would he had died, or I

English Other Poetry & Literature

But, aside again! here comes that ghost-devil, Fedallah; tail coiled out of sight as usual, oakum in the toes of his pumps as usual. What does he say, with that look of his? Ah, only makes a sign to the sign and bows himself; there is a sun on the coin—fire worshipper, depend upon it. Ho! more and more. This way comes Pip—poor boy! ---------------would he had died, or I; ---------------he's half horrible to me. He too has been watching all of these interpreters—myself included—and look now, he comes to read, with that unearthly idiot face. Stand away again and hear him. Hark!"

Thank you!

Responses

4 +4	if only he had died, or I	Allison Wright (X)
3 +6	I wish that he would die, or alternatively that I would die	Peter Skipp

 

Discussion

Peter Skipp Dec 29, 2012 Yes -- the narrator is expressing the wish that either Pip or himself were dead. Tense plays a secondary part, though I agree with your observation that the past tense is correct here!
veratek Dec 29, 2012 @Peter"I wish that he would die, or alternatively that I would die" I wish that he had died, no? Is that what you meant to correct with your second note? "would I were" is different than "would I had been."

Responses

    

 

+4

3 hrs

Allison Wright (X)

Portugal

133 answers

Native in English & English

 Selected

if only he had died, or I

I rather suspect that your source text actually says (or should say), "would *that* he had died, or I".

If this is the case, then my answer is the simplified version of that construction.

Example sentence:

Would that I had lived in Paris in the 1930s! Then I, too, could have met Simon de Beauvoir as a young woman!

Peer comment(s):

---

neutral	B D Finch : Perhaps "if only he (or I) had died", as sticking the "or I" at the end of the sentence is rather archaic. JPS too! 8 mins
agree	Robert Forstag : The sense here is, "I wish one of us had died so I wouldn't have had to endure this experience." So tense is absolutely crucial here and therefore the other answer is simply wrong. 1 hr
agree	Yvonne Gallagher : yes, this is clearer 3 hrs
agree	katsy 8 hrs
agree	jccantrell : How I would phrase it. 2 days 1 hr

4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.

    

 

+6

2 mins

Peter Skipp

Bulgaria

395 answers

Native in English & English

Works in field

I wish that he would die, or alternatively that I would die

"would [something] happen" is an alternative and archaic way to express a wish. "Would I were a millionaire!" means "I wish and daydream that I am a millionaire". "Would they were all dead" means "I wish that they would all die".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2012-12-29 11:24:08 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The author/narrator is expressing regret that neither Pip had died, nor the narrator

Peer comment(s):

---

agree	Yvonne Gallagher 7 mins
	Thank you!
agree	Jack Doughty 11 mins
	Thank you!
agree	Simon Mac 14 mins
	Thank you!
agree	Carol Gullidge : yes, "if only..." 39 mins
	Thank you! "If only" is a good paraphrase!
agree	JaneTranslates : Yes, with veratek's and Carol's suggestions: "If only Pip had died, or if only I had died" explains the meaning very well. 3 hrs
	Thank you!
neutral	B D Finch : "Would he had died" means I wish that he had died, not "I wish that he would die". 3 hrs
	Quite -- as noted above in discussion
neutral	Allison Wright (X) : My apologies, I only saw the "if only" suggestions after posting my answer. 3 hrs
	Thank you! (I do this all the time!)
agree	John Alphonse (X) 6 hrs
	Thank you!