- P.D. James
"'Crime Fiction' confirms our belief, despite some evidence to the contrary, that we live in a rational, comprehensible, and moral universe."
- P.D. James
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"Wives and Daughters" was Elizabeth Gaskell's final novel- sadly left unfinished at the time of her death- and contains some of her best writing. Unlike most of her previous novels, W&D doesn't deal with some sort of social issue or class conflict. Rather, it is the story of a young girl- Molly Gibson- growing up in a small town, and essentially details her development from an immature young girl into a discerning, compassionate young woman. It is also a character study of the people who influence Molly's life in various ways, and it is in these brilliantly written characters that Gaskell really shines. One of the things which becomes evident as you read through the novel is that there are no villains. Certainly there are flawed characters, who manage to hurt or disappoint others with their reckless or selfish behaviour, but there is no one who is deliberately destructive or evil. The closest thing we get to a villain is Mr. Preston, but even he has his sympathetic points, and in the end does the right thing, in spite of himself. As stated, Gaskell's skill at developing realistic and interesting characters is very much in evidence all through this novel. They are complex and well-drawn even when they don't have to be. Take for example Dr. Gibson, Molly's father, who on the face of it is a steady, sensible man of medicine. Gaskell, however, chooses to give him an incomplete and rather mysterious backstory: though setting up a practice in small town England, he has a Scottish accent, speaks and carries himself as a person of "quality". He never talks about himself, so the townspeople are left to their speculations about his past- which include suspecting him of being the illegitimate son of a duke. As the story progresses, we discover that Molly's deceased mother was not his first love, though again we find out little else about the doctor's history. These little hints about his past, though not particularly relevant to the story line, add interest as the reader is led to speculate- like the nosy neighbours- about his life previous to his arrival in Hollingford. Although occasionally exasperated by Dr Gibson's opinions or decisions- not wanting to have Molly educated, for example, or leaving her in the dark about his apprentice's infatuation with her- I found myself quite liking his character. I enjoy his dry, sarcastic humour, and share his distaste for over-wrought public displays of emotion. Also, though not outwardly demonstrative, the doctor is kind in practical ways, such as when he works with Roger to bring reconciliation between the Squire and Aimee, or the many times he provides Cynthia with funds. I also like the relationship that he has with Molly- the joking, teasing manner in which they treat each other covering their very real love and affection. The times when the tragedy of Gibson's unwise second marriage is most evident are those when Molly no longer feels able to talk of her feelings and problems with her father, and he wistfully feels the loss of her confidences in him. Regarding Dr Gibson's mismatched marriage, it is proof that choosing a spouse for purely practical reasons is no more a guarantee of success in marriage than basing one's decision on sentiment. Of course, it's always a good idea to keep your wits about you, even when- especially when- contemplating marriage, but it is possible to be mistaken in someone's character even without being blinded by love. And then, when it's too late, find you're bound to someone you don't respect, without even a coating of affection to soften your view of their failings. Had Gibson spent more time actually getting to know Hyacinth as a person, instead of merely going through his checklist of things which would make her a suitable wife for him and chaperone for Molly, he would have realized that they were completely incompatible. This leads me back to my peeve about his leaving Molly in the dark about important things which affect her life; Gibson should have brought Molly and Hyacinth together long before their engagement instead of presenting her with a fait accompli . It would have been painfully obvious that Hyacinth was not in any way suited to step-motherhood... or indeed, motherhood in general, as we eventually see when Cynthia arrives on the scene. Speaking of Hyacinth, Gaskell is careful not to write her as the stereotypical evil stepmother. Whatever her flaws- and there are many- Hyacinth does her best to fulfill her duties as a stepmother and chaperone for Molly. She is, for example, scrupulously careful to make sure that if her daughter, Cynthia is given something, Molly is also provided with something of equal value. Unfortunately, she is so obtuse and lacking in imagination that she is unable to even entertain the notion that Molly's desires are nothing like her own. For example, when Cynthia is coming to live with them, the guest bedroom is redone and filled with new furniture for her. To be "fair", Hyacinth declares that Molly's bedroom is to be remodeled at the same time, brushing aside Molly's pleas to let her keep her room as it is... the furniture belonged to her mother, and she loves it. But Hyacinth sees only that it is old-fashioned and outmoded, and besides, what would people think if Cynthia got all new furnishings, and Molly none? And so the room is redone, with no thought as to