Meaning & Analysis
Refers to the physical characteristic of having a high arch in one's foot.
Insights
Pride and Arrogance
Equates a high physical arch with a 'high' or inflated sense of self-worth, symbolizing haughtiness, conceit, and a disdainful attitude.
Social Pretension
Associates a high instep with an aristocratic or noble bearing, suggesting that one's posture and physical traits are outward indicators of perceived social superiority.
Rigidity and Inflexibility
Linked in historical usage with being 'strait-laced', the high instep also symbolizes a rigid, unyielding character that is resistant to humility or compromise.
Physiognomic Belief
The proverb is a striking example of physiognomy, the archaic belief that physical attributes reveal character. It reflects a pre-scientific worldview where bodily form was seen as a direct map of inner moral or psychological traits.
Embodiment of Pride
Psychologically, the proverb captures how abstract concepts like pride are embodied. An upright, stiff posture is a common physical expression of arrogance, and the 'high instep' provides a tangible, anatomical basis for this attitude.
Class Distinction
The proverb carries undertones of historical class structure, where a delicate, high-arched foot might have been seen as a mark of the gentry, who did not perform physical labor, contrasting with the flatter feet of the working class.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The proverb is built on a direct metaphor, transferring the physical quality of 'highness' from the foot to the abstract concept of personal pride.
Synecdoche
A part of the body (the instep) is used to stand for a complex set of personality traits, including arrogance, social status, and a rigid disposition.
Symbolism
The instep itself becomes a potent symbol for pride and social hierarchy, encapsulating a whole worldview about class and character in a single anatomical feature.
Transcription
Quotations
He is so hye in thynstep, and so streight laste, That pryde and couetise withdrawth al repaste.
They be hyghe in the instep and stondeth in theyr oune consayte.
He is hie in thynstep, his steps may be hie, But to stepe in good steps he stepth nothyng nie.
If they be adorned with beautie, they be so straight laced, and made so high in the insteppe, that they disdaine them most that most desyre them.
And therefore hereafter thou must not be so streight in the instep, to disdaine that thou art casually afflicted.
Hie she was in the instep, but short in the heele; strait laced, but loose bodied.
Hee's high in the instep and very straite lac'd.
But who commonly more short-heeled than they that are high i'th' instep.
Now the Gentleman was growne higher in the instep, as appeared by the insolent conditions he required.
He is high in the instepp, viz. proud.
Cross References
Explanation
[To be haughty, proud.]
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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