“Whatever he would have said died away into inarticulate gasps which seemed to choke him, and sinking into a chair, he dropped his face upon the table and wept aloud. Perhaps in all the dismal scenes of domestic misery which had been acted in those spare and dreary houses- in all the petty miseries, the burning shames, the cruel sorrows, there had never been such a scene as this.” (173)
This passage was highly intriguing to me due to the strong tone and descriptive use of language within it. The graphic descriptions such as “died away” and “gasps which seemed to choke him” intensify the emotion of fear and sadness that the character was experiencing at the time. Then the author compares this scene to other descriptive experiences. As she does this, she uses more graphic descriptions to emphasize the severity of the emotions George’s father was releasing. As well as describe the intensity of this scene that Robert was witnessing. Concepts such as shame and sorrow are negative, however they are not necessarily considered dangerous. Adding such strong descriptions like burning and cruel emphasize that these feelings could elicit a sense of danger or pain.
This may be a reach but, the emphasis of pain, danger, and death within the adjectives could be alluding to the idea that George may have been murdered. These specific words could maybe represent the emotions and pain that he had felt before he died. As the book has carried on, and the mystery grows deeper the tone becomes darker alluding to the dark secrets Robert might discover.
I also found this passage to be rather intriguing. We can see by Maldon’s response to Robert’s interrogation that he is obviously hiding the identity of someone very near and dear to his heart. Personally, I believe that Lucy might actually be Helen, Maldon’s allegedly deceased daughter. I think that Robert’s words elicited such a strong response in the old man because he fears not only for the fate of himself, but also for that of his daughter. I also think that he feels an extreme sense of guilt and shame for potentially playing a part in George’s untimely death.
I really like what you wrote here and found it very interesting. I liked how you focused on the description in the passage. I think that the descriptions that you pointed out did really help out the passage. The descriptions make the passage come to life. I also like how you say that these descriptions might allude to George being murdered. I do believe that this is true because the descriptions show the suspicion in the passage.
This paragraph and the way words are used to depict Robert in this moment of revelation is interesting. I enjoy your analysis of Robert’s emotions and the interpretation we could infer from that depiction. The wide range of emotions that you pointed out has emphasized the extremity in Robert’s feelings of anger, shock, and pain. These details are especially worth noticing since earlier in the story, Robert had exhibit his hesitance to invest further, for fear of revealing secrets that were better left unsaid. I think that these emotions are great correspondence to his original feelings toward the investigation, making everything so real and emotional at the same time.