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to set up a halo

English translation: to pretend or aspire to be a saint

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:to set up a halo
Selected answer:to pretend or aspire to be a saint
Entered by: Charles Davis

03:22 Oct 11, 2014
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / English novel
English term or phrase: to set up a halo
I know what a halo means. But I can't get the idea or the implication of this phase in the following passage from Cronin's The Citadel (Book II chapter 10) :

"Don't break my eardrums, dear. You asked me to tell you honestly. You're jealous, frightfully jealous. And why shouldn't you be? I don't want to be married to a saint. There's enough cleaning in this house already without you setting up a halo."

Could you give an explanation?
charoen
Local time: 11:07
to pretend or aspire to be a saint
Explanation:
A halo, as you know, is the attribute of a saint: when saints are represented in art, they are shown with a halo around their head.

This seems to be a man talking to his wife (I'll assume it's this way round, though it could be a wife speaking to her husband). The speaker has said something to her that has made her jealous, and he is saying that this is only natural: she has good reason to be jealous, and any normal person would be; only a saint, an absolutely good and virtuous person, would not be.

So she would have to be a saint not to feel as she does. And he is not asking or expecting this of her. It would be unnatural, and he wants her to be herself and act naturally. If she were a saint, she would have to have a halo, and he imagines this halo as an actual object which she would be setting up or installing in the home. It would be a nuisance; it would have to be cleaned, and there is enough furniture to be cleaned already.

So he's making a joke in order to try to calm her, to amuse her, and to indicate to her that he does not expect her to react less angrily and would not wish her to adopt an unnaturally saintly attitude. It would be an encumbrance, a nuisance, in their relationship, something awkward and unnatural, as if it were a piece of furniture that needed to be cleaned. This is a metaphorical way of saying that for her to try to be saintly, rather than reacting naturally and sincerely, would not be what he wants. The halo is an emblem of sainthood, which is supposed to be admirable but would actually be unwelcome, because it would impair their relationship, like an awkward piece of furniture in their home.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-10-11 07:30:25 GMT)
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There's another possible implication of "set up a halo". It could imply being saintly in an ostentatious way, referring to the kind of person that wants their "saintliness" to be noticed and appreciated. "Set up" can express this idea; there is another expression, "set oneself up as", which implies pretentiousness, claiming to pretending to be what you are not. "Set up a halo" could mean make a great show of being virtuous. But without knowing more about these characters and their relationship I can't tell whether it's relevant here.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2014-10-11 09:49:14 GMT)
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OK, thanks. So Jack was right. It does sound more likely something a woman would say.

"Set up a halo", in that situation, means make a pretence of being a saint (to himself as well as others). She is telling him to be honest with himself, and with her, about his professional jealousy. You get the impression that he feels unable to admit that he is jealous, because it's an unworthy feeling. Not admitting this means, in a sense, that he is pretending not to have faults that he does have.

Reading it again, I feel I underestimated the possible signs of irritation in what she says. She tells him not to shout at her. He asked her to be honest, and now he seems to be angry with her for telling him what he didn't want to hear. Then "there's enough cleaning in this house already" may mean that she has to all the cleaning, and may even resent that fact. "Setting up a halo", pretending to be a saint, would mean that she would also have to clean his halo: flatter his virtuous self-image.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 06:07
Grading comment
Thanks a lot, Charles and everyone who made comments.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +5to pretend or aspire to be a saint
Charles Davis
4being perfect / having no human frailties.
DLyons


Discussion entries: 8





  

Answers


29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
to pretend or aspire to be a saint


Explanation:
A halo, as you know, is the attribute of a saint: when saints are represented in art, they are shown with a halo around their head.

This seems to be a man talking to his wife (I'll assume it's this way round, though it could be a wife speaking to her husband). The speaker has said something to her that has made her jealous, and he is saying that this is only natural: she has good reason to be jealous, and any normal person would be; only a saint, an absolutely good and virtuous person, would not be.

So she would have to be a saint not to feel as she does. And he is not asking or expecting this of her. It would be unnatural, and he wants her to be herself and act naturally. If she were a saint, she would have to have a halo, and he imagines this halo as an actual object which she would be setting up or installing in the home. It would be a nuisance; it would have to be cleaned, and there is enough furniture to be cleaned already.

So he's making a joke in order to try to calm her, to amuse her, and to indicate to her that he does not expect her to react less angrily and would not wish her to adopt an unnaturally saintly attitude. It would be an encumbrance, a nuisance, in their relationship, something awkward and unnatural, as if it were a piece of furniture that needed to be cleaned. This is a metaphorical way of saying that for her to try to be saintly, rather than reacting naturally and sincerely, would not be what he wants. The halo is an emblem of sainthood, which is supposed to be admirable but would actually be unwelcome, because it would impair their relationship, like an awkward piece of furniture in their home.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2014-10-11 07:30:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There's another possible implication of "set up a halo". It could imply being saintly in an ostentatious way, referring to the kind of person that wants their "saintliness" to be noticed and appreciated. "Set up" can express this idea; there is another expression, "set oneself up as", which implies pretentiousness, claiming to pretending to be what you are not. "Set up a halo" could mean make a great show of being virtuous. But without knowing more about these characters and their relationship I can't tell whether it's relevant here.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2014-10-11 09:49:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OK, thanks. So Jack was right. It does sound more likely something a woman would say.

"Set up a halo", in that situation, means make a pretence of being a saint (to himself as well as others). She is telling him to be honest with himself, and with her, about his professional jealousy. You get the impression that he feels unable to admit that he is jealous, because it's an unworthy feeling. Not admitting this means, in a sense, that he is pretending not to have faults that he does have.

Reading it again, I feel I underestimated the possible signs of irritation in what she says. She tells him not to shout at her. He asked her to be honest, and now he seems to be angry with her for telling him what he didn't want to hear. Then "there's enough cleaning in this house already" may mean that she has to all the cleaning, and may even resent that fact. "Setting up a halo", pretending to be a saint, would mean that she would also have to clean his halo: flatter his virtuous self-image.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 06:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 236
Grading comment
Thanks a lot, Charles and everyone who made comments.
Notes to answerer
Asker: It the wife (Christine) speaking to her husband (Dr. Manson) about his attitude towards another doctor.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Bernhard Sulzer: I am sure this is very useful for the asker. / Not a problem. Thx for fixing it:)
53 mins
  -> I hope so. Thanks very much, Bernhard (sorry about the spelling mistake :))
agree  Jack Doughty: Very full and clear explanation. My impression is that it is the wife speaking to the husband, but you're right, it could be either way round.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Jack. You may well be right; "there's enough cleaning in this house already" could point that way.
agree  JaneTranslates: This is it. A similar expression is "don't set up your throne," when you don't want someone to become autocratic (or just bossy).
3 hrs
  -> That's a good analogy. Thanks, Jane :)
agree  Carol Gullidge: Yes, quite simply it's a metaphor for acting like a saint or putting on a saintly act/I'm fairly sure it is, and, without knowing the context, I'd bet that the speaker doesn't want a "holier than thou" attitude, on top of any guilt. But this is immaterial
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Carol :) Very good point about polishing one's halo, by the way; that could well be what the speaker's implying.
neutral  DLyons: I've posted some context.
13 hrs
  -> Yes, thanks for that.
agree  Aleksandra Kleschina
15 hrs
  -> Thanks, Aleksandra :)
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13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
being perfect / having no human frailties.


Explanation:
See context.

DLyons
Ireland
Local time: 05:07
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 52
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