I felt better pleased than ever.
(Jane Eyre)

There's an article before worse, yet none before better. Why does the former need an article?

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Worse in that case is used as noun, similarly to better in "for the better or for the worse" or similarly to "the worse for wear."
Better in the other sentence is an adverb, and articles are not used with adverbs.

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  • As side note, better is also a verb.
    – apaderno
    Mar 10, 2013 at 10:03

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