He decided that he liked his unfriendly landlord.

[Walt Whitman]

From ''Wuthering Heights'' by Emily Brontë (chapter 1 simplified)

Lockwood has rented Thrushcross Grange for a year from his nearest neighbour, Mr Heathcliff. He has just returned from a visit to his landlord, a surly man who likes to be alone.

Heathcliff was standing by the gate as Lockwood arrived at his house, early this afternoon. He decided that he liked his unfriendly landlord.

What does “he decided” mean in this context?

Thank you

WW

 

[White Hat]

Chapter 1 starts with the following words: "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".

I haven't read the book, but I would interpret 'He decided that he liked his unfriendly landlord' in one of the following two ways: 1) Lockwood really likes the idea that he'll have a misanthropic neighbor who won't bother him; 2) He's being ironic about it.

 

[Barque]

He decided that he liked his unfriendly landlord.

"Decided" shouldn't be taken too literally here. It's more like "realised" or "concluded" in this context. He concluded that he liked his unfriendly landlord, based on what he'd seen of him.

 

[Tarheel]

They are birds of a feather.

 

[Walt Whitman]

I was wondering if it’s common usage or just pretty unusual.

 

[5jj]

It's a not uncommon shade of the meaning of the word.