Usage of ていられない


I have a question about the usage of ていられる. Can we use it when we speak about
somebody else, not about yourself. The examples I've seen are only about the
speaker.

For example in the sentence below the speaker（僕） is telling that those doctors
can't even make an anesthesia well?

> ことさら感情を廃して話す僕に、彼女も徹底的に無感動な応対をする。 こういった手合いのほうがはっきり言って有難い。
> 性質の悪い嗜虐心などに盛った医者では、おちおち麻酔もかけていられない。

Context: 僕 - speaker, the patient. 彼女 is the doctor, and by
「性質の悪い嗜虐心などに盛った医者では、おちおち麻酔もかけていられない。」 sentence the speaker is telling about
the doctors he has been before.




I think as you suggest, おちおち麻酔もかけていられない could be rewritten to
おちおち麻酔にもかかっていられない to yield mostly the same meaning.

かけていられない here seems confusing, but consider:

> こんな暴風雨では、おちおち眼鏡もかけていられない

This seems probably less confusing because it's you who does 眼鏡をかける. However,
if you think about it, it's you who went to the doctor and authorize to be
anesthetized. So arguably it's still you who is anesthetizing you. Especially,
僕 sounds like a all-knowing guy (he can tell how doctors behave from their
attitude), so it makes sense he sees it that way.




I think as you suggest, おちおち麻酔もかけていられない could be rewritten to
おちおち麻酔にもかかっていられない to yield mostly the same meaning.

かけていられない here seems confusing, but consider:

> こんな暴風雨では、おちおち眼鏡もかけていられない

This seems probably less confusing because it's you who does 眼鏡をかける. However,
if you think about it, it's you who went to the doctor and authorize to be
anesthetized. So arguably it's still you who is anesthetizing you. Especially,
僕 sounds like a all-knowing guy (he can tell how doctors behave from their
attitude), so it makes sense he sees it that way.

