…a lady of what is commonly called an uncertain temper --a phrase which being interpreted signifies a temper tolerably certain to make everybody more or less uncomfortable.
Interpretation
The quote humorously describes a person with a volatile temperament that affects others negatively.
In this quote, Charles Dickens cleverly plays with the phrase 'uncertain temper' to reveal that such a temperament is likely to create discomfort for those around the individual. The irony lies in the fact that while uncertainty suggests unpredictability, the impact is predictably troubling for others, highlighting the challenges of interacting with emotionally volatile people.
In practice
In a speech about dealing with difficult coworkers, you could use this quote to illustrate the impact of emotional volatility.
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
Everyone has a right to be stupid, but Comrade MacDonald abuses the privilege.
As you get older as a comedian and keep doing it, what you actually start to cherish on stage is not the build-up to the jokes, but how comfortable you can be in the silence and the non-laughing parts, and how long you can take the audience without a laugh to then get a huge reaction.
Tyrion Lannister could not have been more astonished if Aegon the Conqueror himself had burst into the room, riding on a dragon and juggling lemon pies.
I'm saving that rocker for the day when I feel as old as I really am.
Just call in at the torturer on your way out. See when he can fit you in.
You will, I am sure, agree with me that... if page 534 only finds us in the second chapter, the length of the first one must have been really intolerable.
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