1

“Your Honor”.I raised my voice.“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I assure you that my master, Dennis Swift, in no way acted inappropriately around this young lady, Annika. It was clear to me that she loved him more than anything in the world, and she offered herself to him. He declined her offer. After driving us over a harrowing mountain pass, after exhausting himself, draining himself of all physical energy in order to deliver us safely home, Denny is guilty only offalling asleep. Annika, this girl, this woman, as unaware of the ramifications of her actions as she might have been, assaulted my Denny.”

-- Garth Stein, The Art of Racing in the Rain

Does the comparative construction mean ‘as unaware of the ramifications of her actions as she might have been unaware of the ramifications of her actions’?

Improve this question
  • It's more like “. . . no matter how unaware of her actions she was . . .” – Tyler James Young Nov 27 '13 at 0:03
  • or “. . . she may not have been aware of her actions, but no possible level of unawareness changes the fact that . . .” – Tyler James Young Nov 27 '13 at 0:05
  • 1
    I interpret it straightforwardly: (at that moment, according to author's opinion, it's likely that) she is as unaware of the ramifications of her actions as she always was, and still is. She is so clueless! – Damkerng T. Nov 27 '13 at 0:54
3

Not exactly..

It implies that "As unaware of the (later) ramifications of her actions (as she was at the time)(that does not excuse that she), assaulted my Denny".

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.