Question

6 “It is not worth complaining about, but to be sure the poor old dowager2 could not have died at a worse time,” Yates continued, “And it is impossible to help wishing that the news could have been suppressed for just the three days we wanted. It was but three days; and being only a grandmother, and all happening two hundred miles off, I think there would have been no great harm. It was suggested to delay the news, I know; but Lord Ravenshaw, who I suppose is one of the most correct men in England, would not hear of it.” Why was Mr. Yates displeased about the dowager’s death? (paragraph 6)

Answer 1

Mr. Yates was displeased about the dowager’s death because it occurred at a particularly inconvenient time. He expressed frustration that the news of her death could not have been suppressed for just three days, as it would have allowed him and others to manage their current affairs without disruption. He believed that since the dowager was merely a grandmother and the event took place two hundred miles away, there would have been no significant harm in delaying the announcement. Yates felt that the decision to announce the news immediately, supported by Lord Ravenshaw's insistence on correctness, was an unnecessary complication in the situation.