What does the word labor mean in this context?

Question

I was reading James C. Scott's Two Cheers for Anarchism (2012) and came across this curious use of the word "labor."

Besides wondering whether utter penury lay ahead for them and what role I might have in it, for my hosts there was the more immediate question of my frail comprehension of German and the danger it posed for their small farm. Would I let the pigs out the wrong gate and into a neighbor's field? Would I give the geese the feed intended for the bulls? Would I remember always to lock the door when I was working in the barn in case the Gypsies came? I had, it is true, given them more than ample cause for alarm in the first week, and they had taken to shouting at me in the vain hope we all seem to have that yelling will somehow overcome any language barrier. They managed to maintain a veneer of politeness, but the glances they exchanged at supper told me their patience was wearing thin. The aura of suspicion under which I labored, not to mention my manifest incompetence and incomprehension, was in turn getting on my nerves.

I decided, for my sanity as well as for theirs, to spend one day a week in the nearby town of Neubrandenburg. Getting there was not simple. The...

Does it mean that the author was struggling against that aura of incompetence he was perceived to exude?

Answer 1

This definition fits:

AHD labor

verb 4. To suffer from distress or a disadvantage:
labored under the misconception that others were cooperating.

This one, too:

Merriam-Webster labor

verb 3: to suffer from some disadvantage or distress
labor under a delusion

And this one:

Free Dictionary labor

9. (usually foll by: under) to be burdened (by) or be at a disadvantage (because of):
   to labour under a misapprehension.

The last definition points out that labor in this sense is usually followed by under, and the other pertinent examples, as well as your example (under which I labored), use the same preposition.

The quote specifically mentions the aura of suspicion, which does seem to be suspicion of incompetence.

Answer 2

To labour under a/the delusion / misapprehension / misunderstanding... is effectively a "frozen form / set phrase". Here's a chart showing just how far usage has declined over the past couple of centuries...

Back in the 1800s, the most common nouns identifying things one might metaphorically labour under were disease / disadvantage / [bad] effects / influence, but you'll rarely find those references in current use.

To the extent that the usage still occurs at all today, most instances are more strictly limited to the sub-sense of "mistaken thinking, false impression" (delusion / misapprehension..., as initially identified above).

It's slightly "literary" today to say He ignored her because he was labouring under the impression she wasn't interested, but that specific sub-sense usage isn't particularly unusual even today. On the other hand, it would be very unusual to hear someone today say anything like The boy was labouring under a disease of the skin called pompholyx diutinus.

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TL;DR: Avoid the usage today, or at least restrict your usages to labouring under [erroneous thinking]

Answer 3

No, it doesn't; not at all, even if we ignore the great danger of changing "manifest (anything)…" into something anyone "was perceived to exude…" Please always remember that as soon as you do that, you make the Question about your transcription, not the original passage.

For that part, "… not to mention…" was the operative phrase and indeed, we shouldn't.

"… (anything) under which I laboured…" means "the circumstances under…" or "the situation in… which I worked."

The Question here looks simple but in fact it's complicated, unless we make some deletions…

If it were purely about vocabulary, the word "labor" would just mean "work" but any useful Answer depends on idiom, not simple vocabulary or syntax. (This Question might better have asked what "labored" meant though still, that's simply "worked".)

The useful Question would be what "under which I labored" meant.

Can we replace "aura of suspicion…" with "(whatever)…"? Can we leave aside "incompetence and incomprehension…"? If not, why not?

If we don't, we'll be largely mired in mud.

If we can, what matters in "under which I labored…" is the whole, not the parts.

If one part mattered more, that would be the "… which…" Here, that describes the circumstances under which whoever it was - you/I/he/she/they/anyone - laboured (there I've slipped into British spelling. Please treat each as equal)

Answer 4

My understanding, as a native speaker, is that it is simply the normal meaning of labored: “worked.”

The aura of suspicion under which I labored …

It's true, as several answers have mentioned, that labored under occurs most commonly in several fixed phrases, such as labored under the delusion of X and labored under the misapprehension that X. They mean, roughly, “made one's own life harder believing X, which was not true.” As @DavidSiegel points out, there are other uses of labored under as a phrasal verb, but they're not common in contemporary English.

I think the author may be alluding to that usage (consciously or unconsciously), but they are not using one of those fixed phrases here. An “aura of suspicion” isn't a delusion or other incorrectly held belief. It's just a description of something that the author experienced.

So my interpretation is to take the phrase at face value. The author “labored” — that is, worked — and they did so “under” an “aura of suspicion” — that is, while feeling the suspicion and doubt emanating from their employer like an aura.

The syntax here is the same as the phrase the roof under which I labored. Usually under describes relative location, and while an “aura of suspicion” is more abstract than a roof, it makes sense if you envision it as a dark cloud surrounding the author while they labor.

In the end, I think this phrase is ambiguous — possibly intentionally, but we can't really know. My suggestion, to someone learning English, is to avoid the phrase labored under unless you are using it as part of a fixed phrase.