What does "stride had grown longer" in this context?
This is from the book I'm reading, and the narrator(Lou) is watching a teenage girl she'd been taking care of leave for her grandmother's house. The girl is all happy and excited, but Lou can't hide her sadness growing in her mind as they've been through a lot together for the past few months.

She glanced up at the departures board, and bounced on her toes, suddenly seeing the time. 'Bugger. My train. Where's platform eleven?' She began to run briskly through the crowd, her holdall slung over her shoulder, her legs long in black tights. I stood, frozen, watching her go. ***Her stride had grown longer.***

I don't really understand the part marked in stars. Does that mean in a literal sense that the distance of one foot to the other became longer as she walked further away from Lou? Or could that suggest/imply something else?

Thanks in advance.

Question

What does "stride had grown longer" in this context?
This is from the book I'm reading, and the narrator(Lou) is watching a teenage girl she'd been taking care of leave for her grandmother's house. The girl is all happy and excited, but Lou can't hide her sadness growing in her mind as they've been through a lot together for the past few months.

She glanced up at the departures board, and bounced on her toes, suddenly seeing the time. 'Bugger. My train. Where's platform eleven?' She began to run briskly through the crowd, her holdall slung over her shoulder, her legs long in black tights. I stood, frozen, watching her go. ***Her stride had grown longer.***

I don't really understand the part marked in stars. Does that mean in a literal sense that the distance of one foot to the other became longer as she walked further away from Lou? Or could that suggest/imply something else?

Thanks in advance.

Answer

It's literal. Lou realizes that the girl has grown.

Answer

I agree with Phil.

The references to long legs and to a longer stride imply that the girl had recently had a growth spurt (which is common for teenage boys and I assume for teenage girls).

Answer

It means that her steps became farther apart.  Your understanding is correct, it literally means the distance of one foot to the other becoming longer.  It can also mean that the person walking has something in mind which caused the stride to become longer, such as realizing something good/bad/important/happy, etc.

Answers · 3

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