Note 1: (disintersted)

As was mentioned in a previous note, the American Heritage Dictionary defines disintersted as: Free of bias or self-interest; impartiality. (Also: Lack of interest.)

This word causes problems and misinterpretations with the modern reader, because the definition of the word is in the process of shifting. The original meaning, and the one Austen was using, is: does not have a personal stake in the matter. Here interest referrs to hope of benefit or advantage and not mental curiousity.

However, the modern reader is more likely to interpret this word as a lack of curiousity, which is not a definition Jane Austen would ever have used. The American Heritage dictionary frowns on this latter usage, but allows that it is becoming more widely accepted.