Her bewilderment was complete: the more she wished to appear to understand him the more unintelligible his remarks became. He reminded her of the gentleman who had "explained" the pictures at Nettleton, and hte weight of her ignorance settled down on her again like a pall."
this passage takes place during Charity's and Harney's first encounter at the Library. I thought it was interesting becauase it not only shows the difference in their cultural or social status, but also in the difference between being a woman of a lower social status. He is educated and from the city, while she is uneducated and from a small town below the mountains where she was actually born. She was "brought down from the mountain" by Mr. Royale when she was young. The mountain people are considered to be scum or outlaws and they are all poor and ignorant people who must be evil in the eyes of the towns people. they do not understand them. charity seems to carry this feeling of inadequecy with her through out the story even though she seems to be a strong character she has moments of vulnerability and weakness concerning her heritage. Harney emphasizes this inadequey for her and she is drawn to him hoping to impress him but always doubting that she can because of her educational background as well as where she came from.
Except on the occasion of his one offense he had been to her merely the person who was always there, the unquestioned central fact of life, as inevitable but as uninteresting as North Dormer itself, or any of the other conditions fate had laid on her.
I thought this passage describing Mr. Royale in charity's eyes was interesting because it reveal a great deal about her. She is bored with her life. She is stuck with this man who saved her from the mountains and deep down i think besides not having money or a husband to help her leave his house she feels a sense of duty to him for keeping her from such a terrible fate. Even though she acts defiant to him, i feel that there is something there that makes her stay. This makes it all the more noticable by calling him the person always there. It seems to be a constant in her life that brings comfort from the unknown even though it is disinteresting to her. She is bored but complacent it seems because she hasn't done anything but get the job at the library to help in leaving this man and Dormer.
2 comments:
In response to your first quote selection, I think that Charity isn't as self-conscious about where she from as you make her out to be. While she is aware of her heritage, if you will, she only knows about it via stories. I think she's the type that doesn't really let that constrict her and she cometimes comes off as naiive about her past. I think she's much more focused on her future than she is on her past.
I think Charity does feel a sense of duty toward Mr. Royall, and that's ultimately part of her downfall. She lacks an assertiveness when it comes to determining her fate. She could've lived alone and raised the baby by herself, but instead she stayed with Mr. Royall.
Post a Comment