the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with

[Walt Whitman]

“Wuthering Heights”, from chapter 1 (original text)

1801—I have just returned from a visit to my landlord—the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.
This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society. A perfect misanthropist’s Heaven—and Mr Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolation between us.
A capital fellow! He little imagined how my heart warmed towards him when I beheld his black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brows, as I rode up, and when his fingers sheltered themselves, with a jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat, as I announced my name.

This is the beginning of the novel. I’m having problems rewriting the underlined parts. Could someone please help me?

Thank you
WW

 

[emsr2d2]

Is there a good reason you're reading a novel from 1847? It uses some fairly old-fashioned language that is mostly irrelevant these days. If you're struggling with four parts in the first four sentences, it's going to take you forever to read the entire book!
Why don't you try something more up-to-date?

 

[jutfrank]

I’m having problems rewriting the underlined parts.

Why are you having problems? What kind of problems? Is it that you don't understand the language used?

What's the point of rewriting this?

 

[Tarheel]

He expects them to be neighbors for a while.

If your heart warms towards somebody it means you like them. (I guess in this case it's because they are kindred souls.)

He doesn't expect to see very many people.

Pay attention to context.

 

[Walt Whitman]

I can understand the novel pretty well, including the underlined parts, but I’ve been working on a simplified version of the original text. I’m just trying to find a satisfactory rewriting of some (many, actually) parts of the novel for personal use only. After that, I’m going to delve deeper into plot, characters and literary devices, outside of school.
I’ve read the book three times so far. I’ve also read I don’t know how many critical books on the novel. I love it. My students loved it too. I’m delighted with the work I’m doing.

My try:

1. the only neighbour I will have for many miles.

2. I could have carefully chosen a place more distant from the noise and excitement of any town or village.

3. I liked him immediately.

4. [I must admit I’m struggling with this]

 

[jutfrank]

I still don't get it. What do you want us to do? Help you understand what the words mean? Or help you rewrite it?

What's the point of rewriting this? Please tell us what you're trying to achieve here. Thanks.

 

[Walt Whitman]

I still don't get it. What do you want us to do? Help you understand what the words mean? Or help you rewrite it?

What's the point of rewriting this? Please tell us what you're trying to achieve here. Thanks.

I just needed your help. Nothing more than this.

 

[emsr2d2]

We know you need our help. What we don't understand is why you're trying to rewrite it.

 

[Walt Whitman]

For no special reason. Just for the pleasure of rewriting in simpler English a novel that I adore. As I said in #5, it’s for personal use only. Believe me, I don’t want to write another simplified version of the book and then publish it.

 

[Tarheel]

@Walt Whitman You could if you wanted to. I'm sure the copyright expired long ago.

I had no trouble understanding that passage. Explaining it to someone -- especially if that person's first language is not English -- can be another matter entirely. Furthermore, I don't see any point in looking at those phrases apart from the sentences they appear in.

 

[Tarheel]

1. He expects them to be neighbors for a while. In fact, he thinks he will probably see the curmudgeon and only him during that time.

 

[Tarheel]

2. He thinks he couldn't have done a better job of finding a place so isolated.

 

[Tarheel]

3. He probably didn't know how fond I was of him (in a perverse way).

 

[Tarheel]

The phrase "with a jealous resolution" is part of the same sentence as whatever the third one is. You have to understand the sentence as a whole.

 

[probus]

In today's usage we would probably write not "the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with" but "the only neighbour I will take the trouble to get to know".

 

[Tarheel]

@probus I agree, but I think he is also saying he doesn't have many neighbors, which is the way he likes it.