[Grammar] I will suffer myself rather than...../ than (Preposition or conjunction)

[Barman]

I want to know whether 'than' is a preposition or a conjunction in the following sentence.

1) I will suffer myself rather than he should.

 

[Barman]

Where did you come across this rather unnatural sentence, Barman?

I came across this sentence in the grammar book written by P.K. DE SARKAR. The book quoted this sentence from the grammar book written by NESFIELD ( Page- 274).

 

[Barman]

Even if I consider this sentence as unnatural, is it grammatically incorrect to expand the sentence as the following way?

Can I also say that the noun clause 'that he should suffer' is the object of the preposition 'than' here?

1) I will suffer myself rather than (that) he should (suffer).

 

[GoesStation]

Forget about that sentence and move on to something that's natural.

 

[emsr2d2]

Instead of parsing an unnatural and very old-fashioned sentence, you would benefit more from knowing how we would say it nowadays:

I'd rather suffer myself than have/see him suffer.