Quote:
Originally Posted by RHWright
I think this helps to prove the opposite of Alex's point and is precisely why some people may be outraged by what he's done. Alex, you were not happy that the opera was altered from what the composer and librettist originally set out. You seem to feel if Verdi had intended to overtly portray the assault, he would have written it that way, and the director should not change that in the staging. Similarly, others here seem to feel that if Collins had wanted to use "light-hearted" instead of "gay," he would have.
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But I did make the point that the word 'Gay' now has an entirely different meaning than it had when Collins used it, a meaning that was unknown to him, and that he is very unlikely to have used to describe his character. In fact in the book the story describes the growing affection between a man and a woman.
It may well be that ebook enthusiasts in this thread may be familiar with 19th century English, and be instantly able to change the meaning in their mind. I still think that most readers would have read 'Gay' and thought 'homosexual.' And that is not what Collins meant.
This most useful suggestion I've come across so far is to use a footnote giving the original word.