Could you help me understand reading English?

Question

Hi. I am interpreting a novel but so many barriers are blocking me not go go forward. I need your help.

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it no longer annoyed me to be talked to this way. Its heartiness rang false to me, that was all. Once by myself, I got up, closed the shutters. There were times when it did me good to be submissive. I scrubbed my face with the damp corner of a towel. I shook a little brillaintine on my hair. From the top shelf of the mirrored armoire I took down the spirit lamp, the teapot, the cups. Then I lit another cigarette.
"That 's very good. You've done something positive."
she tole me on her return.

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I just have tree question.

1. What does " It heartiness rang falst to me" means?

2. what is a brilliantine? Is it a wax or mousse?

3. In the last sentence, it says " she told me on her return"
What does it means? she is going back to somewhere? or she is answering to sb?

Please help me out..

Answer 1

1. "It's heartiness rang falst to me" : It means that whoever is speaking to this person, is talking in a sort of loud, vigorous way that they want to sound sincere, but they don't think it is sincere at all, they think it sounds false or fake.

2. Brilliantine is a kind of hair oil to make your hair really glossy and shiny. More like a wax, not a mousse.

3. "She told me on her return" : She just came back from somewhere and told the person that they have done something positive.

Good luck with all your translating...what book is this anyway?

Answer 2

1. "It's heartiness rang false to me". The person doing the thinking/action is being dictated to--ordered about --in an authoritative way. The person doing the ordering speaks as if this bossing-around "is for your own good". The submissive person hears the assumed tone (of the boss) but no longer believes in their "good nature".

2. Brilliantine-an oily preparation used to make the hair shine. We might use the word "conditioner".

3. "She told me on her return"--the Bossy person in his/her life has returned from an errand. Apparantly the submissive was told to make some general improvements in his/her appearance, and to get out the tea things (while Bossy was gone).

Answer 3

Someone is talking in an overly friendly manner and it sounds fake or lying.

Brillantine is a hair tonic for shine and control. It's more like an oil mixed with alcohol.

They are saying when she came back into the room or area that she said, "That's very good. You've done something positive."

Answer 4

1. refers to the sincerity of the answer or tone of the conversation.

2.brilliantine is, or was a kind of hair tonic or cream, used to hold hair in place, much like hairspray, before mousse was invented.

3.sounds to me like she has just returned from somewhere.

Answer 5

1. The healthy, happy act was bullshit. They weren't happy or helathy and I knew it.
2. Brillantine is an old-fashioned word for some sort of hair stuff. It's a good word to forget.
3. She had been gone somewhere, and when she came home she told me.

Answer 6

1. the conversation wasn't sincere...it was faked to be warm and friendly when in fact it wasn't (not hearty)
2 Brilliatine is a hair tonic...I believe it was alcohol and a little oil..it gave hair a greasy/slick appearance..i don't know if you could find it now
3. she told me when she returned....she told me when she came back.

Answer 7

1 not as strong as presented
2 hair oil
3 when she came back

Answer 8

no i dont even understand the poem... i need help with language art actually