Sentence :
Jack's various essays from the 1950's are still readable, though somewhat dated, as, to a greater extent, are those by Neville Braybrooke and Christopher Hollis from the same decade.
Can anyone explain/simplify in plain English on the bolded line in the sentence above?
This is from a journal. I couldn't understand what is happening after word dated. What is significance of comma after dated like is it dividing a clause? What is as doing to essays by Braybrooke and Christopher? Is it coordinating comparison or subordinating comparison? Is it saying that Braybrooke and Christopher essays are not outdated or similarly outdated like that of Jack's?
Edit1: Adding whole passage, its not jack(I made up name for posting here, besides this name, everything as per passage)
Also the author is pretty well known literary critic. So
Passage Source: College Literature Journal by John Hopkins University, Vol 11, Issue 1
Title : Trends on George Orwell Criticism
Author: Paul Schlueter
This is the entire passage for context purposes
B. 5: Religious Approaches to Orwell
Given the apocalyptic nature of Orwell's best-known novels, it is
not surprising that religious as well as political perceptions and
interpretations of Orwell are common. In addition to the many
superficial treatments of Orwell's work found in well-meaning warnings
about the "last days" of the earth, there have been a few such
studies worth a glance by virtue of their scholarly solidity,
balanced perspective, or overall moderation of tone. Geoffrey Ashe
was one of the first to make such an emphasis; his various essays
from the 1950's are still readable, though somewhat dated, as, to a
greater extent, are those by Neville Braybrooke and Christopher Hollis
from the same decade.
Best Answer
Jack's various essays from the 1950's are still readable, though somewhat dated, as, to a greater extent, are those by Neville Braybrooke and Christopher Hollis from the same decade.
Parse 1: Jack's various essays from the 1950's are still readable|, though [they are] somewhat dated|, as, |to a greater extent,| are those by Neville Braybrooke and Christopher Hollis from the same decade|.
You can move "to a greater extent" to the end of the sentence:
Parse 2: Jack's various essays from the 1950's are still readable|, though [they are] somewhat dated|, as are those by Neville Braybrooke and Christopher Hollis from the same decade| which are even more dated.
The only bit that might be hard to read for a learner after the parse, is the phrase: "to a greater extent"|.
Essays by Neville Braybooke and Christopher Hollis from the same decade are dated to a greater extent than Jack's essays. In other words, those writers essays are even more dated than his.
to a greater extent = even more dated. It's a comparative.
These essays are dated to a greater extent than some other essays.
Another example: This expression is dated to a greater extent than some other expression.