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But Lucy knew it would be. It was for ever for the Morells and the Gouvernets. The Boyces had gone up to the North, Henry said, the house was under auction. She guessed what that meant from his voice, but he told her anyway. "I’m sorry," her papa said. "I’m sorry, Lucy."

It was her mother’s fault, but it was his fault too. They shared the blame for old Hannah’s miserable silence and Kitty Teresa’s eyes gone red and her apron soaking with the tears that streamed on her cheeks and her neck, causing Bridget twenty times a day to tell her to give over. Henry slouchedglumly about the yard.

Is "Share for" the same as "Share with" ?

And does the whole part in bold mean: they talk to old Hanna that was miserably silence and blamed themselvs?

Source: The Story Of Lucy Gault By William Trevor

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  • The mother and father shared the blame (were both to blame) for Hannah's silence and Kitty Teresa's weeping.
    – Kate Bunting
    Dec 13, 2020 at 16:55
  • So does it mean: they blamed old Hanna for being silent?
    – Viser Hashemi
    Dec 13, 2020 at 17:24
  • No, they were to blame for it - something they had done had caused it.
    – Kate Bunting
    Dec 13, 2020 at 17:26
  • So Dose it mean: because of their fault old Hanna was silent and they blamed themselves?
    – Viser Hashemi
    Dec 13, 2020 at 17:40
  • Either they blamed themselves or someone else blamed them both.
    – Kate Bunting
    Dec 13, 2020 at 17:44

1 Answer 1

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"They shared the blame for old Hannah’s miserable silence means that Henry and Lucy's mother were both to blame for "Hannah’s miserable silence" and Kitty Teresa’s crying. That is, they were responsible for these things, had caused them.

This passage seems to be from Lucy's point-of-view, but is told in third person. So it might be that it is Lucy's opinion that the two of them are both to blame, or it might be the narrator's view. (Or perhaps both.) In fiction, the narrator's view of things is generally taken to be the truth, although that varies.

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  • In this text it is saying that: Kitty Teresa 's eyes gone red and...it is not saying: Kitty Teresa' weeping. So I think Kitty Teresa broke to tears because they talked to themselves and thought it is their fault that old Hanna is silent. Am I right?
    – Viser Hashemi
    Dec 13, 2020 at 19:08
  • In this context 'for' refer to 'blame' or means: because?
    – Viser Hashemi
    Dec 13, 2020 at 19:17
  • @Viser "Kitty Teresa’s eyes gone red and her apron soaking with the tears that streamed on her cheeks" means that she (Kitty) has been crying tears. Her eyes were red as a result of this crying. The quoted passage says Lucy's father and mother are to blame for this redness and tears. It says nothing about people talking to themselves or blaming themselves. Nor does it say exactly how they were to blame for Kitty's tears. Perhaps other passages make this clear, I haven't read the work.
    – David Siegel
    Dec 13, 2020 at 19:18
  • @Viser When someone is "to blame for" something, it means that that person caused that thing, or is responsible for it. "to be to blame for" is a phrasal verb meaning "to cause" with a negative implication. "the blame for" something is a noun phrase The blame is an attribute associated with the event that the person blamed has caused or for which that person is responsible.
    – David Siegel
    Dec 13, 2020 at 19:21

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