how this hurts Molly. This is sets the tone for their relationship: Hyacinth lavishes everything Molly doesn't want on her, while remaining oblivious to everything she actually desires. This obtuseness extends to her dealings with her own daughter. Instead of raising Cynthia herself, she sent her to a boarding school in France to be properly "finished". Since in her mind this was the right thing to do, she is bewildered by Cynthia's resentment for having been, as she sees it, sent away for the sake of her mother's convenience. Nowhere is Hyacinth's lack of understanding more evident than in her relationship with Dr Gibson. When she listens in on the doctors' consultation about Osborne's medical condition and then acts on that privileged knowledge, she is genuinely confused by her husband's anger. She knows that he is upset, but is unable to comprehend why. It's rather sad, actually, to see her attempting to restore his good humour by having meals he likes prepared, etc., unable to see that she has earned his contempt not only by behaving dishonorably, but by failing to even understand that she has done so. The truth about Hyacinth's character is that she's not mean or vicious: she's merely selfish to the bone. All of her relationships are viewed through the prism of how they can be of use to her. For example, she marries Dr Gibson for the most part to escape the genteel poverty she's living in. She does care for him, as much as someone with her limited capacity to do so can, but it's an affection based in what he's doing for her. The dresses and other things which she presses on Molly are given less out of a fondness for her new daughter than out of a desire to be seen to be a fair and generous stepmother. Likewise, Hyacinth's approval- or disapproval- of Cynthia's suitors is directly proportional to their wealth and position... or their prospects for acquiring them. While she doubtlessly wants Cynthia to be happy, she is determined that that happiness will be found with whoever will bring about the most prestigious marriage. After all, Hyacinth knows nothing of Mr. Henderson other than that he's wealthy and an up-and-coming barrister. Meanwhile, she knows Roger is a respectable, intelligent, honest young man, yet discourages his suit when it becomes known that he will probably not inherit his father's estate and title. If she were truly concerned with Cynthia's happiness, she would encourage her to wed the better man, not the richer one. Closely linked to Hyacinth's self-love is her need to believe that whatever she does is right and generous. Thus, when anyone disagrees with her or thwarts her in anyway, she retreats behind a shield of wounded indignation. Everyone else is unreasonable or unfeeling, while she, always giving and thinking of others, is put upon and treated poorly. She seems to have edited events in her past and present so frequently to put herself in a good light, that she has become self-deluded, and actually believes these half-truths and/or outright falsehoods herself. Most of the time, this behaviour is merely annoying to those who have to endure it, but on a couple of occasions it has the potential to cause real harm or hurt. One of these, as I mentioned before, is when she uses her illicitly acquired knowledge of Osborne's illness to attempt to influence Roger and Cynthia's relationship. The other occurs when Mrs. Hamley is so desperately ill, and asking for Molly. The Squire comes and requests permission to take Molly to her, but Hyacinth refuses to let her go so that Molly will be available to accompany her to a card party that evening. When this goads the worried and short-fused Squire into responding sharply, Hyacinth is deeply offended. After all, she was only doing what was proper, insisting that Molly honour her commitments, while the Squire is a rude and crass lout for responding the way he did. Really, it's little wonder that Dr Gibson devotes himself to his medical practice and spends so much time away from home. Especially when Cynthia arrives and causes so much upheaval with her tumultuous love life. But I'll discuss my thoughts on that in Part II. Related Posts: I'm back from PEI- windblown, sunburned, tired and happy. It was a great time of early morning walks along the shore, afternoon swims, and late night campfires. Here are a few pictures from the beach of the campground where we stayed: On Saturday morning, two of my sisters and I left the campsite and drove over to Dalvay By-The-Sea. This is the hotel where the exterior shots of the White Sands Hotel in the Anne of Green Gables miniseries and in the T.V. show "Road To Avonlea" were filmed. In the first miniseries, it is where Anne participates in a poetry recital. Also, the scene in the A.of G.G. sequel where Anne meets Morgan Harris for the first time was filmed at Dalvay: The hotel was built in 1895 as a summer home for Alexander MacDonald, a wealthy businessman, and is made of the local red sandstone. It's a gorgeous building, and the grounds are every bit as beautiful. We spent around an hour wandering about, and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Here's a few of our pictures: The Exterior The Interior The Grounds (That's me, sitting on the park bench) All in all, it was a lovely long weekend, and I'm already looking forward to going again.
It's Natal Day weekend here in Nova Scotia, so I'm headed off camping with some family and friends on Prince Edward Island. Here's a post about a trip last year to the same spot:
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