Q1)In what sense was the peerage(nobility)washington's weakness? I fail to understand. If possible explain with the help of an example(fiction).
Dear student
Your question is taken from the lines - "Gardenias and the peerage were his only weaknesses."
This line means that, besides Gardenias (a type of flower), his only other weakness was "the peerage". The peerage refers to the rank of a person. Aristocrats, nobles and knights were people of high peerage, who had power over common people. Washington on the other hand, was not a noble of any sort. He was a commoner, with no peerage. Without a suitable title such as 'Sir' or 'Lord' he had no power, compared to those of higher peerage. This was a weakness for him because, traditionally, people of low peerage were never respected or taken seriously by the rest of society.
Regards
Your question is taken from the lines - "Gardenias and the peerage were his only weaknesses."
This line means that, besides Gardenias (a type of flower), his only other weakness was "the peerage". The peerage refers to the rank of a person. Aristocrats, nobles and knights were people of high peerage, who had power over common people. Washington on the other hand, was not a noble of any sort. He was a commoner, with no peerage. Without a suitable title such as 'Sir' or 'Lord' he had no power, compared to those of higher peerage. This was a weakness for him because, traditionally, people of low peerage were never respected or taken seriously by the rest of society.
Regards