[Vocabulary] embrace

[higurashi]

Hi everyone,

What does "embrace" mean in the sentence below?
This is an article from National Geographic.

"His daughter married an American and settled in the United States. Tanabe long wrestled with the idea that she had embraced the enemy."

Thank you,
Higrashi

 

[Raymott]

It's a metaphor, as is "wrestled with". "Embrace" here means "adopt the ideology of" or, less specifically, to become a supporter, collaborator, or even a traitor.

"2. accept (a belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically.
"besides traditional methods, artists are embracing new technology"
Dictionary.com

 

[tedmc]

To accept one's enemy is something hard for anyone to come to grips with, hence the going through a period of wrestling.

 

[GoesStation]

It has its literal meaning as well: when she married an American, she literally embraced — in bed — a representative of the enemy.

 

[Tdol]

We do also say sleep with the enemy, which is normally used metaphorically, but would both that and literal.