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GCSE English Literature · key term
Care in speaking or acting so that private information is not exposed and offence or scandal is avoided.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Paper 1
Care in handling sensitive information and avoiding unnecessary disclosure.
Revise: Reputation and secrecyPrivacy protects a person from public attention; discretion can express kindness and loyalty; hypocrisy conceals behaviour that contradicts a public moral image. Keeping something private is not automatically dishonest. The important questions are what is being concealed, why, and with what consequences.
Paper 2
Weigh alternative readings using evidence: discretion may express loyalty, but it can also delay intervention.
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Enfield explains that questions can set off consequences which damage unexpected people and their families. His attitude can therefore be read sympathetically as discretion: he does not want to destroy someone’s reputation through intrusive questioning. In a social world where a scandal can threaten a gentleman’s standing, restraint may appear considerate.
Paper 1
Care in speaking or acting to avoid revealing private information or causing offence or scandal.
Revise: Mr UttersonAt the end of Chapter 1, Utterson agrees with Enfield not to discuss the disturbing story about Hyde again. Their discretion protects reputations, but also closes down an opportunity to investigate openly. Respectability is therefore both a social virtue and a barrier to discovering the truth.
Careful restraint in what someone says or reveals, especially about private or potentially damaging matters.
