Posted by Jon on May 07, 2003 at 15:07:41 from 199.128.91.76 user Jon.
In Reply to: Re: Bob Blackett ??? posted by Dave Thewlis on May 07, 2003 at 13:47:21:
It's merely the idea of a person of - mature - years relying on the post-childhood loss of parent(s) to claim orphanhood. Webster's, at least, defines "orphan" in the context of a child (or young animal). As he later acknowledges,
Why do I sit here? To escape from the pirates' clutches, I described myself as an orphan; and, heaven help me, I am no orphan! I come here to humble myself before the tombs of my ancestors, and to implore their pardon for having brought dishonour on the family escutcheon.Otherwise the only way of avoiding orphan status would be to pre-decease one's parent(s).